Free Escape: A Stepbrother Romance Novella by Stephanie Brother Page B

body. 
    I
can hear voices but I can’t make out what they’re saying.
    My
breathing sounds so loud in my head and my stomach is sick.  I feel my body
heave and taste bitter bile. 
    My
mouth is wiped roughly by some kind of cloth.  It doesn’t smell good. 
    Everything
goes dark.
     

 
    Chapter 12
    Brandon
     
    Connor is in a foul
mood.  He’s not usually the most talkative of people but today he’s practically
vibrating with anger.
    “I
can’t fucking believe it,” he says about Tom when I pick him up.
    “I
know,” I say, not really feeling the same.  There are a lot of snakes in this
game.  In a way, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now.  I look across at
Connor wondering what I don’t know about him.  Has he been talking to our
rivals, working out a better deal for himself?
    Am
I in danger again? 
    Stupid
thought because I’m always in danger.  I’m Adam Ford’s son.  It’s why I carry
the fucking gun.
    We
do as Adam asked.  Driving out of town, then taking another road in on a loop,
listening to an old rock radio station to fill the tense silence.  We find a
coffee shop we’ve never been into before and I order a black coffee while
Connor orders a mocha-whippy-chocolate something or other that makes me want to
laugh.  He still has devil-furious eyes so I don’t bother.  It’s not really the
time for jesting, whatever his choice of beverage. 
    When
it’s time, Connor directs me to where Leon will be waiting.  The exchange is
tenser than usual which isn’t surprising.  No one likes standing around on the
street holding illegal substances or large sums of cash.  I get that.  It’s
only our years of mutually agreeable business dealings that has kept this
meeting in play.
    We
get back in the car and I drop Connor off to where he’s left his ride.  We head
in opposite directions, him to sort out the distribution channels, me to
Jackson’s so I can report back to Adam. 
    When
I arrive I know something is off immediately.  Adam is more pensive than usual
and when I tell him about the drop he seems distracted.  In the end, I ask him
what the fuck is wrong with him.
    He
says nothing but brings his closed fist from where it’s resting next to his leg
up onto the table in front of me.  He opens it and there’s a thin silver chain
inside, and for a moment I stare at it, wondering why Adam is handing me a
piece of women’s jewelry.  Then I lean in closer, catching sight of the small
‘S’ charm and the silver angel’s wing tucked into the crease by his thumb and I
know.
    “Where
the fuck did you get that?” I ask, bracing one hand against the table and
snatching the warm chain from his sweaty palm. 
    “It
was left on the bar in an envelope addressed to me.  You know who it belongs
to?”
    His
eyes are narrowed suspiciously and I swallow, barely controlling my rage with
deep breaths.  Someone has Sammie.  It’s what I feared the most and why I kept
telling her to just leave me be.  Why the fuck didn’t she listen?
    “It’s
Samantha’s necklace.  My stepsister.” 
    Adam
sits back, still sizing me up.  He’s wondering how all of this fits together.
    “But
you haven’t seen her for years.  Why would they think they could use her as
leverage?”
    “Who
the fuck has her, Adam?” I’m so damn angry I can’t breathe. 
    “The
same fuckers who shot at you last night.  Now answer my goddamned question.”
    “The
lawyer you hired for me, the first one.  It was Samantha.  They must have seen
us together and think she’s my girl or something.”
    “Well,
they got that wrong, didn’t they.”  He sounds relieved and I don’t understand.
    “What
are you talking about?”
    “Well. 
She’s your ex-stepsister and you haven’t seen her for fifteen years.  We just
tell them we don’t give a fuck that they’re holding her.  They’ll probably just
release her.  No point in risking a murder charge for the sake of this shit.”
    “What
the