Page 50 of Gwen's Delta
“Morning, Gramps.” Gwen greeted him with a hug. “Did everything go okay yesterday?”
“No problems. You act like you’re the only one who can do this. I think you forget that Grams and I ran this store for years without any help. I think we can handle things well enough still.”
“I know, but…”
“No buts about it. Grams has coffee ready in the kitchen. You, too, Luke. We figured you’d be coming in this morning,” Gramps said with a twinkle in his eye.
Of course, they did. Sometimes, Gwen wondered if they knew her better than she knew herself.
Grams didn’t squeal when she saw Luke, but it was close. Gwen poured coffee for them and listened as the questions started. They hadn’t had a lot of sleep last night, but then again, Luke was probably special forces and a super badass. He’d be able to handle himself.
The bookstore wasn’t open yet, so when the phone rang at nine thirty Gwen picked up the extension in the kitchen.
“Camelot Rare Books and Antiquities, how may I help you?” Gwen answered in her professional voice.
The three heads at the table turned to watch. It was odd to get calls before normal hours.
“Is this Guinevere Dedmond?” an accented voice asked. It sounded like the same guy as yesterday. Maybe he’d decided that she could help him.
“Yes, this is Gwen. Is there something I can help you with?” A chill slid down her spine and raised the little hairs on the back of her neck.
“It’s more what you can do to help your parents.”
“What do you mean? What about my parents?” Fear knotted her stomach. She met Luke’s gaze, and whatever he saw on her face made him race to her side.
“If you ever want to see them again, you need to bring one million dollars to Cairo in three days. Otherwise, we’ll kill them.”
“Three days? How am I supposed to get that kind of money and bring it halfway around the world in three days?”
Luke wrapped his arm around her waist, and his strength helped steady her.
“I guess you should figure that out. If you’re not here in three days, you will never see your parents alive again.”
“How will I know where to go in Cairo?”
“We will be in touch when you get here.”
“Wait, I need proof of life. How do I know you even have them?” Recalling all the TV shows she’d seen over the years, she knew she should get proof. Who knew that watching Crime TV would come in handy one day?
“Check your email; you’ll have your proof. Don’t be late, Guinevere, you won’t like the results.”
The phone went dead.
The room spun. If Luke hadn’t been holding her, she would have landed on the floor.
Chapter 14
“Who was that? What’s going on?” Merlin asked as Gwen trembled in his arms.
She buried her face into his chest, and he held her tighter in his embrace. Her hands clung onto him like her life depended on it.
What the hell was going on? One moment, they’d been sitting at the table, drinking coffee as Gramps put him through the infamous Gauntlet Gwen had warned him about, then the phone had rung. The color had drained from her face, and she’d started shaking. He’d tried to hear the conversation, but the voice on the other end was too low.
“Gwenie-bee, what happened?” The expression on Gramps’ face filled with worry.
“How about we sit down, and you tell us what’s going on?” Merlin led her to the table and sat in the chair next to her.
Grams pushed a glass of water into Gwen’s hands, but she remained silent, her face pale and her eyes wide. Whoever had been on the phone had scared the shit out of her.
