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This was not the man she’d grown up with. No longer was he the man whose pool she’d swum in as a child. No longer was he the proud uncle who had attended her high school and college graduations.
That person was long gone.
Instead, a cold, hard killer stared at her.
Her body trembled from the force of the pain rushing through her. She swayed for a second, her body threatening to fall over. She fought to stay sitting up, not wanting to appear weak.
“You had plenty of choices,” she whispered. Tears slid down her face, and she no longer cared. If he was going to kill her, he might as well do it now. She would fight to the death before she let him take her from the hospital. “My father trusted you.”
“Your father was an idiot. I had big plans, and he just shot them down. I was ready to take our business to the next level.”
“Well, it looks like you have a little more pressing matter at hand. Breaking out of jail won’t help your case—”
“You don’t worry about me, Aspen. I won’t be standing trial,” Ray cut her off. “You think you are the only one who is good at hiding money?”
Her quick intake of breath had a chuckle spilling from his lips. His eyes narrowed on her.
“What are you talking about?” Her voice was just a decibel over a whisper. Her mind raced. She had been careful over the years. What she’d stashed had taken years for her to accumulate. It had always been her rainy day fund. She always believed that one should save money in offshore accounts.
Just in case.
“Oh, don’t try to play dumb, Aspen. I know you are extremely intelligent. It took me a while, but I finally found proof that you have been putting money away—”
“There’s no crime in that,” she snapped. Her leg throbbed, and her breathing rate increased. She was beginning to feel light-headed and knew she was going to be in trouble.
“Doesn’t matter. You’re going to give that money to me.”
“I am not!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “You’re trying to tell me that you have nothing? No money?”
“They stripped everything from me!” he screamed. He paced the floor.
The thugs shifted uncomfortably around the room as they watched him.
“Talk about a system that brags about the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ theory. I haven’t even got to trial yet and they’ve already convicted me. All of my bank accounts have been frozen. Even my offshore accounts can’t be accessed. But yours, they will be mine. Because of you—”
“Me?” she shrieked. The bastard couldn’t believe everything that had happened to him was her fault? “This is all your doing!”
“And I’m going to fix it,” he taunted, pausing before her.
Ray snapped his fingers, and she watched with dread—one of his men approached. He was tall and solid muscle. His dark skin was roughened with scars above his right eye and one on his lower lip. His beard was thick, and his eyes were black as midnight. She swallowed hard as he pulled his gun from his holster.
“This is not a request. You are going to transfer the money to me. I’m leaving this fucking country, and you are going to be my ticket out of here so I can disappear.”
“Why, so then you’ll kill me afterwards?”
“Kill you?” Ray scoffed. “You’re already dead.”
A fear like she’d never known gripped her. She was trapped between a rock and hard place. Either she refused and they killed her now, or she give him what he wanted and she died later. Either way, she didn’t see him allowing her to remain alive much longer.
“Now stand,” Ray ordered.
Her gaze swept the large room, and she sent up a prayer that Declan and his men would swoop in and save her.
Aspen swallowed hard. She blinked a few times before scooting to the edge of the bed. Her bare toes touched the floor while fire shot up her leg. She bit back a whimper, not wanting to show her pain. Ray’s man turned his gun on her, and she had no other choice but to stand. Putting her weight on her good leg didn’t help once she was on her feet.
Her body shook, and a warm substance trailed down her leg. Her body swayed, and the room darkened.
Ray released a curse, and she lost her fight with consciousness and slipped into a dark abyss.
