G’ANNA
“Trudy, have you seen my larger backpack? I’m thinking of taking it instead. Anything that makes all this equipment easier to handle.” Everything else packed easily into my usual travel bags, except the last-minute photo equipment. I rounded the corner and saw the guys from Misunderstood talking to my assistant.
“What’s going on, guys? Why are you here?” I asked not waiting for Trudy to speak.
“We wanted to talk to you before you left on tour,” Britton replied. “Do you have a minute?”
I looked down at my full hands and then at Trudy. She raised a shoulder like she didn’t have a clue what they wanted.
“Please, it will only take a second of your time. We know you’re busy. Honestly, we thought you’d left with the band. We have a gig in the area and thought we’d stop by just in case you were still around. Lucky us to find you here.”
An exasperated breath escaped me. Our last meeting should’ve been our only one. His rudeness and arrogance made him impossible to work with. Giving in, I said, “I can spare five minutes, but that’s it.”
Britton followed me back, and the other two stayed in the lobby which I thought strange. “Don’t the others want to have some input?”
“No, they do whatever I tell them to. It’s my band. My word goes.”
Still the same douchebag. I should have told him to fuck off and leave. “Have a seat.”
Sitting at the top of the oval table, he took the chair to my right. “Now, what can I do for you? Nothing’s changed about my timeline, Britton.”
“I realize that, but we had hoped you’d change your mind about staying gone for that long at a time.” He seemed nervous, fidgety.
“No, I haven’t, especially since I’m getting a later start than the band.”
“Why is that?” He stared directly at me.
“I had a little accident here in the office a few days ago. Feinted and bumped my head. Guess I needed to eat worse than I thought I did.” I played it off. The police were still working the case, so I kept that to myself.
“I’m sorry to hear that, G’Anna. I’d hate for you to lose your wonderful photographer eye from an accident. You did say accident, right?”
I looked at him closely. Was he telling me he knew something? I felt panic starting to rise inside me.
“G’Anna?” I heard Trudy call. “I’m going around the corner to get some coffee. Be back in a few.” I spun and looked at the doorway, but she never appeared. She didn’t like coffee. Something was very wrong.
“Did you want her to get you some, too?” Britton jumped up and stepped to the doorway as though he was going to speak to her. Before I could make a move, he stood in front of me with his back to the camera installed in every room.
“What’s going on, Britton?” I looked down and saw a gun in his waistband under his jacket, my eyes doubling in size. “What the hell?”
“Let’s go, bitch. I told you before that this wasn’t over. I let you have the upper hand the last time, but this time, I have all the control. I’ll never step aside and let a slutty little thing like you tell me how my life is going to go.” He jerked his head to the side indicating I needed to move.
“You know there are cameras everywhere and before he left, Ryder assigned a guard to me. You won’t get by with this.”
“Oh, you mean the big guy who’s now parked in the alley behind your building. He’s going to be out of commission for a long while, I’m afraid. Let’s go.” He pushed me down the hallway. “By the time security sees what’s happening, we’ll be long gone.”
Trudy’s desk sat empty. “Where is she?” I turned back to see his face. He had the potential to succeed in the business. Now my eyes met evil ones, but I’d seen him smile. His natural beauty and youth would have catapulted him and the band into stardom. Instead, revolting negativity took over.
“She’s fine. She’ll be found by morning.” He pushed me past her desk and down the hallway on the other end to the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” I knew the cameras recorded sound if only I could convince him to say where.
“Don’t worry, princess. You’ll figure it out.” He looked at the camera and smirked, and I knew he understood my ploy. “Now move. Your chariot awaits. It’s not a huge fucking SUV like the famous Ryder Steel uses but something that meets my needs.”
A dark van sat at the doorway, motor running. The side door slid back, and Britton pushed me into the dark cavern. “Where are we going?” My voice faltered from fear. I knew I needed to get tough in a hurry. My life depended on making level-headed decisions along with confidence and willpower. Britton pulled my hands together and zipped a tie wrap around them so tight, I feared he’d cut off my circulation.
The door shut with a loud bang, and I jumped. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Think, G’Anna. Listen to the sounds, count the turns. Kidnapped victims needed to think smart. With him beside me, I couldn’t kick out tail lights.
The vehicle lurched forward causing me to fall back, but Britton kept me upright. We turned right to get to the corner which was only about hundred yards away. A loud, horrid brake noise sounded as we screeched to a forceful stop, sending me flying forward through the air banging into the seat in front of me. Thankfully, I landed shoulder first and not with my head.
Before I could right myself, the door sailed open. A man aimed a gun at Britton, his still tucked in his waistband.
“He’s got a gun,” I screamed at my rescuer standing in the darkened door.
“Yeah, please go for it, motherfucker. He’d like nothing better than to shoot you. And by shoot you, I mean kill your sorry ass.” Ryder stepped into the doorway as he spoke.
My savior reached in and removed the concealed weapon while keeping the gun aimed at Britton’s head.
“Ryder.” I launched myself at him. With my hands bound, I couldn’t stop, but I trusted this man. He always caught me when I fell. I knew he always would, too. He held me tight against him.
“Sugar, I’m so happy to see you.” He walked me to his large SUV. The two accomplices, now handcuffed, leaned over the trunk of a vehicle sitting sideways in the street. Looking at them as we passed, I realized they were young, much younger than Britton.
As we reached Ryder’s car, it dawned on me he was supposed to be in Europe. I shot him a look. “What are you doing here, Ryder? You’re supposed to be in Europe.” He pulled out his pocket knife and cut my wrist ties loose gently rubbing the skin to get my circulation back.
“Little shit. He’s never tied anyone up before, or he’d know better than to make it so tight.”
“Answer me.” My tone more demanding this time.
“After the first incident, Thomas and I spoke. I told him the specific things taken from your studio. I doubted from the beginning it was a random burglary. We concluded it had something to do with Steel, otherwise, why wouldn’t they take your expensive equipment?”
“Right. I wondered about it, too, but I never thought it could be about the band. I decided it had to do with the pictures of the band. Maybe the thief wanted exclusive photos or something.”
“It wasn’t a burglary, G’Anna. It was revenge for not getting his way. Do you remember telling me about the interview with these guys? You said then you’d never shoot them, but you used the tour as an excuse at the time.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t explain why you’re here.” I leaned back and cocked my eyebrow up. He’d been holding out on me.
He turned that panty-dropping smile on me. “Sugar, I couldn’t possibly go off without you by my side, especially with what had happened. Thomas’ gut said they would come back the minute the band left, and he was right, as usual.”
“W… What did he think they were they going to do?”
“Who knows, but we’ll leave that for the police. Right now, we’re taking your equipment, picking up your bags. The jet’s waiting to take off from Bergstrom. I’m not giving you another chance to be without me around.”
“You’re pushy. Has anyone ever told you that?”
He grinned at me again before pulling me in for a heated kiss.