Holly sighed, checking her watch. Hopefully, Xavier and Eve would arrive soon. She didn’t want their flight to be delayed for too long. Luckily, Alexander Jets didn’t mind the wait. They were very accommodating to their clients.

She couldn’t believe it. Just when she’d thought she’d come up with the perfect plan to give Xavier a break from playing bodyguard, he’d found out she was going to Byron Bay without him. And he’d asked for the plane to wait for him and Eve.

At least Eve was joining them. Her brother and future sister-in-law could treat this trip as a mini-break. That lessened her guilt at the couple rearranging their schedules for her.

She stood from the comfortable sofa in the Alexander Jets waiting room and headed for the door. Gregor, the last minute bodyguard sent by Smith Security, followed her. Unfortunately, Bryce had called in sick. She would have preferred him.

Christine, who was busy talking on her phone, called out to her. “Where are you going?”

“Just out in the corridors to stretch my legs.”

Christine nodded and went back to her phone conversation.

Holly walked around leisurely, glad that no one was making a fuss. The staff here were used to high-profile people availing of their services.

“Excuse me, Miss Stirling?”

Holly glanced at Nadia, the lady who’d be their flight attendant. “Yes?”

“A woman is at reception wanting to say hi to you. She said she and her friend followed you here from your parents’ place. Apparently, they’re the ones who got attacked while waiting outside your house.”

“Oh. Yes, I’ll come out and say hello.” She’d been wondering about those two women. She still felt guilty that they’d gotten hurt while trying to “protect” her.

They weren’t at reception, though.

“Miss Stirling,” the receptionist said. “Your fan went back to the car. She said her friend finds it hard to walk, but she’ll try to assist her to come in here.”

“I hope they’re not parked too far away,” Holly mused. God, those flowers and gift baskets she’d sent them couldn’t have been enough if one of them was still suffering.

She waited, but a few minutes later, they still hadn’t appeared.

“Maybe they’re having a hard time,” she said to Gregor. “Can you go and check on them?”

“Sure. What do they look like?”

“Well, one’s a brunette, and the other’s a strawberry blonde, and… You know what? Why don’t I go with you?”

Gregor frowned. “Okay. But don’t get too close until I say so.”

She nodded.

They went to the outdoor car park and saw a lady waving to them from a car farther away.

Holly shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun low in front of her. She couldn’t see the lady very well from where they were standing, but she didn’t seem to look like one of the OZs who’d been attacked.

“Wait,” she said to Gregor. “I don’t recognise her.”

Gregor grabbed her arm and looked around.

“I’m happy to go back in,” she said a little nervously.

A black four-wheel-drive stopped in front of them, and Holly found herself being literally thrown in the backseat. Gregor got in next to her.

The vehicle sped off, and she looked at Gregor with contempt. “Who are you, people?”

“Do you need to ask that?” Gregor said. “We’re your kidnappers.”

The driver laughed.

Fear rose in Holly’s throat, and she tried gulped it down. “Where’s my real bodyguard?”

“Oh, you mean Gregor?” the man she thought was Gregor said with an ugly smirk. “He’s somewhere, with a big painful bump on his noggin’. Poor fella didn’t even know what hit him.”

“Who are you then?”

“I’m happy for you to call me Gregor. The name’s growing on me.”

She scowled at the thug. “Where are you taking me?”

“Not far.”

And the guy was right. They couldn’t have travelled more than three minutes when they drove into a commercial garage.

“Come on, Princess,” her captor said, pulling her out.

She snatched her arm away. “I can get off by myself, thank you.”

“Well, hurry up.’

She glared at him.

“Over here.” He gestured towards the open door of a Winnebago. “You’ll be very comfortable in here.”

Reluctantly, she got into the motorhome. It was spacious. At least she wouldn’t have to sit so close to the bastards.

But, damn, with the dark windows, she wouldn’t be able to attract other motorists’ attention.

They started backing out the garage, and Holly was grateful the two men sat at the front, leaving her sitting alone in the compact dining area. The thugs started discussing what they would do with the five million dollars each they were going to get as their share of the sixty-million-dollar ransom money.

Wait, what? Sixty million? What happened to fifty million? Not that her family could easily come up with that money.

Did that mean they’d be keeping her a prisoner until that exact ransom amount was paid? Would they negotiate down? But even if they halved it, selling assets would take ages, not to mention the sheer stress everyone would feel.

She squeezed her eyes shut, shivering.

Xavier and Eve would probably be at the airport by now. And she could imagine their distress.

Her eyes watered. After all her family had done to keep her safe, here she was.

And Jaxon…

He’d taken care of her so well…

She placed a hand over her mouth to stop a sob from coming out. She missed him so much, and the pain in her heart had done nothing but increase over time.

She constantly daydreamed that they were back together, even though she couldn’t see how it would work. Thing was, no matter how much she reminded herself that he couldn’t live in her world, her heart kept insisting Jaxon was the one for her.

Would she ever see him again? And her family?

She glanced at her captors, tears falling down her cheeks. She’d fight these bastards with everything she had. Well, not physically, perhaps, but she had to keep her wits about her until her family could get her freed. She was certain they wouldn’t give up until they got her back.

So she shouldn’t give up either. Not on her freedom and not on her life.

And not on love.

She took a deep breath, making a vow. When she was released, she’d try to get Jaxon back. They deserved another chance—even if she got rejected all over again.