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

car.
    I drove home at breakneck speed, probably breaking a dozen traffic rules on the way. In hindsight, it was probably a poor choice. Had the police pulled me over, it would have been difficult to explain my situation, and I could very well have missed the kidnappers’ call.
    Luckily, I arrived home without incident and raced inside. I headed straight for the liquor counter to pour myself a brandy then took it into my office and sat at the desk to await the phone call. I don’t think I’d ever been so stressed out. I had to put my trust in some shady individuals to get my sister home safely to me—not exactly the most comforting of thoughts.
    Time crawled by, and no call came. I started pacing the office, wondering what to do next. Was there a chance she would never be returned? Had I been a fool not to involve the police? Where were they? Maybe they hadn’t been there when I arrived and had planned on showing up later. Maybe they had just run late—
    Come on, Jason, kidnappers don’t run late to pick up their ten million dollars .
    So why hadn’t they called?
    The doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Was it Janelle? Had they just dropped her off at the door? I ran down the hallway and half-slipped down the long staircase to the front door. I swung the door open only to find Brett standing there covered in blood, his face white as a sheet. A quick inspection made it clear the blood wasn’t his.
    “Holy shit! What happened to you?”
    “She’s dead.”
    When he uttered those words, my mind went totally blank except for the image of my sister. Janelle was dead? Oh, God, please no. I had done everything right. How could she be dead?
    Then it occurred to me—how would Brett know anything about this situation? Staring at the blood splattered on his shirt, I asked numbly, “Who the hell is dead, Brett? What are you talking about?”
    “She’s dead…oh my god, she’s dead.”
    If he didn’t stop and answer my question, I thought I might completely lose my mind—or kill him . He appeared to be in shock. This was clearly the last thing I needed. Inside my head, I was already completely freaking out. First, I hadn’t received a call from the kidnappers, and then Brett showed up with blood all over him, mumbling incoherently. I was filled with dread and made the assumption he had to be talking about Janelle, but the whole thing just didn’t make any sense. Unless…
    I shook my head to clear it. I was thinking crazy thoughts and had to force myself to concentrate on Brett.
    “Come and sit down.”
    I led him up to my office and eased him down onto the couch. I needed to get him calmed down and focused enough to give me information that might help me make sense of what was going on. I picked up my glass of brandy and handed it to him. As if on automatic pilot, he took a few sips.
    “Brett, I need you to tell me what happened. Who are you talking about? Who’s dead?”
    Brett just sat there wide-eyed, staring into nothingness. The fact that my usually unflappable friend was sitting there practically comatose scared the shit out of me. What the hell was going on?
    “Come on, Brett. Come with me.”
    I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I led him to the main guest room and guided him onto the bed. It was like caring for an invalid—I had to do all the work, and he was completely unresponsive. I was grasping at straws at this point and hoped some rest would clear his mind. I couldn’t leave the house to take him to the hospital in case the kidnappers called. I couldn’t call the police because what if the kidnappers were watching my house? And I was afraid to call an ambulance because something was really wrong here, and I didn’t want Brett to end up being turned over to the authorities.
    I had never felt so helpless in all my life. It seemed like everything in my life was slipping away. I felt like I had no control over anything anymore. Leaving Brett alone in the bedroom, I paced the