Page 47 of The Prodigal Prince

Fear gripped her as she realized Gray was no longer at her side.

Where had he gone?

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If she dared to breathe, Fiona wasn’t certain she’d be able to take a full breath.

But given the look on the man’s face as he held Gray, she didn’t want to give him any reason to act out.

“Leave him alone.” Mac looked like he was trying to take a non-threatening posture within the confines of the dimly lit corridor, but Fiona wasn’t certain it worked. “Let him go. Take me and let them go.”

The man, who’d just become the villain in this particular story, shook his head. “No. You’re all coming with me.”

The second man, now known as Lefty in Fiona’s mind, held a weapon on her and Mac.

“I suggest you come with us,” Mr. Villain ordered with a sneer.

When she glanced at Mac, he gave a slight nod. For now, they should do whatever the men asked them to. They’d look for a chance to escape later.

The passage they’d been taken to darkened as the flashlight held by Mr. Villain pointed down the hall. He kept a firm hold on Gray’s arm and pulled Fiona’s son through the stone walkway.

They arrived at their destination surprisingly fast. The small room off an open area had to be on the property. They might have gone far enough to be outside the footprint of the house itself, but they couldn’t have left the estate’s property.

Did anyone else know about these secret passageways? Didn’t most palaces and estates like this have them? Surely, Beau and Angie had to know they existed, even if they might not know the extent.

“Sit.” Mr. Villain shoved Gray toward the corner.

Fiona kept an eye on Lefty but hurried to her son’s side, pulling him close as he started to cry.

Mac moved between them and the two men. “What is it you want? Money?”

Mr. Villain chuckled. Had she ever heard a truly evil chuckle? “No. Not money.”

“Then what is it? We can help you get whatever it is.”

Fiona couldn’t help but notice how Mac continually kept himself between the two men and the spot where Fiona huddled with their son.

“There’s nothing you can get for me.”

“Not a significant sum of money? Jewels? A helicopter to the airport then a jet to the location of your choice?” Mac didn’t stand still. Instead, he seemed to be forcing the two men toward the door.

Could he be trying to get them out of the room?

As they moved further away and their voices lowered, Fiona couldn’t hear the words exchanged, but the next thing she knew, they were alone in the room as a lock clicked on the other side of the door.

Mac turned around and ran a hand through his hair. “Not exactly what I expected to happen tonight.”

He began pacing the room, looking the whole thing over.

Fiona sat on the cold stone floor with Gray snuggled into her side.

The silence extended into an eternity.

By some sort of unspoken agreement, they decided not to talk about it until Gray eventually fell asleep.

Fiona shifted until she could lay her son down using her balled up cardigan as a pillow. “Do you know who they are?”

Mac shook his head. “No idea. No idea what they want either. BossMan never said anything except there wasn’t anything we could get him.”

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