Hold Her Close

Good. That’s on the edge of town. Not too far from my house, actually.Leaving now. I tell him. I’ll text you when I get there so I can let you know which room.Sounds good.There’s a typing bubble for a moment and then it disappears, like he was about to say something and didn’t. Then it’s there again.I’ll see you soon.10JonI push into the house and greet the mob of dogs and Ben, who’s sitting on my couch staring at his laptop. “Hey Ben,” I say, running toward the stairs to pack an overnight bag to bring over to Sadie’s hotel. “I’ll be right back down. Just gotta grab some things.”

“I already packed you a bag,” Ben says, pointing to a small duffle near the door.

“How did you know that I would need one?”

He grins. “The security team called to inform you of the change, and I’m the contact they have. Given everything happening, the hotel is probably a good idea.”

“Yeah,” I say. “God, this is so fucked up.”

Ben puts his laptop to the side. “Is there anything else I need to know about this? I know we’re not close or anything, but you can trust me.”

“I do, Ben. I trust you completely. But right now, there’s not much to know except that Sadie poked the wrong hornet’s nest and she’s not safe.”

He studies me carefully. “Will Sadie be around more, or is this more a short term? I don’t care either way, but if you think she’s going to be around, then I can make accommodations for that without having to check with you every time.”

I smile at his concern. He’s a good assistant, constantly thinking ahead for what I might need before I need it. “I’m hoping that she’s going to be around a lot more,” I say.

“I can’t believe you two just met the other day at the studio,” he says. “Your chemistry was off the charts the moment we walked in that room. And I couldn’t understand why you insisted she get the interview. I mean, she’s not a bad reporter, but you’ve had so many offers. I was surprised you finally wanted to do an interview.”

“As far as you know, we met at the studio.” I point at him and give him my most serious look. But he sees through me. He knows me to well.

“Are you going to tell me how you really met her?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Nope. Not now, at least.”

Ben laughs. “Fair enough. By the way, you’ll have to take her back to the Opryland some other time. I know you guys won’t be able to walk around there tonight, but they have those amazing indoor gardens. Since she’s new to Nashville, she probably hasn’t seen them yet. There are so many people who go there, it seems like kind of a weird place to take someone in hiding, but this security company is supposed to be the best. Maybe it could be a hiding in plain sight kind of thing?”

My stomach drops. “What are you talking about? Opryland?”

“The Opryland Hotel,” he says, frowning. “You know, where you’re heading in a few minutes to meet Sadie.”

“Sadie texted me and told me she was going to the Rutledge Inn.”

He looks confused. “That’s weird.”

“Yes,” I say. “It is. Somebody is lying. Either her or you.” Pulling out my phone, I bring up my GPS app. After Severus escaped the property once, I had chips put in all the dogs’ collars along with the passive ones they have under their skin. Georgie is still with Sadie, so I can see where she is.

It feels like forever for the app to load, and then I choose Georgie’s location and wait…And he is nowhere close to where I expect him to be. He isn’t at either hotel. In fact, he’s on the complete opposite side of Nashville and heading out of town. “Where the fuck is she heading?”

“What?” I show Ben my phone and see the facts register on his face. “What the fuck?” Ben sounds just as panicked as I feel, though my voice remains calm. Everything in me has shut down, because if I think about the reality of what’s happening, I might lose my shit. Sadie is being kidnapped. Right now. By the team that I hired to protect her.

“What did you say the name of the security company was?” I’d left it all up to Ben and assumed he’d done his due diligence. Ben isn’t sloppy, and I told him not to spare any expense. There’s no scenario I can imagine where Ben would have done this intentionally, so there must be something sideways with this security company. They must have been paid off to take Sadie.

I feel sick. I trust Ben, but something as important as this, as important as Sadie’s safety, I should have arranged it myself. This is my fault.