Free Stolen Love, The Complete Collection: An Alpha Billionaire Romance by Katie Kyler Page A

situation, and I learned that it wasn’t really that cut-and-dried.
    When you knew there was a life on the line, it was hard to go against the kidnappers’ wishes. I didn’t know if it was possible for them to find out if I had called the cops, but I didn’t want to take the chance. Did I want to find out later that Janelle was dead because I disregarded their instructions and called the cops? I had more than enough money, and if it meant saving Janelle, I would give them anything they asked. These people apparently knew a lot about me, which meant they were either really good kidnappers or they were somehow connected to my life. The thought of the latter chilled me. I hoped that wasn’t the case—I didn’t want to believe that there could be anyone in my life that would want to hurt me like that.
    As much as I wanted to call the police, I knew I couldn’t. It would be comforting to have the authorities on my side, walking me through the whole thing. It was a terrible feeling going at a situation like that alone despite all the money I had and all the people I constantly had at my beck and call. A man with the amount of wealth I had should really have someone around who could protect his investments against people who were corrupt. Oddly enough, these days I had run into a lot of corrupt people who wanted either my money or my assets.
    My thoughts were a mess, and I kept coming back to whether or not I was handling the situation the proper way. What was to stop these same people from kidnapping someone else in my life to get more money? If they got my money easily, wouldn’t they just keep coming back at a later date? That was no way to live. But again, if I contacted someone, I could be risking my sister’s life. And if anything happened to Janelle, I would never forgive myself.
    Out of nowhere, Mackenzie came to mind— Mackenzie thump-thump , Mackenzie thump-thump . The chanting in my head began once again. I couldn’t for the life of me understand how she seemed to possess me even when she wasn’t around. It still pissed me off every time I thought about how she’d rushed me out of her house and then disappeared. It was a mystery to me as to why I was so hung up on her. The girl was an enigma and crazy to boot. I’d also had the best sex of my life with her. So what if she’d stolen from me. Twice.
    It occurred to me that a girl with those skills would probably be really helpful to me in a kidnapping situation. Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly have Mackenzie on speed dial these days. I wondered how she would handle a kidnapper. Would she go all renegade like she had in the apartment, or would she think it was more sensible to call the authorities? The questions kept rolling through my mind, but no new answers magically presented themselves.
    A twinge of guilt hit me as I remembered Janelle and realized again that she was out there somewhere, no doubt terrified out of her mind. I needed to get my head on straight. I just hoped I knew what I was doing because there was much more than my money on the line.
    The clock had run out for decision making. The time had come for me to deal with the kidnappers.
    * * * * *
    My heart slammed against my chest as I arrived at the marina. Even though the place was deserted and I couldn’t see them anywhere, I knew they were probably watching my every move. Whoever they were. I wondered if they were stealthy enough to have the equipment necessary to view me from afar or whether they were just good at hiding. Either way, I needed to get in and out quickly. The sooner I got back home to answer their call on my landline, the sooner I would see my sister again—if the kidnappers could be believed.
    I crept quickly onto my yacht and set the money on the deck as per their instructions. I took another quick look around to see if I could spot anyone, but there was nothing but the sound of the water lapping against the boat. I slipped off the boat and made my way back to the