“So stop squirming and focus on calming down so you can think straight.”
“Do men really believe telling a woman tocalm downactually works? Because let me set the record straight— It doesn’t.”
He bit back a rare curse, not liking that she unnerved him enough to break his composure. He’d only cursed a few times before his mother had heard him, quickly sat him down, and gently made clear the fact that men cursed when they lacked language skills.
He didn’t believe that to be true in the slightest, but in honor of his mother, especially after her death, he tried his best to keep the foul language under wraps. “Quinley, come on. You need a plan. Focus and figure out your next move.”
A low peal of laughter emerged from her, the sound carrying more than a hint of hysteria. He shot a frowning glance at her.
The expression she wore, the pain in her voice, called to a level of empathy he wasn’t sure he still possessed until that moment. “Look, we’re almost to the rentals building. The plan was for me to drive the limo back to the building to swap vehicles so I can get on the road. Gage is driving the VIPs home once he gets their call. Since there isn’t going to be a wedding, I’m guessing the protocol would be to go ahead and let the guests eat the reception dinner?”
“I suppose so,” she murmured.
“Well, let’s say that’s happening right now. Everyone is getting settled for the food and cake. The VIPs will probably stay to eat and get the gossip on what’s happened because they’re human and nosy. So we’ll leave the limo for Gage, grab my truck to throw off whoever’s behind us, and maybe by then you’ll have a better idea of where you want me to drop you off on my way out of town.”
The sun sank fast with a blazing array of colors, and thankfully the sky had completely darkened by the time he wove them through one of the larger beach communities on the island.
His phone began to buzz in his pocket, and he dug it out, only then realizing he’d missed a number of calls from Cole and Ana.
He held the phone so Quinley could see Cole’s name on the screen. “What do I tell him?”
“Nothing. I don’t want to talk to Ana,” she added quickly though quietly.
Too quietly in his opinion. As animated as she’d been since hopping into the limo, he really did think she was going into shock.
“Maybe… Maybe he won’t know you are the getaway guy who drove off with me.”
Considering the number of calls he’d somehow missed, Elias figured that was highly unlikely. Especially when he thought of the security team, witnesses, and cameras around the hotel. He pressed the button and put it on speaker.
“What were youthinking?” Cole growled out the moment the call connected. “Do you have any idea of the mess you’ve put us in? Bring her back, Elias.”
Quinley shook her head in an emphatic response, her eyes filling with tears she didn’t shed as she silently begged him not to follow Cole’s order. Not that he would. “Yeah, I’m not into kidnapping. Unlike the dudes who were chasing after her when she left the hotel.”
“They were her personal security, not kidnappers.”
“I guess the point is that they would’ve stopped her when she wanted to leave. She jumped into the limo with me, Cole. I didn’t make her.” He reluctantly left the quiet, darkened side streets and ventured onto the road running alongside the gas station located near the pier.
Cole’s exhale sounded loud and long over the speaker. “Where are you? Ana and I will come meet you and get Quinley.”
Quinley narrowed her gaze and shook her head firmly again.
“I don’t think she’s agreeable.”
“Elias, this is spiraling fast. Security left minutes after you did. You’re both being hunted.”
“I figured as much.” He made a right to pull onto the lot behind the convenience store and then rolled along the side of the rental building to stop beside his Gladiator.
“People are talking, and the media has gone into a frenzy. I’ve heard everything from her being a runaway bride, to her having an affair with her limo driver, to her being coercively kidnapped and held for ransom.”
“I only met her today, Cole.”
“The truth won’t matter if other stories are more profitable. This is going to come back to bite all of us if it’s not stopped. She needs to make a statement about her safety if nothing else.”
Elias looked at her but found Quinley staring at him and hyperventilating once more in her too-tight dress. “As soon as she’s safe, she’ll do that.”
“Elias, unlessyouwant to wind up as a suspect in a kidnapping, that statement needs to happen yesterday.”
“I got it. I hear you. It’ll get done.”
