Stolen to Keep - Alexa Riley Page 0,25

the opposite direction and on top of my phone. I still think I’m going to pass out or vomit but I’m not sure which.

“If you run I’ll shoot you,” he says, and his words are pained.

I’m not going to run. I don’t have the strength and I’m not even sure I could stand right now. My hand wraps around the phone and with all that I have left inside me there’s one last thing I can do. That I need to do.

“Vaughn?” I say his name as I bring my phone to my ear. I think I hear him say mine but maybe I’m dreaming it. “I love you,” I whisper before I pass out.

Chapter Thirteen

Vaughn

I’m standing on the edge of the bridge waiting for the sun to set. The past few hours have been the longest and worst of my life, and I’m praying that soon enough this will all be over and I’ll have Berkley back in my arms.

Berkley.

That phone call with her screaming and then telling me she loves me before the line went dead almost killed me. I don’t have any reassurance that she’s still alive, but I’m clinging to hope. Hope that she would fight to stay alive long enough to get back to me. That my will is strong enough for the both of us.

I hear the sound of faint laughter and see a couple on a date a good distance away. They’ve got a picnic blanket spread out and are drinking wine. My mind changes the image to Berkley and me together, and I wonder what her face would look like in the sunset. If her hair would glow like it did when I watched her walk on the beach. Would she smile at me like she did when she woke up in my arms?

The couple is too far away to hear anything if I called out to them, and on the other side I see a group of people playing soccer. This isn’t a secluded park by any measure and I have no doubt Guzik did this by design. If there are a lot of witnesses then the chance things go badly is slim. There are also easy ways for him to disappear into a crowd if it does.

The automatic lights come on around the park as the sun sets. I can see the couple is packing up their basket and then I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.

In the distance I see Berkley, with a man beside her holding her close. I’m guessing that’s Amos. He’s got his arm wrapped around her and his other hand at her side holding what I can only assume is a gun. I step forward on the bridge and Guzik appears with his hands in front of him. The bridge is only about fifteen feet or so long, but it’s too much distance for me.

“That’s close enough,” he says coolly as he moves beside Berkley and Amos on the other side of her. “Did you come alone?”

“You’ve had your scouts here for hours. You tell me.” I clench my fists at my side, desperate to get to my girl.

“I see you did your homework. My men reported you arrived alone, so you must be smarter than you look.” He smiles at me like we’re old friends and he’s not a criminal.

“You okay, sweet thing?” I look Berkley right in the eyes and she swallows hard before she nods. “I’m going to get you out of here just as soon as I can.”

The man holding Berkley grunts as he holds her tighter and I think she may have just elbowed him. I want to tell her to be still but also I want to tell her to rip his throat out.

“How touching.” Guzik rolls his eyes as he enters in some numbers on his phone. “I have the wire codes. Let’s get this over with.”

I hold up my tablet with what he needs on it. “Send her over and it’s all yours.”

He makes a tsking sound as he shakes his head. “I think we’ll make sure this goes through first.”

I take a step toward him as he walks to me and we end up meeting halfway. “There’s no need to threaten her. I told you I’d give you whatever you wanted in exchange for her.”

“I hope she’s worth it.” His smile is greasy and I want to rip it off his face.

I keep my eyes on Berkley while he takes the tablet and