Bowles, Jan - In Debt to the Dom [Guilty Pleasures 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Free

threat, he moved closer to Simone and held a knife against her throat. Simone struggled, and Maddie could just see a trace of blood ooze from beneath the blade.
    A scream left her lips at the same time as Simone’s.
    “Call the cops, she’s dead. Fail to deliver the money on time, she’s dead.” He walked closer to the screen. “Wire five hundred thousand dollars to this account.” He held up a number. “Do it by midnight.”
    Then the screen went black, and Maddie, unable to catch her breath, literally fell to the floor.
    How could she pull this off? Surely she had to call the cops. Her hands shook as she crawled over to the easy chair and collapsed into it, her heart pounding.
    Her secretary knocked on the door and walked in. When she saw her trembling demeanor, she rushed to her side. “I thought I heard a noise. Are you all right, Maddie?”
    She fought for composure. “Yes, Kim, I’m okay. I just went a little dizzy, that’s all.” The kidnappers’ words filled her head. Tell no one . “I’ll be fine in a minute or two.”
    “I’ll get you some water.” Kim went to the cooler, filled a Styrofoam cup, then handed it to her.
    Fear and anxiety crippled her thoughts, leaving her in a mindless stupor. This couldn’t be happening. What if they killed Simone? No, she wouldn’t even go there.
    Her sister must have mentioned her line of work to some undesirable people. She’d been mixing with the wrong crowd for some time now.
    An icy hand gripped her once more, constricting her breathing. Simone had looked so scared. What was happening to her right now? Were they abusing her? Or worse still—no, she wouldn’t even contemplate that. Surely, she had to do as they asked. If she did as they wanted, would they release her, or would they come back asking for more money?
    If only the sale of her house had gone through, she might have been able to cobble the money together. This was the biggest dilemma of her life. Would Goldstein Rivers lend her the money? She guessed not. Would they notice if she wired them the money? If they found out, her career would be lost, but at least her sister would still be alive.
    She picked up the phone then replaced it. Tell no one.

    * * * *

    With no word from her sister, and one long sleepless night, Maddie arrived early at the office of Goldstein Rivers. Thankfully the doors opened at six in the morning.
    Once inside the foyer, she walked quickly across the marble tiled floor to the bank of elevators waiting to whisk her to the thirtieth floor.
    All night she had repeatedly dialed her sister’s cell phone and home phone numbers. There had been no answer.
    Maybe there would be a message waiting on her desk—something to give her hope.
    When she reached her office, she unlocked the door and stopped dead in her tracks. Her computer was missing.
    The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention as the most gut-wrenching, sinking feeling invaded her thoughts, paralyzing her with fear and anxiety. Did Goldstein Rivers know about the transfer of money? Almost immediately, her stomach churned, and she rushed headlong into the corridor, desperate to reach the restroom. She only just made it in time.
    After clinging to the toilet bowl and retching uncontrollably, she washed her face, splashing herself with cold water. She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she cleaned herself up with a dry towel.
    Thief .
    Her face appeared pasty, and she hadn’t even bothered putting makeup on that morning. She was too busy worrying about her sister to bother with that. Her eyelids looked puffy from the lack of sleep and the constant tears she’d shed.
    Think, Maddie, think, Maddie, for God’s sake, think.
    Her mind whirled with all sorts of useless information. Then a thought surfaced from the darkest depths, bringing light and warmth.
    She’d been onto maintenance for days now about her computer, which kept crashing. That must be it. They always performed maintenance during the night.