Page 58 of All Tied Up
Trev’s eyes did a scan of the area. Then he opened the back door and waved a hand for us to get inside.
Branwen stepped forward and went in first.
Although there was a cool breeze, there was a trickle of sweat rolling down my back. I glanced up at Trev Hughes before following her inside.
“If anyone can free him, she can,” he told me. “Relax. He’s alive. I saw him myself this morning.”
A sob slipped out of me at his words, and I covered my mouth as relief hit me so hard that I lost my breath.
His gaze softened, and he nodded his head for me to get inside. “Better hurry. The fucker is hard to fool. He’s always one step ahead.”
Byhe, I assumed that he was talking about Blaise.
With that warning, I climbed in quickly.
Sitting in the seat, I expected to see Branwen in the captain’s chair opposite of me. Instead, it was a gorgeous woman with flawless features and platinum-blonde hair, slicked back in a low ponytail, wearing a diamond on her finger that could be used as a signal to land a plane.
“I’ll start by telling you up front that I’m a fan, and although I would have met with you at Branwen’s request, I’m going to use it as a bargaining chip for an early copy of the next book. Signed, of course,” she said with a smile on her lips.
I blinked, staring at her. She was serious. I wasn’t sure at first, but the slightly amused challenge in her eyes told me she meant it.
“I don’t know much. Blaise doesn’t involve me in the workings of the business unless it is horse-related. What is it you need from me? I don’t mean to rush you, but my husband has a track record of knowing when I am disobeying him. Since I chose Trev to be my driver to the spa, there is a chance Blaise will question my motives. We could have been followed. Talk quick.”
I nodded, feeling the pressure return. The desperate need to save Ransom. Say whatever I needed to in order to have this woman help me. If she truly did have that power over her husband. I hoped Branwen was right.
“He has Ransom, my … my—”
“Ransom Carver and Noa are in love. Well, she is in love with him, and he was willing to face death in order to be with her,” Branwen explained.
“And I didn’t know. He didn’t tell me. He … he did something that I don’t have the details to and was in trouble about it. He wasn’t supposed to see me. I thought he was just done with me. But he showed up on New Year’s Eve in New York. Said he loved me.” My eyes filled with tears. “That he wanted forever. Then … then he was gone.”
Madeline turned her gaze back to Branwen. “Blaise ordered him to stay away from her?”
She nodded. “Yes. He did something with her fiancé. That’s all I know from the little I tried to listen in on. It caused issues. A PI showed up in Madison. Ransom was forbidden to see Noa after that. But he didn’t listen.”
“And Ransom is in Ocala? Blaise has him?”
Branwen nodded, her expression grim.
Madeline turned back to me. “Knock on that window twice, would you?”
I shifted in my seat to do as she’d said.
The door immediately opened, and Trev Hughes leaned inside. “You rang.”
“Why does Blaise have Ransom Carver?” she asked matter-of-factly.
Trev laid his arm over the top of the door, facing us as he appeared to get comfortable. “He handed a man over to the cartel to get rid of him. The man’s parents didn’t let it rest, and his attempt to cover his trail failed. PI started digging around.Found out shit he isn’t supposed to know. That had to be cleaned up. Ransom had acted on his own and without permission. Blaise sent word that he was to stay away from this one.” He cut his eyes at me. “His visits to her had been documented by the PI. It’s how he found the link to Ransom and dug into the family. But Ransom didn’t stay away. He got a burner phone, put cameras in her apartment, had trackers on her, and watched her every move. Made nighttime trips to Manhattan more than once on a private plane. Blaise sent Gage to get him when the tracker that had been placed on his burner phone showed that he’d once again taken off to NYC on New Year’s Eve. Gage brought him back here, strung him up underground, and his fate is still being discussed.”
I’d just learned several things about Ransom. Things that should have horrified me. Starting with the fact that he was truly behind Arden’s disappearance. He had cameras in my apartment. He watched me. He tracked me. There was a darkness I hadn’t known existed in him. He’d warned me, but I’d never imagined that it was that twisted. Void of morals.
“Now, you’ve heard it all,” Madeline said. “You know exactly what Ransom is. Who he is. What this life is.”
I said nothing as I stared at her. The fear that she wouldn’t believe he was worth saving began to sink in, and panic shoved all other thoughts aside. How would I convince her? What if this was it? I’d failed.
“Do you still want me to save him?”
My nails cut into my palms, as I fisted them so tightly. “I don’t want to live in a world where he isn’t.” And that was my truth. The mark on my soul.
