Page 64 of Hideaway

Exhibit A:Caden fucking Ashford.

Avery fixed her with an unattractive glare before continuing his self-indulgent tirade.“All that Hall money will certainly be put to good use ensuring their prenup is upheld and the divorce lawyer is able to rob me of everything I have. Thanks to the meticulous prying of my soon-to-be ex-wife’s private investigator, the accusations of my alleged infidelity got a whole lot more provable. Video footage of prostitute solicitation is not a great look for me, as I’m sure the judge will agree.”

“Ibetthat’s not the sex-tape release you’d envisioned for yourself,”Kara responded with a laugh.“Also, in addition to being distinctly compromising, isn’t soliciting sex also illegal?”

“So my wife tells me. Whores really should come with a disclaimer,‘abandon hope all ye who enter here,’”he proclaimed theatrically.

“That is a tragic misuse of Dante,”Kara retorted disparagingly.

“Oh yes, I forgot I was keeping company with Dr. Caine, the great defender of academia,”Avery said with an air of mockery.

“Trust me, you wouldn’t be the first to forget,”Kara responded, fond remembrance stirring at the thought of another man who seemed all too keen to dismiss her earned title because he knew it pissed her off.

Cade.

Kara hoped against hope that he had discovered her missing and would somehow happen upon the correct source of her disappearance. Had Avery’s men been sloppy and left some trace of her being taken? If not, would Cade think she’d run away from him again? She had already broken his trust once, so he wouldn’t be unjustified if he suspected her treachery. The thought of experiencing Cade’s wrath was almost as terrifying as whatever plans Avery had in store for her. Avery may intend to kill her, but if Cade thought she had betrayed him, he would destroy her in more ways than one.

“Well, Dr. Caine, perhaps you can enlighten me as to the location of my esteemed collection ofThe Canterbury Tales?”

“I believe you mean the university’s esteemed collection ofThe Canterbury Tales, as you were so generous as to donate it to our library, in your wife’s name I might add. Adds a certain touch of irony to the whole situation, don’t you think?”

“I could do with a little less irony in this situation, as it were,”Avery bit back spitefully.

“Why do you even need them? You obviously have more than enough money.”

“I don’t believe you comprehend the direness of my predicament. Everything you see around you isn’t solely mine; it is equity shared with my bitch of a wife who is determined to take everything in a messy, public divorce just because I screwed a few whores.”Avery began to pace the room, his frustration starting to put cracks in his composed facade.

“Oh yes, poor little rich boy who can’t keep his cock in his pants,”Kara taunted, earning her a hateful glare as Avery’s frantic movements stilled.

“I’ve been donating numerous historical items—across a vast range of regions and institutions, of course—with the distinct intention of having them all back in my possession in due time. My wife thinks I’m engaging in a futile attempt to win her back—as you realized with the university’s collection, all donations are made in her name—but really I’m establishing a portable fortune that my wife will have no claim to once the divorce is finalized. The pieces will discretely disappear over time, the talents of men such as Caden Ashford allowing them to make their way into the hands of collectors more than willing to pay a generous sum, and I will have some capital to rebuild my life amid the ruins. The plan is infallible.”

“Apparently not,”Kara responded scathingly, finding the grand reveal of his master plan a little underwhelming. All that scheming so that a privileged man wouldn’t have to endure the full consequences of his sins. Maybe the cheating bastard shouldn’t have been as quick to violate his vows as he was to sign a prenup.

“Yes,”Avery said with a pause to consider the full extent of his failure.“I must admit, I hadn’t expected a librarian to impede a simple operation that had already proven to be successful. The Chaucer text was not the first to be extracted; others have already been re-acquired. I must say, your institution’s system is flawed if you are the only individual capable of summoning a rare text. Whatever would happen if, heaven forbid, you were to disappear indefinitely? All would be lost.”

“Of course we have taken the necessary precautions to maintain the safety of the texts, but I don’t see the necessity of discussing backup procedure with you.”

“Not to sound desperate, but I really must attain that book. A buyer has already been selected, and I fear they grow restless with the delay. Perhaps I would make more headway with your replacement on the occasion that the department of rare books had a sudden vacancy,”Avery commented darkly, watching as Kara carefully considered her response to the inferred threat.

“I’m afraid you’ll find most individuals of my profession possess a certain inherent protectiveness regarding historically rare texts. And you needn’t bother kidnapping yet another librarian as your donated edition ofThe Canterbury Talesis no longer housed on university grounds.”

“What? Where is it?”Avery asked impatiently, panic flickering across his face at the new information.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,”Kara answered flippantly, inspecting her nails as though she wasn’t bothered by his threats in the least.

“Perhaps your memory needs rousing,”he said dangerously as he stalked toward where she sat primly on the bed.

“You may try, of course, though I doubt you’ll have any more progress on that account than your predecessor. And he possesses more impressive methods of persuasion than you could ever dream of having,”Kara taunted suggestively with a pointed look at the space between Avery’s thighs. She knew it was dangerous to toy with an already desperate man, but Kara couldn’t help herself. It was one of the great flaws of her nature to lash out when she was cornered and helpless.

“I tried to handle this situation civilly, Dr. Caine,”Avery addressed formally, his eyes turning hard and cold.“But you refuse to act reasonably. Whatever happens next is on your conscience, not mine.”With those ominous last words, Avery walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.

Once again, Kara found herself enveloped in the silence of solitude.

Hours passed. Truthfully, whatever her captor had planned for her would be far less agonizing than slowly waiting for it to happen. The delay was likely just another layer of torture. And she thought Cade was the only man in her life obsessed with punishment. Clearly, Avery was just as sadistic as he was.“Get the fuck on with it!”Kara shouted into the emptiness of the room, prepared for whatever Avery might throw at her if only it would end the mind-numbing purgatory of waiting.

Pointlessly, she threw her fists into the door, relishing the way the loudbangungraciously disrupted the silence and the sharpness that flooded her nerves when her flesh met with the wood. Kara continued her assault on the unrelenting door, throwing her whole body into the barrier to her freedom. She slammed herself into the door until her shoulder burned, protesting the useless violence. Stepping back, Kara heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps descending toward her room. Finally, Avery would put her out of her misery. Kara stood dispassionate and resolved as she eyed the door expectantly, a key rattling as someone unlocked the door. There was no knock this time, signaling the time for pleasantries at an end. Swiftly, the door swung open, announcing Kara’s doom.

Chapter Sixteen

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