Page 80 of Mile High Baby

God, it sure sounded like Alex.

“I don’t read minds. You want a scandal? A government investigation into his business? What?”

Okay, so maybe I misunderstood. Still, why was Alex entertaining this? Did he even know I was missing? Did he care?

“I should think that whatever happened to poor Snyder would work,” George said.

“He’s dead.”

I gasped. Oh, my God. They were talking about killing my father.

I wasn't able to hold down the bile that rose from my belly in horror. I rushed over to the trashcan in the corner, emptying the contents of my stomach. Alex wasn't a hero. He wasn't the man I thought he was. He wasn't the man my father thought he was. He had just made a deal with the devil to kill my father.

I had to get out to warn him. I started to back away when a hand closed over my mouth and I was bound tight against a hard body. I began to thrash.

“It’s Dax Sheppard. Saint Security,” he hissed quietly. “I need you to relax and keep quiet.”

Was I being saved? But he worked with Alex. I continued to struggle.

"We're not going to be able to get you out of here and to your father if you do not cooperate with us." His voice was terse, his hand tighter on my mouth.

"If you can keep quiet, I'm going to release you, and then we're going to get out of here. Do you understand?"

What alternative did I have? Maybe they worked with Alex. Or maybe they figured out Alex wasn't good either. Either way, I was in the proverbial rock and hard place. I nodded against his hand.

Dax released me, and I whirled around, shocked at the three men in the room with me. I hadn’t heard them enter. What had they done to Guenther?

One man was over at the door. Dax guided me toward it. The other man, who I realized was Ian, came from the window to stand with us.

Dax nodded to the man at the door who’d been looking out as if he was looking for Guenther. He nodded to Dax.

“We’re heading out, moving quickly. Keep up and don’t make a sound,” Dax said.

Dax ushered me out behind the unknown man and Ian. He hurried me down the hall and through a door that led to a back stairway. We proceeded down two sets of stairs and stopped at the door as the first man looked through it. With another wave, he ushered us through and down another flight of stairs to what I determined was the employee entrance from the garage.

We’d made it this far, but I held my breath. Surely, Pitney had men guarding exits. But the next thing I knew, I was in a beat up old car, lying in the backseat as it pulled out of the garage.

I lay, stunned. This wasn’t the kind of experience I’d ever expected to have.

Several minutes later, Ian looked over the front seat. "Are you okay?”

I nodded. "Just a little bit in shock, I guess."

Dax handed me a bottle of water.

I took a sip. "How did you know where I was?"

Ian smiled. "That's our job."

I drank my water, thinking about whether or not to ask them about Alex. "Is my father safe? Mr. Pitney wants him dead."

"Everything's going to be fine,” Dax said, paying more attention to the streets than to me or the others in the car.

Several minutes later, we pulled into my father's garage. Someone must have alerted my father that I was coming as he met me at the elevator. I threw my arms around him.

"I want to throttle you for pulling a stunt like that. But I'm so happy to have you home." He held me tight. I’d never been so happy to be home and safe with my dad.

"I'm so sorry." Now that I was safe, the adrenaline dropped and the tears and the shakes overwhelmed me.