Once that is out of the way, we can go get Kiana.
Lawson will never be okay with our relationship, but it sounds like he’s had to take a really hard look in the mirror. He’s made mistakes. Some of them were the reason Kiana needed me to begin with. That has turned into something that he can’t stand in the way of, and even if he tries, I won’t let him.
One thing is for damn sure.
Diaz has no idea what kind of hell is coming his way.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kiana
“Make yourself comfortable.” A man who identified himself as Juan pushes me into a chair—hard enough for it to leave a few bruises. “Otherwise, I might have to rough up that pretty face the same way I did your boyfriend.”
Boyfriend? How does he know that? Were they watching us?
“That’s enough, Juan.” I hear a familiar face and look past Juan to see Mr. Diaz standing in the doorway. “Ms. Brooks is our guest—nothing more.”
“If I’m your guest, then I want to leave.” I narrow my eyes and pull at the restraints holding my wrists.
“You will. Just as soon as Mr. Ward delivers the money I’m owed.” Mr. Diaz nods.
Juan secures me to the chair, then leaves the room without saying anything else. Mr. Diaz walks closer. He’s no less imposing in the daylight than he is on a dark night on a dimly lit street.
“You and I had a deal.” I look up at him. “I know the one you made with Bram was a lot better than the one we had, considering I was barely scraping the surface with every payment I made.”
“You were paying what you could. I respected that and respected the lengths you were going to in order to earn that money.” Mr. Diaz pulls a chair over to sit down in front of me. “Bram’s deal was made in haste before I realized that he was capable of clearing the debt in one transaction, so now it’s time to renegotiate.”
“Do you really think kidnapping me is going to make him want to sit down at the table with you again?” I shake my head.
“I tried to get him to come to the table without taking such drastic measures, but he refused, so here we are. I don’t have any problem stacking the odds in my favor; it’s good for business.” His eye twitches. “All of this will be over tomorrow regardless. I’ll have my money, and you two can go live the rest of your lives together.”
I wish it were that simple. Mr. Diaz obviously has no idea that Bram nearly went bankrupt to buy my father’s shares of the company. I know how much my brother owed, and I know Bram would have paid it all at once if it was possible.
“What if he doesn’t bring the money? What then?” I fear his response.
“Well…” Mr. Diaz sighs and begins to stand up. “Then things get ugly, my dear.”
Mr. Diaz walks to the door and once it slams, I hear a lock click on the other side. It looks like I’m in one of the storage rooms of his club. There are a few empty boxes beside me. The room doesn’t appear to be one they care about based on the condition of the walls and floor. They’re grungy and downright filthy.
I pull at my restraints again. There’s no way I’m getting them off my wrists. Even if I could, getting myself free from the chair would be harder, and then I would have to deal with the locked door—it doesn’t look like it would even budge.
I’m trapped. The only one who can save me is Bram. I don’t believe he would leave me here to get hurt or die, but I don’t know what he’s going to do if he can’t come up with the money. Based on what Juan said, it sounds like they’ve already had one interaction that didn’t go Bram’s way.
Is that why I haven’t heard from him? What if he’s the one who is hurt? Maybe I was too quick to assume he was okay after the cops didn’t show up to arrest my father.
I really wish I could talk to Bram. There’s so much for us to clear up, and if I’m going to be walking the tightrope to heaven or hell, I’d like to know where we stand. Maybe that’s a foolish notion considering my current predicament, but I can’t help it. If he tries to come save me and something happens to him, I’ll never be able to forgive myself for dragging him into this mess to begin with.
He was just trying to do the right thing for his best friend’s daughter. This situation has gotten so out of control that it makes me sick. I tried to save my brother’s life and now I may end up losing someone else I care about.
Or I may not see the light of day again…
A couple of hours pass. I hear commotion on the other side of the door a few times, but it never opens.
The last place I need to be right now is trapped in my own thoughts. I’m scared for Bram, scared for myself—scared of what lengths Mr. Diaz will go to if Bram doesn’t show up with the money. Will he just hurt me? Will he hurt the rest of my family? I may have liberated myself from my parents, but I don’t want anything to happen to them.
What if the conversation we had this morning is the last one we’ll ever have? I know I hurt them—with words, just like the ones they used to wound me with.
The only solace I have is that Hudson may make it out of this unscathed. He’s completely dropped off the face of the
