Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Fuck, I hate myself for putting her in danger, but it never crossed my mind that she would be targeted. Hell, I didn’t take this Rafferty prick seriously anyway because who does shit like this for a case of rare bourbon?
Regardless, it’s his liquor now and I’m going to bring it to him. I’m also not going to involve the police because he’s now threatening Sylvie and if paying my dad’s debt makes everyone safe, I’ll do it without a backward glance.
“Where do I make the delivery?”
“Louisville,” he replies. “I’ll text the exact address.”
“I’ll need two hours but if you hurt her, I will destroy you.”
“Relax, Mr. Mardraggon. She’s perfectly safe and will remain that way as long as you bring the bourbon.”
“You have a fucking gun pointed at her head,” I growl in rage at the bastard. “I don’t call that perfectly safe.”
“Time’s a ticking, Mr. Mardraggon. I’ll text the address.”
The line goes dead and I don’t waste a single moment. I blow out the candles I’d lit and I’m out the door, taking my G Wagon because I need more room than what the Ferrari offers.
It’s not to collect the bourbon first though.
I head out to Blackburn Farms.
♦
Knocking on the front door, I glance at my watch. It’s almost nine thirty, about fifteen minutes since I hung up with Rafferty. The lights are ablaze in the Blackburn ancestral home but I’ve never darkened this doorstep before.
I hear the sound of laughter from inside and then the door opens. Ethan has a wide smile on his face, clearly leftover from the laughter still echoing in a nearby room but it melts off the second he sees me.
Or rather, my expression, because he immediately asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Is Sylvie here?”
“Yeah… she’s sleeping.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder. “We’ve been hanging out with Marcie, my parents and my brothers playing cards.”
I grimace because the thought of having to deal with all the Blackburn brothers is not appealing but there’s no time to worry about that. I’m just glad Sylvie’s not around to hear this.
“Gabe,” Ethan barks, no trace of humor left from his family card night. “What’s wrong? Is Sylvie in danger?”
“No, it’s not Sylvie. It’s Kat.”
“What?” Ethan exclaims, and he starts to step out onto the porch.
“Your entire family better hear this,” I say, holding up a hand. Ethan halts but doesn’t invite me in. His indecision irritates the hell out of me. “It’s fucking urgent, Ethan.”
That seems to jar him and he scrambles back from the door. I push past him, following the sound of voices with Ethan hot on my heels. I find myself stepping into the kitchen where I find Fi, Tommy, Wade, Trey and Marcie sitting around the table with playing cards scattered about.
They freeze when they see me, Wade’s mouth actually hanging open.
It’s Trey who breaks the silence, his gaze going to Ethan who comes to stand beside me. “What’s this knucklehead doing here?”
“He’s here about Kat,” Ethan says.
“She’s at a meeting in Lexington,” Fi says in her Irish lilt. “Then she was going out with friends after.”
I shake my head. “She’s in trouble.” Christ, this is hard… I don’t even know where to start, but I can’t seem to start with the most important thing—that I love her. Instead, I launch into the story from the beginning, talking at breakneck speed to get it all out because every minute delay is another minute that Kat is sitting there in terror. “My dad was apparently gambling and bet a very rare case of bourbon in a game of poker. He lost and the man who held the marker sent some goons to try to collect from my dad. Except, it’s not his bourbon to give. It belongs to the company, so they came to me for collection and I refused. But they want to force my hand, so they kidnapped Kat tonight—”
“What the ever-loving fuck?” Ethan yells at me, both of his hands going to my chest and he shoves me viciously backward.
I take the stumble but correct myself, eyeing him warily. Every other Blackburn plus Marcie rise from the table in alarm. “If I take the bourbon to him, he’ll let Kat go. I’m on my way right now to get it, but I had to let you know what was going on. They said she’s safe and unharmed and they’ll let her go as soon as I bring them the case.”
Fiona takes a step forward, her voice soft and surprisingly calm. “I don’t understand… why would they be takin’ Kat?”
“And why would that matter to you?” Tommy says, his voice sounding like barely contained violence as he comes to stand beside his wife.
“Because we’re seeing each other,” I say, holding Tommy’s gaze. Say what you want about her having three overprotective brothers, it’s her father I owe the explanation to.