AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His jaw ached from clenching it so hard as recollections of tender moments with Julia mixed with the fear he’d just witnessed on her delicate features.
He flexed his hands into fists to stop them from shaking. He’d give Lydia the flash drive. Whatever it took to get Julia back. He couldn’t be the reason anything happened to her.
But what assurances did he have that his crazed ex-wife would let her go? He had to be smart about his next move.
His thoughts swirled in a dizzying array as he imagined tragedy striking. He couldn’t live with himself if anything happened to Julia. He had to save her. There was no other option.
The elevator chimed, and the doors whooshed open. He stumbled out, the room spinning around him. Gala-goers flitted around him, chattering and laughing, their night going along as though nothing had happened. Meanwhile, his world crashed around him.
“Dad?” The voice sounded far away as he focused on the front desk.
Kyle’s face floated in front of him. “Dad? What happened? Where’s Julia?”
Grant shook his head as he pulled his mind to the present and focused on Kyle’s features.
Kyle’s brows knitted as he leaned closer. “Hello?” Kyle snapped his fingers in his face. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I…”
“Yeah?” Kyle asked.
Grant sucked in a breath, blinking his eyes rapidly as he tried to force his mind to say the words.
“Dad, where’s Julia?”
“She’s with Lydia.”
“Okay?” Kyle asked. “And you left her there?”
The haze finally left his mind as it snapped into action mode. “I had to. I…”
He shook his head as he dragged Kyle toward a corner of the lobby. “Lydia’s finally lost it. She has Julia at gunpoint.”
“What?” Kyle shouted.
“Shh,” Grant hushed him, “don’t give us away.”
His eyes scanned the room as he hurriedly passed along more information. “Lydia wants the flash drive with the top-secret Harrington Global project. She says she’ll give me Julia back if I give it to her.”
“You’re not considering not giving it to her, are you?”
“Of course not,” Grant said with a shake of his head, “but…”
“But what? This is Julia’s life. I can’t believe you’d even say that word.”
Grant shook his head, his eyebrows pinching. “This is Lydia. We can’t trust her. We need a backup plan. What if I give her the flash drive, and she takes Julia with her?”
“Good point. We can’t chance it. Should we call the police?”
“There’s no time for that. And I’m afraid of what Lydia will do if she thinks we called them.”
“I think we should at least notify them. What are her instructions?”
Grant swallowed hard. “Take the flash drive to the roof. She said something about leaving.”
“She’s got a helicopter coming. Unbelievable. She could definitely force Julia onto that. This is a nightmare.” Kyle ran a hand through his hair.
“I know. And we don’t have much time. I can’t keep her waiting too long, or she’s going to get suspicious.”
