Page 36 of Forever a Thief

Content with what I need to do, I start packing my suitcase. I need to check out and head back to the airport.

It doesn’t take long for me to get organized, and I catch myself staring at the rumpled bed where Savvy and I did so many wickedly delicious things to, for, and with each other. My phone starts ringing, jerking me out of the sexy daydream, and I scoop it off the nightstand. I’m hoping it’s Savannah, calling me from the plane, but I look down and frown when I see “Unknown.” Very few people have my number, so I answer. “Hello?”

“Hello, Laurent,” a male voice says. “I’m sitting here with your girlfriend and we decided to give you a call.”

My blood turns to ice. I recognize Adam Voss’s voice and I’m frantically trying to piece the situation together in my head. Savannah is currently flying back to San Diego, so how could she be sitting somewhere with him? Unless she never made it off the ground.

Fuck! Why didn’t I stay and watch to make sure the flight took off?

“I’m going to offer you a deal,” he states, all business, “and I suggest you take it. Otherwise, I promise you things will get very messy. Especially for Ms. Grant.”

“Let me talk to Savannah,” I demand. Maybe he’s lying and she’s not there. I wouldn’t put any level of fuckery past that asshole.

Instead of letting me speak to her, I hear her cry out in pain then call my name. And she calls for Rhys.

Every protective instinct in me flares to life. I want to reach through the phone and pull her into my arms. Then beat the hell out of Voss.

“Leave her alone!” I yell, fury radiating through every syllable.

I start pacing, anger and fear driving me back and forth. A horrible helplessness twists my gut, because I have no idea how to help her.

“Listen closely, Rhys,” he continues, sounding smug and dangerous at the same time. “Savannah is taking a little detour with me, and if you haven’t already guessed, we’re heading to Istanbul.”

Putain de merde! How is this happening?

“You’re going to meet us there with the book you stole from my library the night of the masquerade. Don’t try to deny it. Your man missed a security cam, and I caught you both on the footage.”

Shit. I stop pacing, cursing Ryder for his slip-up, and listen carefully to his demands.

“If you don’t come to the address I text you by noon tomorrow, your lady friend will blow up into tiny little pieces. Just like her restaurant did. A shame, too, because she is lovely.”

My hands fist and rage flows through my blood, making the room turn a hazy red. “Don’t you touch her, enculé,” I growl, sounding like a feral beast. I don’t know if Voss speaks French, so I translate for him. “Understand, motherfucker?”

“Bring the book,” he hisses, then he hangs up.

With a roar, I hurl my phone into the mattress and rake both hands through my hair. This is all my fault. I never should’ve dragged Savvy into my dangerous game. Getting her back safely is my first priority, and I can’t do it all by myself.

I need backup.

I need help.

I need Addie and her crew.

Grabbing my phone back up, I don’t waste a second, calling Addie and praying she answers. After a few rings, she picks up. “Hello, Laurent.”

And I break.

“Addie, I need your help! I’ll owe you whatever you want—anything—but I need you and your crew right now!” The words spew out of me, desperate and more than a little frantic. This is nothing like my usual theatrics, and I know Addison hears it.

She inhales swiftly, not exactly prepared. “Calm down and tell me what’s happening.”

There’s no way I can be calm. Not when that fucker has Savvy. “Voss took Savannah. He wants the book. They’re on their way to Turkey and… And I can’t do this alone. I—”

“We’ll help you. Breathe, okay?”

“I can’t fucking breathe!” My hand shakes, and my grip is so tight I’m surprised the phone doesn’t crack in half. “He’s going to kill her if I don’t give him the goddamn book!”

She starts talking to someone, and I hear voices in the background, but I’m too frazzled to figure out who. “Laurent, come to A-Squared. Hunter will fly us to wherever they’re taking Savannah. We will get her back.”