Freeing Lily (MacKay International, #3)
He rescued her, but only she can reclaim her life…
Lily
My entire world changed the night I was kidnapped.
Finn may have rescued me.
But only I can claim my future.
Finn
I have no intention of letting Lily go.
I will use everything I have in my arsenal to keep her.
Pleasure seems like an excellent place to start.
The steamy conclusion to the MacKay International series!
Chapter One
Mid-April - Paris
~ Lily ~
“What do you say, princess?” Finn snakes his arms around my waist and pulls me into his body. “Will you marry me?”
“What?” I choke out, putting my hands on his chest and pushing back against his hold.
“I love you, Lily,” he reminds me softly, pulling me back tightly into his arms. For the first time, it feels suffocating.
“I-I know,” I breathe out in a whisper.
“You wouldn’t have to stay married,” Peter Stein, my cousin, interjects, taking a step closer to us. Boxing me in.
I feel trapped. Again.
Two days ago, I was being held captive, trapped, in a Hong Kong brothel. I had been drugged and kidnapped nineteen days before when I was traveling in Paris. Peter had uncovered where I was and that my stepfather, James Mayer, had orchestrated the entire thing. He sent his best friend, Finn, to rescue me. We spent the whole night together in a room at the brothel, getting to know one another—in every way. From there, Finn brought me to meet Peter and my Aunt Kitty here in Paris.
I still don’t know why my mother never realized I was missing—or hasn’t tried to contact me. Even though I was always closer with my father, I still can’t believe that she’s involved in any way. On top of kidnapping me, we have since learned that Mayer also bribed a doctor and is holding a place for me in a psych ward, all in a bid to control me and the company my late father left me. Now, Finn wants to marry me in order to protect me from Mayer’s control. I’m not ready to be legally tied to anyone, let alone someone I really only met three days ago.
“Fuck off,” Finn growls at him through clenched teeth, his chest rumbling with annoyance under my palms.
“It would just be until Mayer is taken care of.” Peter ignores Finn and reaches out to touch my arm reassuringly.
“Stein,” Finn snaps. “Fuck off.”
Reaching up, I scramble to untie the scarf around my neck, which seems to be getting tighter with every passing moment. I rip it off and twist it tightly in my hand before shoving it into my purse.
“Let’s all take a deep breath,” Aunt Kitty interjects sternly. Stepping forward, she gently takes my arm and pulls me out from between the two men, stopping them from causing a scene as we stand in the middle of Charles de Gaulle’s international terminal.
“Mom.”
“Inhale deeply,” she says calmly. “Now, exhale slowly.”
Following her lead, I find myself relaxing—if only slightly.
“Kitty, no offense, but we need a plan,” Finn clips out, having ignored her completely.
“I want to forget this ever happened,” I mutter softly.
I wish I could forget all about what happened to me in Paris and go back in time. Then I wouldn’t have been taken in by Janice, the new friend I met while studying abroad in London, and she would’ve never been able to lure me to Paris or to that nightclub. It turns out she was hired by Mayer to befriend and then betray me.
“I know, sweetie,” Kitty says gently, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.
“I just want my life back,” I tell them shakily, and then, taking a deep breath, I say more forcefully, “I don’t want to run and hide.”
“Then that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Get your life back,” she says resolutely, giving me a quick squeeze before turning her attention to Peter and Finn. “Lily and I are going to London.”
My life for the past semester was there. If I want to get my life back, that’s where I should start.
“Kitty, that’s insane—”
“Mom.”
Ignoring both men, she turns to me and says gently, “You still won’t be able to graduate this semester, sweetie.”
“I know,” I admit sadly, having already come to the frustrating conclusion that my college graduation, which seemed so close, is now put on hold.
“But we can start taking your life back and planning for the future.” I feel myself relaxing at her pronouncement.
“How is that safe?” Finn asks tightly, crossing his arms against his chest.
“He’s right, Mom,” Peter agrees.
“London is the last place Mayer would think to look for Lily. And Peter, you’re going home to Boston to light a fire under the FBI’s asses to end this,” Aunt Kitty begins.
“They’ve assured me his arrest is imminent,” Peter tells us.
“And I want no more crazy talk about getting married—from either of you. Lily’s got enough going on. And we can protect her from Mayer just fine,” Aunt Kitty continues.
“Mom,” Peter practically whines, and I can’t help but grin when I see his eyes rolling slightly.
“I still don’t like it,” Finn growls annoyed. “The FBI may have frozen his accounts, but we have no way of knowing who else Mayer’s paid off or what he’s planned next.”
“You’re coming with us, aren’t you?” Aunty Kitty asks him, smiling brightly.
Turning to him and taking hold of his arm, I plead softly, “Please.”
My feelings for Finn are confused with everything that’s happened since my kidnapping, but my heart tells me I’m not ready to be parted from him. I’m pretty sure I love him, even if I’m not yet ready to admit it to myself or him.
“You’re not going anywhere without me,” Finn growls, uncrossing his arms and wrapping them tightly around me.
“Then that’s settled. We’ll go to London and help Lily get her life back and give the FBI time to do their job,” Aunt Kitty says confidently. “Let’s get in line for tickets.”
“Fine,” Peter huffs, grabbing the overflowing luggage trolly and pushing it in the direction of the ticket counter.
As I suppress a giggle at his familiar childish behavior, my chest suddenly tightens with emotion. When I was held captive, all I thought about was my family. Memories of them were what helped me survive. Peter and I grew up together, and even though he’s older, we have always been more like siblings than cousins. I knew in my heart that my family was missing me too, and they would come for me. I may have been angry with Peter for sending Finn instead of coming himself, but I know without a doubt my cousin did everything he could to find and rescue me.
“Peter,” I call out.
Twisting his body around, his concern is clear on his face as he asks, “Sweetheart?”
I walk up to him and wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly. He returns my embrace just as firmly. My nose and eyes sting with unshed tears, and I don’t know quite what to say. How to tell him I missed him. Or thank him for doing everything in his power to rescue me. So I settle on the simple truth. “I love you, Peep.”