JULIET
“Caleb!”I cry, rushing to him. “Oh my god, say something. Caleb?”
He lifts his head, looking dazed—but alive.
Thank God.
“Juliet,” he mumbles. “Go.”
“What? No!” I realize he’s bound to the chair, his hands tied. I struggle to free him. “What happened?” I demand. “Was it Olivia?”
His eyes move past me and widen in fear. He struggles frantically at his restraints.
I hear a clicking noise.
When I turn, I find myself staring at Olivia. She has a gun in her hand.
And it’s pointed directly at me.
“Well, isn’t it sweet? Caleb’s little whore, here to save the day.”
My heart stops. The look in her eyes isn’t sane. It’s clear that she’s way over the edge. Gone is the picture of the perfect debutante. Her blonde bob is a mess. Her mascara is running. Her blouse is wrinkled. She looks like she’d forgotten everything about who she is.
“Olivia…” I say slowly, straightening up. “Take it easy. Everything’s OK.”
“Shut the fuck up.” She waves the gun at me. “I don’t take instructions from a whore. Because that’s what you are, aren’t you? Working for the highest bidder. First it was me, until you got your hooks into a bigger payday. I have to applaud you. Well, I would applaud, if I wasn’t holding this gun.”
“Put the gun down,” I say quietly, trying to stay calm. “You don’t want to do this.”
She laughs bitterly. “Oh, trust me, I do. I’ve had enough of the games. Now, finally, I can get what I want.”
“I don’t know what you mean…”
“Don’t you?” she glares, eyes wild in the light. “Well, that makes you fucking stupid, as well as a waste of my time. And I had such high hopes for you, with all your scheming…”
I shake my head, confused. “Olivia. I promise, I wasn’t scheming.” I don’t know what to say to her, I just know, I have to stall for time. Until the cops arrive. Until Logan figures out where we are.
Until someone can do something to stop this madwoman.
“I’m sorry if I got in your way,” I tell her, wracking my brain for the right strategy. What she wants to hear. “I can see it now. I’m not meant to be with Caleb. I should never have come between you—he’s all yours. You belong together, and I won’t stand between you anymore.”
Olivia stares at me blankly, then bursts out laughing, high and unhinged. “You think this is about Caleb?” she asks, “Jesus Christ, you’re both fools.”
I pause, confused. “But… Isn’t that why you’re trying to hurt me?” I venture, uncertain now. “Because you’re in love with him. You think you’re supposed to be together, so if I’m out of the way…”
Olivia is still laughing. “I should feel sorry for you,” she says, waving the gun at me. “The man has skills in bed, to be sure, but no man’s dick is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. My word, you really thought I was some jealous psycho bitch, trying to steal him back?”
I bite my lip. Yes.
“This was about the money,” she explains, like she’s talking to a child. “Do you even realize how much I stand to make if Sebastian Wolfe pulls off this takeover? Sterling Cross is valued at eight billion dollars, and I own twenty-five percent.”
Shit. I do the math. That’s not just fuck-you money, that’s fuck-you-and-everyone-you’ve-ever-known kinds of cash.
The kind of money some people would kill for.
“Now she gets it,” Olivia smirks, seeing the realization dawn. “This sale goes through, and I could have anything. Everything. But this selfish asshole won’t even entertain the offer,” she adds, glaring at where Caleb is still slumped in the chair, barely conscious. “He just whines about family, and legacy, and loyalty. Well fuck that, I’m getting what I’m owed.”
“But I don’t understand,” I venture. “Why come after me? I have nothing to do with the takeover. How does that help you?”