GABE (Silicon Valley Billionaires 2)

I grabbed Gabe and held on tight. The screen lit up sooner than I was prepared for, and a picture appeared—suddenly, there was Hannah, sitting listlessly in a chair. Her hair was matted and her blouse was torn at the throat. She looked terrible—clearly in much worse shape than a few days ago.

Someone barked an order, and she looked up at the camera. There was a visible bruise on her cheek, and her eyes were red-rimmed.

The world tilted beneath me. “Hannah! Oh my God, what did they do to you?”

“Huh?” My sister looked at the screen blearily at first, then her eyes focused on me.

“Hannah, what did they do to you?”

“Calm down, I’m okay. They just hit me.”

I gripped Gabe’s hand so I wouldn’t fall over.

She managed a small smile. “It’s okay, they only did it a few times—after I told them to fuck off. A few times.”

I winced. “Hannah…”

“Trust me—they totally deserved it.”

It took everything I had to stay calm. “Please tell the guards that if they hurt you again, or if anything else happens to you, this deal will not go through. Are you listening to me?” I raised my voice so the men could hopefully hear me.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I couldn’t afford to completely lose it. “Their boss wants my company more than she wants anything—and she won’t get it if they hurt you! Remind them this is a very important deal and that they are low-level pawns. If they do anything else to you, the deal is off! And I will tell their boss that myself!”

Hannah turned around, away from the screen. “Do you animals hear that? You’re low-level scum, and if you touch me again, you’re dead! Got it? Need me to translate that into first-grade English for you?” She turned back to me and shrugged

with what I could only imagine was false bravado. “They’re not really that smart. They might not understand.”

“Please don’t say anything else that’s going to get you hurt,” I begged. “We’re going to get you out of there. Soon.”

“I told you not to risk yourself for me.” Hannah’s voice had a reckless, dangerous edge.

“Gabe had one of his friends, a neurosurgeon, check in with Wes today,” I babbled, trying to think of something I could say to make her face change back to normal so she was herself again, not this fearless, dirty captive who looked like she might try to bite the next hand that fed her. “He’s doing better. They think he’s going to make a full recovery.” A fabrication, but I needed to give Hannah a reason to come back to me.

She nodded, her chin wobbling almost imperceptibly. “Good. That’s good.”

“Of course it’s good, but he needs you. So you do what they say, and they’re not allowed to hurt you, and I’m going to call Li Na right now—they won’t touch you again, I promise.”

“Don’t make me stupid promises.” Hannah’s eyes filled with angry tears. “I told you not to negotiate with her—she’s a murderer, Lauren, and a liar. If you think she’s going to let me just skip out of here someday, you’re crazier than I thought!”

I gripped Gabe’s hand so hard, it must’ve hurt. “You listen to me. You don’t need to worry about Li Na. You just worry about staying safe and staying alive. You worry about coming back to me and back to Wes. He needs you, and so do I. Please don’t look like you’re giving up, because I can’t do this without you.”

“Can’t do what?”

“Anything!” I started to cry, probably the last thing I should be doing. “I can’t do anything without you. So stop fighting the people who have you, and keep your mouth shut.”

Hannah grimaced, but I thought I saw a familiar spark in her eyes. “There she is. My bossy big sister.”

I wiped my eyes and jutted my chin out. “That’s right. Don’t you forget it—and I have a lifetime supply of bossiness waiting for you back here. Let’s concentrate on that.”

The guard said something in the background, and before I was ready, the screen went dead. I stared at it. The blank screen reflected how I felt inside, black and empty. I turned to Gabe. “Those animals… Those animals hit my sister…”

The tears came then, along with sobs, racking my body with spasms.

“Oh God. I’m so sorry, honey.” Gabe wrapped his arms around me. “She’s okay, though—she’s alive. We need to focus on that. Hopefully what you said will sink in.”

I tried to listen to him. But all I could do was cry, because my heart was breaking.

GABE