Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 by Laura Burton (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

The Wolf and the Lamb

Harry spotted Emily in the crowd of well-dressed guests. He adjusted his tie nervously as he made his way through the people and waved to her. She glanced at him and finished her conversation with a bright smile before turning toward Harry with a look to kill.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes narrowed, and lips pressed tightly together.

“I’m looking for Julie,” he said, scanning the room for her familiar form.

“Oh, and what about Ebony?” Emily asked, crossing her arms with an unimpressed look.

“What about her? I’ve told her we’re not getting back together. She won’t be a problem,” he said. Emily gave him a look that said she wasn’t convinced. But there was no time. Now he was here, he needed to see Julie. To hold her hand and look into her amber-colored eyes. Tell her he loved her.

“You’ve just missed her. She left to call a cab a few minutes ago.”

Harry nodded and made to leave but Emily grabbed his arm; he tensed and surveyed the intense expression on her face.

“She’s my best friend, you know. If you hurt her again, I will kill you.”

“She’s lucky to have you,” he replied. Emily’s resolve broke as her lips curved upward.

Without another moment wasted, Harry rushed through the crowd of people and ran out onto the street. A line of cabs sat by the side of the road. He jogged alongside them peering in through the windows to catch a glimpse of Julie. At the corner of the street he looked left and right, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Sir, do you think this is a good idea?” Benjamin said, catching up to him.

“We can work through this. I can feel it. Besides, nothing is going to stop me trying. I love her, Benjamin. What else can I do?”

His phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket.

“Benjamin…” He lost his voice. A picture loaded on the screen of a woman tied up, wearing a purple gown with a brown sack over her head. He showed the phone to Benjamin, who took it out of his hands.

“See that graffiti on the wall? I know where that is,” he said. “Come on.” He gestured for Thomas, who opened the car door and the two of them climbed in. Harry’s hands were trembling and a tightness spread across his chest. He pulled out his inhaler and took a deep breath.

He didn’t listen to Benjamin giving Thomas directions, nor did he pay attention to the nausea rising from the pit of his stomach. He just stared at the image on his phone, with four accompanying words.

She dies at midnight.

This was it. No turning back now. Julie was in danger, and it was up to him to save her. No matter the cost.

The car pulled up alongside the Brooklyn Bridge.

“Down here,” Benjamin said, as they stumbled down the slippery path. The area was entirely deserted. It was the perfect place to take a hostage—only sewer rats came this far down to the drains. They rounded the corner and Harry saw two men standing next to a woman lying on the ground. Harry, pulled off his jacket and rolled his sleeves up. The men had black ski masks covering their faces, but there was no doubt who they were and what they wanted.

“What’s your price?” he asked. The woman twitched and made a muffled cry.

“One million. Each,” one of the masked captors said. He raised a gun to Harry, his finger on the trigger.

“Done. Now release her,” Harry said. The two men laughed.

“Not so fast, we want the money first.”

Harry dragged a hand through his hair.

“I don’t think you understand; I can’t just do an online transfer for that amount of money. I’d need to go into a bank.”

“You don’t understand. She dies at midnight if you don’t bring us the money.”

Harry grit his teeth. Jonas’ grin flashed across his mind’s eye. He wouldn’t stand for this. Whoever these people were, they knew Harry would roll over and do whatever they wanted. But who was to say they wouldn’t pull this stunt again next time they want more money? This needed to end. Harry took a step forward. The two men flinched. Both of them held a gun pointed at him now.

“Easy,” one of them warned, as Harry took another step.

“That’s close enough,” the other one said. Harry clenched his fists and blinked at the sight of the two masked men. The sound of his voice was unsure. He could hear his fear.

“Take that bag off her head. We can be more civilized that this.” Harry was less than two feet away from the men now. He watched one of the men hesitantly pull the sack and drop it on the wet cement. Julie’s blotchy face came into view; her platinum hair fanned across her cheeks and she blinked at him, adjusting her eyes to the streetlight.

“Are you all right?”

Julie stared at him, blinking, as if she was in shock or deciding whether this was a nightmare. She finally gave a nod. Harry turned to the men. One of them was watching Julie, while the other remained focused on Harry. He was close enough now that in one sweeping motion, he could disarm one man. The problem was, he wasn’t sure if he could be fast enough to deal with the other guy before Julie got hurt.

“The banks are closed, so we’ll need to arrange this in the morning. Now I suggest we go back to my apartment—”

“We’re not stupid,” the first man snapped. “You’ll have the cops on us in a heartbeat. I’m telling you, if you don’t give us this money by midnight, she’ll die.”

“Don’t do it, Harry. They’ll just kill me anyway,” Julie said in a resolved tone. There was no sign of fear in her voice. Then everything happened in a flash. The second man threw his leg back to kick Julie, but she must have broken out of the ties. She was