Page 165 of Receiving His Mercy
“I didn’t mean to,” she said. “It wasn’t technically wrong. It’s the name I used for years while working. My grandmother’s maiden name. You know I consider her my only family. But when I went back to the states . . . well, I wanted privacy. So I used my other name.”
He narrowed his gaze as he studied her. “So it wasn’t to hide from me?”
Caren forced herself to gaze at him innocently. “Why would I need to hide from you? I thought you wanted me gone.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” He nodded.
“How did you find me, though?” she asked hesitantly.
“I hired someone who is good at finding people . . . their software discovered the photos of you in the tabloids after your exhibition in New York. You were pressed up to another man.”
There was that dangerous glint in his eyes again.
Be careful.
“Oh yes. I grew up with him.” She didn’t want to say too much about Travis.
“Grew up with him? That looked like something more.”
“Did it?” she said. “So you sent some guys to get me? How . . . how did they know I’d be at that appointment with my agent?”
“Oh, the tracker I hired gave me your agent’s information. When my men arrived in New York, they thought they might be able to simply grab you, but you always had company.” He sent a look at Tyler. “And you were never at your apartment. Were you?”
Shit. Fuck.
He knew about her relationship with Travis. But she decided to ignore the questions in his voice. “Did they . . . did they use Oliver to get me to that meeting?” She remembered now that he’d changed it suddenly.
“I suppose so. I don’t know the ins and outs. Just know that they figured using the agent to get to you was the easiest way.”
But there was security in that building. How had they gotten in? Oliver would have had to put their names on the list . . . unless someone else had.
Oh God.
Isabel? Could she have helped them? But why would she do that?
How had they snuck them out of the building, though? There had to be another exit. Maybe Isabel hadn’t helped them. Perhaps they’d come in a back way and then threatened her and Oliver until they had no choice but to call her and have her come in to the meeting a day early.
That could explain it.
“What happens now?” she asked, glancing briefly at Tyler.
“Now, you rest, my princess. I’ve got a special visitor coming tomorrow. And then you are going to be mine forever.”
Oh God.
She didn’t like the sound of that.
At all.
44
“I’ve just been sent some footage from the building where your girl and brother were kidnapped,” Hunter said, walking into the shack that they were using as a base of operations.
They’d managed to pick up the tracker signal after landing, thank fuck.
Now they were hiding out in a small village that was close to the compound without being so close that they’d gather a lot of attention.
Still, he didn’t like this. Someone could alert Aadan to the fact that they were here. And they still didn’t know how to get through the security at the compound.
