Page 76 of The Billionaire's Angel

If I were in his shoes, I’d be furious. I don't know if I’d understand. I'd like to think I would, but the idea of Gage putting himself in danger turned my stomach. I understood why he was angry, why he might not forgive me, but I had to doit.

I couldn't let Anthony hurt Amelia any more than he already had. Maybe he would shoot me. It was possible, but I was pretty sure that wasn't his plan. I doubted he'd guess I'd called for help. Anthony would think I'd done as I was told, too scared and too stupid to defyhim.

I was scared, but I wasn't stupid. And I was done with doing what I wastold.

Amelia had been right. I'd endured, and I'd waited for a chance. My patience had been rewarded, and I'd gotten that chance when Anthony had played dead. I wasn't giving itup.

If Anthony wanted me back badly enough to kidnap Amelia Winters, he wasn't going to stop. This had to end now, and I wouldn't let it end with Amelia's death. Not if I could helpit.

My hands were shaking, and I felt sick to my stomach, but I knew what I had to do. I looked down at the tablet Cooper had shoved into my hands. On it was a rough sketch of the garage, showing the lines of sight from the windows and Amelia'sposition.

The rear window, where Cooper's guy kept watch on Amelia, was the only one without a camera. Probably because the approach was blocked by another building and the window was high on the wall. Anthony must have assumed no one could get up thereanyway.

Gage would. As I studied the sketch, I saw exactly where I needed to move Anthony so Gage could take hisshot.

We got there with thirteen minutes to spare. Cooper stopped the SUV two blocks away, behind a midsize tan sedan. A man dressed in black combat gear got out of the sedan and walked to the driver side door of Cooper'sSUV.

Cooper rolled down the window and accepted a set of keys and the man in combat gear jogged off. Cooper handed me the keys and said, “We can’t approach from the front. We’re going to leave you here. Get in the sedan, count to a hundred, and drive up two blocks. The garage will be on your right. Number fifteen eighty-two.”

I nodded and took the keys, unfastening my seatbelt. I turned to face Gage before I got out. His eyes finally met mine, and their remote expression chilled my achingheart.

“I love you,” Iwhispered.

He didn't answer. Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and I blinked, forcing them back. This wasn't the time. I could fall apart later. First, I had to save Amelia and hopefully,myself.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Sophie

Iclimbeddown from Cooper's tall SUV, going through his instructions in my head as I walked calmly to the beige sedan and climbed behind the wheel. I counted slowly, hearing the SUV pull back into the street and driveaway.

I reached one hundred and turned the key, my heart pounding but my handssteady.

The engine turned over smoothly, and I drove down the street. Exactly as Cooper had said, number fifteen eighty-two was on my right, an abandoned garage, the bays closed, the front windows papered over, weeds growing through the cracks in the parkinglot.

I parked the sedan and left it unlocked, gripping the keys tightly in my hand. Knowing I was being watched, I straightened my spine and marched to the frontdoor.

It helped knowing that Cooper's men were somewhere nearby. That Gage might already be in position. A car passed on the street behind me, reminding me that while the area wasn't heavily trafficked, neither was it deserted. Anthony would want me inside the garage. Maybe I could use that to get Ameliaout.

I knocked on the door. No answer. I pushed the heavy glass door open and propped it with my foot, keeping the other foot outside, squinting into the dimly lit room. With the glass door and front windows papered over, the only light came from the bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling and the small, square window high on the back wall. Amelia sat duct taped to a folding chair in the center of theroom.

Anthony stood a few feet behind her, pointing a gun at the back of her head. When she saw me, Amelia's expression shifted from scared to irritated. I was sure that if Anthony hadn’t taped her mouth shut, she would've started yelling at me. As far as I could tell, she was unharmed except for swelling on the side of hercheek.

“Come in, and shut the door,” Anthony commanded. I shook myhead.

I held up the car keys and tossed them into the parking lot. They landed with a click of metal on pavement and skidded across the cracked surface, the winter sun catching the grooves and flashing in my eyes. I looked at Anthony and said, “Let her go, and I'll comeinside.”

“You come inside, and I'll let hergo.”

I couldn't pull off casual. I was too scared, and Anthony could smell fear like a shark could smell blood. I shrugged anyway. Now that I was inside, the layout wasn't exactly like the sketch Cooper’s men had sent him, but it was closeenough.

Amelia was just inside target range, and, standing behind her, Anthony was out of sight. If he moved toward me, he'd be right where Gage wantedhim.

“I'll let her go when I'm ready,” Anthony said. “Step inside and shut that door or I'll slit her throat right in front ofyou.”

His free hand slipped into the pocket of his dress pants, and he withdrew something long and black. Pressing a button on the side, a blade snicked up, the metal gleaming in the light from the bulb over Anthony's head. I stepped into the garage and let go of thedoor.

“I don't understand why you're making this so difficult, Sophie,” he said in his cool, evenvoice.