“Grant? Who’s Grant?”

Simon exhaled loudly. “He’s the guy who attacked Kiera.”

That’s why the voice out front sounded so familiar. It was him. Olivia’s heart raced, her chin quivering from the memory of Kiera’s lifeless body. Did the same fate await her?

“Libby, please. I don’t know what else to do. If you don’t come with us, I’m dead. I swear to you, I will find a way to help you, but you have to come with me. To save me and yourself. Do you understand?”

A tear fell down her cheek. “Yes. I understand.” She just hoped that the clues she left were enough.

“We need to go. I’m going to have to be rough with you, but I promise I will try to find a way to help you. Okay?”

She nodded her head and Simon led her down the hallway, still grasping her waist rather roughly.

“Wait. One last thing.” She released herself from Simon’s hold and headed back to the kitchen. Grabbing her cell phone, she noticed that her last text never went through.

“Leave the phone, Libby,” Simon said softly. “Put it down. They can track it.”

Olivia nodded in defeat, placing her cell back on the kitchen island. Her eyes brimming with tears at the finality of it all, she took the engagement ring off her hand and placed it on top of a photo of her and Alexander sitting on the rocks by the house. She hoped that with those clues, he would know where she would be and the location of the hidden documents. She said a silent prayer that he would understand everything and that he would get there in time to save her.

Simon grabbed her roughly after she walked back to the hallway. Her hands shook at the thought that she was about to sit in a car for two hours with a man who probably wanted to kill her. “I’m so sorry, Libby,” he whispered as he walked her through the hallway and down the stairs leading to the back door.

“Simon, wait.” Olivia stopped, her voice shaking from fear. “We can run. Both of us. Right now. You don’t have to do this.”

His eyes searched her face, contemplating her words. A car door slammed loudly, startling them both. Simon knew it was useless. There was no way out, but he was going to do his best to help her. He put his finger up to his lips, giving Olivia a compassionate look, as if saying what words alone couldn’t. “I’m so sorry. Just go along,” he whispered. “I’ll save you. I promise. Even if I have to put my own life on the line, I will make sure you get out of this alive.”

Her entire body began to tremble as Simon picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

“What the fuck is the hold up, Simon?” Grant roared, banging on the back door.

“Nothing. I’ve got the bitch,” Simon growled. “Let’s get a move on.” He opened the door and walked to the desolate back alley where a sole black sedan waited. He threw Olivia into the backseat before getting into the passenger seat.

Olivia looked up as the large man got in behind the wheel and turned around.

“Evening, beautiful,” he said, licking his lips.

“Don’t even think about touching her, Grant,” Simon said forcefully before turning his attention back to Olivia. “Now, Livvy, tell me. Where to?” He pointed a gun at her head, a solemn look on his face.

“Chatham. On the Cape,” she replied softly.

“That’s a good girl.” Grant grabbed her ankle and ran his fingers up her bare legs. The contact made Olivia sick to her stomach. She wished she had worn more than just a sundress.

Simon fished his cell phone out of his pocket, still keeping his gun trained on Olivia.

“Donovan, it’s Simon. We have the girl and we’re on our way to Chatham.”

“Good news. Do not do anything until backup arrives. We cannot have a repeat of the last time.”

“Even more backup?”

“My client is on his way. He wants to help take care of the girl.”

Shit, Simon thought.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAOS

ALEXANDER POURED THROUGH EMPLOYMENT records all afternoon and into the evening. He was looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary but, so far, he had come up empty. He had sent Olivia’s parents’ financial records to one of his top forensic accountants to start combing through. He hated involving anyone else in what was going on because he didn’t know who he could trust, but he didn’t see any alternative. He couldn’t make any sense out of the records so he hoped someone else could.

“Fun way to spend a Thursday night, huh, Alex?” Carol commented several hours later, breaking the deafening silence that had occupied his office all afternoon.

“Sure is,” he replied, looking up from the papers in front of him. “Thanks again for all your help, Carol. I know you’d rather be spending your time with Dave.”

She smiled. “No problem. Anything to help you out. I’m certainly looking forward to collecting on this debt you owe me, though,” she joked before turning back to the papers in front of her, her brow furrowing as she scanned the file in front of her.

“What? Did you find something?” Alexander asked, noticing her expression. His heart started racing as he saw Carol flip frantically through various documents.

“Shit…” she said quietly, not wanting to believe what she was reading.

Alexander rushed over to the couch, looking at the name of the employee record she had been going through. “Carol,” he looked at her, his eyes pleading. “Please, tell me…”

“I’m sorry, Alex. Random small deposits adding up to a lot of money during the months leading up to Dad’s death, then nothing.”

He grabbed the file out of her hands and began flipping through the pages. “No. It can’t be. She was questioned about it after Dad’s death, and during each of her quarterly background checks. It’s right here in the file. It’s part of her divorce settlement.”

Carol peered at the papers in Alexander’s hands, flipping through the file with him. “How do you explain the timing, though? She stopped getting that money right after Dad’s death, and then the suspicious deposits started again around the same time that you met Olivia. It could just be a coincidence, but the timing is perfect.”

“FUCK!” Alexander shouted, his voice panicked. “Call Dave!” he ordered Carol before bolting out of his office. “Martin! Let’s go!”

~~~~~~~~~~

WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, Martin slammed on the brakes in front of Olivia’s house. Alexander was furious when he saw Marshall sitting behind the wheel of her own SUV, keeping watch over the house as if nothing was wrong. He jumped out of the vehicle, running toward the driver’s side, and pulled her from the seat, slamming her against the hard metal exterior. The window shattered from the force of the impact. “What the fuck did you do?!” He glared down at her, his voice full of rage.