To ensure that doesn’t happen, I must play my part so I can drop Mia off at the Azores and make my way back to New York to work his inner circles, his contacts, to find out where the fuck he is.
I open the bedroom door, letting my eyes adjust to the small amount of moon shining through the curtains. Mia’s on the bed. Her chest rises and falls with each breath she takes, and I grab the vial of chloroform from my pocket and dab a little into a white handkerchief.
I move closer, placing it over her mouth, and wait a few seconds until I know she’s passed out. The moment I’m sure she’s not going to wake up anytime soon, I call for my security detail, who’s been her security detail for the past five years.
“Did she suspect anything?” I ask Jude.
He runs a hand through his jet-black hair and checks his watch. “No, she didn’t. Everything’s all set and right on schedule.”
“Want me to get the light, sir?” Kellan, another security guard of mine, asks, going for the switch on the wall.
“No.” I scoop Mia into my arms, carrying her close. “We don’t want to alert any neighbors or risk someone seeing us.”
Plus, there is enough light coming through the tall windows. Trust me, I can see her just fine. The girl has on red silk pajamas with ‘Mia’ embroidered on the top of her shirt front pocket. A gold mask covers her face, and her pink pouty lips remain uncovered.
So much temptation. But I’m not here to surrender to my instinct, I’m here to get a job done.
I’m a professional.
“Yes, sir.” Kellan steps out of the room and Jude and I follow him.
“The car’s ready and you should be to the landing field within the hour.”
I nod. “Pack her things while I get her into the car. Hurry.”
Jude heads back into her room. I trust him to gather all the essentials, but anything he misses, I can get from my housekeeper, Ines, on the island.
I move through the house, and outside to the black Range Rover parked in the alley. Leo sits behind the wheel, ready to take me where I need to be—a small executive airstrip just outside the city in New Jersey.
Mia weighs practically nothing, and her long brown hair falls over me as I try to get her into the back seat. Jude rushes out the doors a few minutes later with a travel bag and suitcase for Mia. He tosses them in the trunk and then resumes his position at his post outside her front door. Jude and Kellan will stay with the condo, saying Mia’s sick and not able to go to work or have any visitors.
Within the hour, we’re flying to the small island of Pico in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The entire flight I go over plans with Leo and my men, making sure that everything is all set to hide Mia on the island before returning to New York to take my place in the elite society to find Bishop.
Mia’s still asleep when we roll up to the large brick mansion on the side of the island.
She finally wakes inside her bedroom.
Dark brown eyes open, and my own eyes widen.
“Oh, fuck.”
“What is it, boss?” Leo asks.
The woman on the bed, with messy hair framing her angelic face, stares at me with fire in her eyes.
“Fuck, we’ve kidnapped the wrong girl.”
Chapter 2
Sophia
* * *
I stare into the gray eyes of the man I’ve been hunting for months. It’s good to finally put a face to my nemesis. He’s a lot better looking than I was expecting, but the rich and powerful usually are.
“What are we going to do with her?” the man standing next to my target asks. It’s obvious he’s one of Bishop’s henchmen.
“I’m not sure.” Bishop glances at the man and then back at me. “Who are you?”
I stand from the bed, still a little groggy. I’m sure this motherfucker drugged me to steal me from Mia’s bed. It was a plan I never thought I’d be able to get away with, but Mia was more than happy to help me hide in her spot. She wanted to run away from all of this, not wanting to deal with Bishop’s wrath.
I knew Bishop wanted to kidnap her.
And I want to kill Bishop.
We concocted a plan, and it worked perfectly.
“I asked you a question,” Bishop says, signaling his minion to leave us alone. “Who are you and where’s Mia?”
As soon as the other man is out of the room, I leap forward, wrapping my legs around Bishop’s torso and bringing my arms around his neck to hold on to. I bite his ear before he lurches forward to land us both on the bed. He tries to get me off him, but I squeeze my legs tighter around him.