But now I didn’t have much of a choice, and I felt feelings I never expected to feel before. I was excited. I loved the child already, and my feelings for Emmy… well, they were complicated. I knew it was too soon, but I had feelings for her. I’d wanted to protect her before, but knowing she was carrying my child, that feeling was amplified.
No one would hurt her. No one would take her away from me.
“I’m going to try calling Liv again.”
I didn’t say anything, but I perked up, paying attention to Emmy and what she said if anyone answered. But no one did. She dialed the number again with a sigh. And this time, she left a message.
“Liv, where are you? I’m getting really worried about you.”
I had to admit, I was getting worried too. No news from Eli, and he hadn’t come back yet. The fact that he was still out looking for Liv made me think there was no one to find.
Or maybe there was and I had sent my little brother into a trap. Not that Eli couldn’t handle himself. He was ex-military too and was armed to the teeth, but I’d sent him out alone. I should have sent Mason with him, but I felt like we needed everyone here, with Antonio’s target.
“Why do you think she’s not answering?” Emmy asked, her eyes red from all the crying. “No, wait, don’t answer that - I don’t want to know.”
I stroked the hair back from her face. There was nothing I could tell her to make her feel better. I didn’t want to give her false hope or to lie to her, but it wasn’t looking good.
“We’ll figure it out. No matter what.”
“But how can you be sure you’ll save her? If they got her, they could kill her.”
“If they got her,” I stated matter-of-factly. “And that’s still an if at this point. If they got her, they will use her as bait. Killing her would defeat the whole purpose of kidnapping her. They want you, not her. I know that might not help you feel any better, but it’s true. Your friend will be used as bait, and we’ll find her - and then we’ll take them all down.”
“You sound very confident.”
“Because I’ve done it before. More times than I can count, and rarely has it gone differently.”
“Rarely?” she cocked an eyebrow. “So sometimes it doesn’t go the way you expect?”
“Sometimes, sure, but the motives were different. It was more for revenge than wanting to get to someone. Antonio wants you, Emmy,” I reminded her. “He clearly wants you badly, and he wants you alive, so they won’t be storming in with shotguns. He’s smart – he’ll make you come to him. And you wouldn’t do that if your best friend was dead.”
Emmy let out a shaky breath and wrapped her arms across her chest. “I don’t like this.”
“No, of course not, darlin’,” I said, scooting closer to her. “And I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
She leaned against me and closed her eyes as I stroked her cheek.
There was a knock on the door a minute later.
“Yes?”
“Eli’s back,” Sam said.
“Send him in,” I said.
A few seconds later, the door opened, and Eli entered the room. He was alone, and the look of defeat on his face brought out a sob from Emmy.
“I didn’t find anyone along the highway,” he announced morosely. “I went up and down, all the way into town, and I didn’t see a car waiting or a woman like you described.” He paused for a moment, then added, “I have bad news about the road out of here.”
“What?”
“It’s beginning to flood. We need to get out of here, or we won't have any way out.”
Shit. I knew things were getting bad, but it was going from bad to worse very quickly. “Alright, we’ll get ready to head out—”
Emmy’s phone rang, shutting me up. I turned my attention to her, and her face was filled with shock. “It’s Liv.”
“Hold on—” Before I could stop her, she answered the phone.
“Liv, where are you, I—”
Her face fell and turned as white as a sheet.
I could hear the voice on the other line, and it wasn’t Liv’s. It was a man’s.
Antonio.
Emilia
“Emilia, my love, you’ve given me no choice.”
“I’m not your love,” I growled despite the terror in my heart.
“Tsk tsk, you’re in no position to be unkind. You would hate to make me mad when I have your friend in my care,” he said, his voice sounding almost bored. “You’ve really upset me, Emilia. I’ve given you plenty of opportunities to play nice and live up to our deal.”
“You made a deal with my father. Not with me,” I reminded him fiercely. “We have no agreement, Antonio.”
“Well, what if we made one now?” he suggested, his voice oozing with fake charm. “Since I have someone you value. Clearly, I overestimated how you felt about your father – but Liv? She matters to you, yes?”
I wasn’t about to answer the question. I couldn’t let him know he had power over me. But my eyes filled with tears and my hands were shaking. I had almost completely forgotten about the guys until Graham touched my arm. He had written Speakerphone on a piece of paper. I nodded and fumbled with my phone, hitting the speaker button.
Antonio continued talking. “I know she’s important to you, Emilia. I found your Facebook account.” He chuckled, a menacing sound. “I saw the photos of the two of you together at her wedding. You were her Maid of Honor.”
“Is she okay?” I managed to mutter.
“She’s fine. For now. But if I don’t get what I want, I can’t make any promises. You know, I have a temper… and I always get what I want.”
Graham wrote, Speak to her.
“Let me speak to her,” I said. “I need to verify she’s alive.”
Graham gave me a thumbs up.
“Alright, alright,” Antonio said as if I was bothering him. “Here you go.”
There was some rustling in the background, and then a tiny voice. “Emmy?”
I couldn’t hold back the tears. I covered my mouth to drown out the sobs. “Yes, Liv. It’s me. Are you okay?”
“I’m ok. What’s going on, Emmy?”
“We’re—I mean, I’m going to get you out of there. You’ll be okay, I promise—”
I heard more rustling, followed by Antonio’s voice. “So you’re going to do everything I ask you to,” he said. “Or that’s the last time you’ll hear Liv’s voice, I can assure you of that.”
I looked at Graham. He wrote something down and showed it to me. Go along with him for now. I nodded. “What do you want, Antonio?”
“You know what I want, Emilia. I’ve wanted you since the moment I first laid eyes on you, and I knew it was only a matter of time until you’d be mine. I love you, Emilia. And I believe, in time, you will love me too.”
“This isn’t the way to win my love, Antonio,” I said quietly.
“What was that?”
Graham shook his head, and I sighed. “Nothing. Just tell me what you want me to do.”