Page 7 of Abra's Acquisition
Abra nods. “I know, it’s why I didn’t show up to our meeting. My friends are watching him. They’ll let me know when he realizes I never intended to meet with him. We have about thirty minutes, by my estimation. Now, let’s get you out of here.”
“Wait, why should I trust you?”
He shrugs. “I don’t have a reason to give you, except I’m not the one who locked you in a room. I did help save you from another set of kidnappers yesterday.” He snorts. “I didn’t think about that. You’ve been kidnapped twice in the same number of days. What does that say about you?”
“It says I’ve been extremely unlucky,” I grouse.
“We rescued you twice in two days, maybe you are lucky?” Abra says with a grin as he gestures for me to precede him out the door.
“Hold on,” I say, dropping my weapons on the bed before retrieving Erickson’s iPad.
Abra leads me to Erickson’s office, where another member of his motorcycle club is working on Erickson’s computer.
“I found the feed from the night you stole the figurine and wiped it,” the guy says, not looking up. “I also copied the feed from when he drugged Ms. Montague.” He lifts his eyes to wink at me before returning to his task. “I deleted all the feed of us entering.”
“He showed me the feed on here,” I offer, handing him the iPad. He taps the iPad, then nods with satisfaction. He drops the iPad on the desk.
“Good. We should get going. It would be better if we were gone before Hex calls. He wanted us in and out,” says someone coming up behind me. I jolt but relax when I spot Lake. I’d seen him interact with the pregnant women imprisoned with me and knew he had a girlfriend who was a nurse.
“Wait, what about the maid?” I question. “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”
“Maid? No, I didn’t see a maid, but we haven’t been through the entire house. I don’t like leaving a witness,” Lake says to Abra.
“Don’t hurt her. She was kind to me. She brought me food, and she didn’t rat me out when she knew I kept the plate.”
“Plate?” Lake asks.
“My warrior goddess here broke a plate in half and fashioned the pieces into knives,” Abra says with so much pride that I blush at his praise.
“Erickson said she’s here illegally and keeps her doing his bidding under threat of deportation. I’d like to help her if I can.”
Abra studies my face before nodding at Lake. “Find her and see if you can convince her to come with us. We can help her get papers and find a place to live.”
Lake takes off on his search. I wander over to Erickson’s desk and pick up the stack of papers he has on the corner. Irecognize them as those he collected on the Maison des Chênes. I glance through them with some regret. I didn’t like Erickson even before he kidnapped me, but I will miss working on this project. I have a fondness for the historical estate and was looking forward to seeing it restored to its former grandeur, even if Erickson was the one doing it.
“What are those?” Abra asks, leaning over my shoulder to see the papers. The scent of leather and vanilla washes over me. I take a deep breath.
“Schematics of the Maison des Chênes in the French Quarter. Erickson hopes to buy it in the upcoming auction. He hired me to help him get his plans through the VCC.” Remembering the files Erickson showed me the previous night, I search through the desk drawers but come up empty.
“What are you looking for?” Abra asks, standing behind me so our bodies touch.
His warmth burns into me, and I can feel the solidness of his chest. I can barely stop the shudder of pleasure washing through me. Between his masculine scent and the heat wafting off him, I start feeling a little lightheaded. What were we talking about, again? Oh, yeah, the files
“He said he had files on the other parties attending the auction of the property. He used them to lure me here last night. I was hoping to find them. I’m curious about his competition. Maybe I’ll offer them my services.”
“Why?” Abra asks.
“Because Maison des Cinq Chênes is a beautiful and historic home that needs to be preserved. I know the VCC will do its due diligence, but I would like to see whoever wins the auction be someone passionate about the property's history. Even though I saw Erickson’s plans for the building, I still fear that he plans to gut it rather than restore it. He’s mentioned a few things that have me convinced he’s up to no good.”
“You’re probably right. I have a friend who told me some of the history about the place and why Erickson needs the figurine. Seems there might be a treasure hidden in its walls. My friend claims that the family who built the house fled from France during the French Revolution. He said they brought over a great treasure and hid it.”
I snort at his comment. “Hidden treasure? Seriously?”
“So, you don’t think there’s treasure?”
I shake my head. “I’m not saying there wasn’t a treasure. I’m saying that I doubt there is anything left of it. If the family brought a treasure with them from France as they escaped death, then it's likely they used it to establish themselves here.”
“You have a point. However, my friend believes differently. Either way, Erickson also seems to believe. You sound like you don’t like him. Why were you helping him?”
