Page 4 of Holiday Hostage
If a man came at me, don’t be cute or dainty. Go for the tender bits, and do it with enough force that they think twice about making another move.
My heel caught his thigh, and my closed fist landed hard against thick, padded material. Shit. Body armor?
I screamed the best I could around his hand, but it was no use.
The river drowned out any kind of sound, and Liam wouldn’t come looking for me for a few more minutes.
I was on my own.
“Got you now.” He squeezed my throat so tightly that black spots danced in my vision. “Better pray your daddy is ready to come out of hiding and pay up to get you back.”
That’s what they wanted? Money?
I increased my thrashing, trying to talk despite the hand suffocating me.
Dad would pay them.
I just had to survive whatever they had planned for me in the meantime.
1
MAVERICK
“Close the door.” The sharp order came from the powerful man wearing a business suit.
He stood framed by the New York skyline that stretched behind him.
His words snapped my shoulders back into a familiar position.
Damn. I thought I’d gotten rid of that instinct.
Seemed some things from my past were harder to forget than I cared to admit.
Frank Rivers held his hands locked behind his back in a similar stance to the military precision that marked my every move.
The vast office space housed a single desk which sat in front of the windows, a wall filled with bookshelves lined with classics that I’d bet a year’s salary were all first editions, and gray carpet that matched the streaks in Frank’s hair.
“Mr. Rivers.” I approached with a hand outstretched. “I’m Maverick Blake.”
“I know.” He shook my hand, his voice somewhere between annoyed and grim.
Dropping my hand, he took a step back. “Would you like to sit?”
I kept my expression in check, refusing to let him see my surprise at the indication of equality. “I prefer standing, sir, but thank you for the offer.”
One side of his mouth almost rose in a grin, but it fell before fully emerging. “I need you to take care of something for me.”
“I understand, sir. What are the parameters and scope of the project?” My shoulders rolled back and down, my hands moving behind my back to hide the slight tremor in my right hand.
I anchored my feet in the thick carpet and waited for orders.
There was an almost peaceful sensation about this moment.
The order. Getting commands.
I mentally shrugged off thoughts of the past and focused on Frank.
He rounded the desk and picked up a thin manila envelope. “This is my daughter.”
