Chapter 107
Chapter 107
AARON
Three days. One hundred million. No cops.
It wasn’t a ransom, it was a challenge. A fucking dare. And I was eady to break every rule in the book to end it.
1 vouchers
We moved fast. I wired the funds from three separate accounts rough four shell corporations. No red flags. No digital fingerprints. Cleaner than God’s conscience. The cash was already being packed into matte-black duffels by men whose hands had known war. Connor managed it with surgical precision. Colton oversaw the decoys.
Jane’s face was tight with fury as she slammed her laptop shut. ignal bounced through five proxies in Eastern Europe. Burner. Call lasted ten seconds. Untraceable p>
“Fuck,” I muttered, jaw clenched.
“But there’s a pattern,” she added, tapping furiously. “Time stamps. Pings. A five-second lag between tower hops. They were still in the city when the call went out p>
“Good,” I said, turning to Connor and Colton. “We prep the drop. Full perimeter lockdown. Use drones, thermal scans, dogs -hell, bring satellites if you can. When they come for the mone p>
“They don’t leave breathing,” Colton interrupted, eyes like sharpened steel.
“No,” I corrected. “They do, I want answers p>
The drop site was an abandoned train yard just beyond the Brox-rusted, forgotten, perfect. We placed the bags exactly as instructed: under the overpass, no cops in sight.
But our people were everywhere. Embedded. Watching.
Then, movement.
A beat-up Dodge wheezed into view.
One man stepped out. Greasy hair. Scarred cheek. Ugly swagger
Billy.
I saw red.
Connor leaned in. “That him p>
“The same bastard who tried to corner Venus at her old place,” growled.
Colton’s hand hovered over his gun. “Let’s bury him p>
“No,” I snapped. “We take him alive p>
Billy grabbed the bag, scanned the shadows, turned to leave
That’s when our vans closed in.
My team swarmed him. Guns raised. Commands shouted.
He ran.
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Of course he did.
Connor tackled him like a freight train. Fist to ribs. Knee to spine. Billy hit the dirt, howling.
Colton dragged him up by the collar. “You’re done p>
We threw him in the back of an armored SUV and drove to a secure location off-grid and merciless.
The room was white. Cold. Sterile.
Billy was cuffed to a chair, lip split, eye swelling.
He sneered. “You got money, Sinclair. But no real power p>
<59%8
I leaned in. “You should pray I stay rich. Because the moment op caring about money. I start caring about pain p>
He spat blood. “Go fuck yourself p>
I slammed my fist on the table. “Where. Is. She p>
Silence.
Connor folded his arms. “We know you didn’t do this alone p>
Colton added, “We know about Dain. Just tell us where p>
Still nothing.
Then I pulled a photo from my coat pocket.
Venus.
I slammed it in front of him.
“You hurt her. And you think I won’t bury you for that p>
He flinched. Just a twitch. But I saw it.
“She was at the old warehouse,” he muttered. “Harbor district. North end. Unit 19C. Place got raided last year. Figured no one would look twice p>
We didn’t wait.
Colton, Connor, and I raced there.
It was empty.
But not untouched.
Chains. Dirty mattress. Water bottles. Her hoodie.
Then I saw it.
The necklace I gave her before London.
Still warm.
My knees hit concrete.
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“Venus”
Colton looked around, jaw tight. “They moved her, but not far.his wasn’t a permanent site”
“She was just here,” I said, voice raw. “She’s close p>
He knelt beside me. “Then we don’t stop. Not until she’s in your arms again p>
I closed my fist around the necklace.
She wasn’t gone.
She was leaving breadcrumbs.
She was fighting.
And so was I.
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The Next Day
No sleep. No peace. No fucking patience.
We handed Billy to the cops. Not because I trusted them, but because scared men talk. And prison scares even the boldest
cowards.
Then came the surprise:
Dain.
Caught pacing near the drop site like a rookie. Leather jacket, twitchy hands, eyes darting.
Cops picked him up without a fight. Dragged him in. Sat him in a room next to Billy.
Colton nearly lost it. That was his sister’s supposed father. The man who helped put her in ropes. We had to force him out of the room.
I stood behind the one-way glass, arms crossed.
“You were at an active ransom scene, Mr. Astor,” the detective sad.
Dain scoffed. “I was out for a walk p>
“At 2 a.m.? In an abandoned train yard p>
He shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep p>
The detective dropped a folder. “You know who else can’t sleep Victims of kidnapping. She’s your daughter p>
“She’s not my fucking daughter p>
His mask cracked. Slightly. A vein bulged in his neck.
But he didn’t fold. Not yet.
Not until the police got the call.
Connor.
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#svorbere
He stormed in with a USB in hand and security trailing behind im like a shadow army. He tossed it on the detective’s desk.
“Proof. Follow the money,” he said.
Bank transfers. Offshore accounts. Traced. Clean, but not clean enough.
The detective squinted. “Who wired this p>
Connor frowned. “We don’t know. That’s the problem p>
Jane had torn through firewalls. Colton’s teams chased shadows in Zurich, the Caymans, Hong Kong. Every trail went dark.
Then came a break.
An officer stepped out of Billy’s room. Notes in hand.
“He cracked. A little p>
“Talk to me,” I said.
“Same burner contacted both Billy and Dain. No names. Just instructions p>
“What instructions p>
“Grab the girl. Hold her. No harm. Just confinement until the money came through. Then deliver her p>
“And then p>
“Then they got greedy. Wanted more. Tried to extort both parties p>
Colton hissed. “Fucking parasites p>
“Did Billy say where she is now?” I asked.
“Claims he doesn’t know. Says someone else took her after the handoff p>
Connor said what we were all thinking. “So the person who ordered the kidnapping took her personally p>
The officer nodded. “Looks like it. We’re still digging p>
And so were we.
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Ruby Walker
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby’s writing style is bold and irresistible—perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.