Fake Boyfriend - Miley Maine Page 0,63

anywhere else in their body.

“Douglas, how much money do you need, and how can I make that happen?” I asked him.

A sinister grin lit up his face. “I’m glad you asked. It’s high time we got down to business.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Loren

Holy shit, what had I done? I was wrong about Douglas. Dead wrong. Jackson had tried repeatedly to warn me, and I hadn’t listened. And why hadn’t I?

I’d barely known Douglas. He wasn’t related to me. He wasn’t my friend. But I’d defended him, in an irrational way. Why? Maybe because I was trying so hard to prove something to Jackson, but I wasn’t even sure what that was anymore.

And he’d told me not to go outside to help Marie. I hadn’t listened, and now I’d put Jackson in danger. I’d exposed him and his cabin, which was supposed to be his private sanctuary, to this threat that was because of me, and my insane family.

If I’d stopped to think, and not just react to his telling me what to do, then we might be inside right now, planning how to handle this instead of standing out here with a gun pointed at our heads. By a crazy person who was totally unhinged.

If I lived through this, I was going to work on how I reacted to stuff, and not just go crazy when someone with expertise told me what to do. I might not do what they suggested, but I was going to listen from now on.

I’d probably put Marie’s life in danger too, because Jackson had chased me out here instead of stopping to come up with a plan.

But he wasn’t totally off the hook. He’d obviously had reason to suspect Douglas was behind our kidnapping. I’d been half-asleep, but aware of parts of his conversation over the phone last night while we drove. He’d been so cagey about it, not wanting to tell me any details. And he should have told me.

I’m sure he had good reasons, such as my ridiculous defense of Douglas earlier, and my outburst when I called Jackson paranoid. But still. he should have told me. I just hoped I’d have the chance to hash all this out with him.

Jackson was so calm while he talked to Douglas. “How much money do you need?” Jackson asked.

“I want ten million.”

My eyes bugged out, but Jackson’s face remained passive. “Loren, do you have access to that kind of money?” Jackson asked.

“Yes. My account is unrestricted. I can wire up to five million at a time, with a limit of ten million in one day.” Wait a minute. I glared at Douglas. “Did you know that? Did you find out exactly how much money I could get?”

“Of course,” he said with a scoff. “I’d already wasted four months of my life trying to coax money out of this bitch, only to find out that she didn’t have any to give me.”

Poor Marie. She didn’t say anything. All the fight had gone out of her, and her eyes were downcast. She was a really haughty person, who was often self-involved and unkind, but she didn’t deserve this. Although maybe she’d change. Sometimes extreme experiences brought out the best in people. I was relying on it to bring out some of my finer points too.

Jackson looked around. “Should we expect the police, FBI, or secret service to show up here with a helicopter or a SWAT Team? Do Marie or Loren’s parents know what’s going on?”

Douglas cackled. “No. They don’t have a fucking clue. I told them you and Loren ran off to fuck on a beach, and they were delighted. They think we were so inspired by your carefree lovemaking that we ran off early for our honeymoon.” He bared his teeth at me. “So no. No authorities to show up with their pesky bullhorn and start making demands.”

The bottom dropped out of my stomach. My parents hadn’t even known to look for me. Thanks to the story I’d told of my adventure camping with my hot new boyfriend, I was now free-spirited as far as they were concerned, and they wouldn’t think anything about me running off at the end of a wedding.

It could have been days or weeks before anyone knew I was missing.

“Okay great. We won’t have to deal with that complication. Loren, do you know your passwords to get into your accounts?” Jackson asked.

I nodded.

“Okay great.” Jackson motioned toward the door. “Why don’t we go in? I have a computer inside, and I can