CHARLOTTE

“You’re nuts. You really have no idea who you have there? Whose wife she is? She’s worth far more to you for ransom than any third-world hustler’s going to give you.”

Now I have his attention. “What are you talking about? Who is she then?”

“That’s Beth Haswell... Elizabeth Haswell…. Richard Haswell’s wife….”

He looks at me blankly. “You know…. Richard Haswell… Billionaire…. Owns half the fucking city. And that’s his wife you’re pawing at. He’ll pay a fortune to get her back, but he might not be so happy about it if he thinks you’ve been fingering his property.”

He stares down at me, slit-eyed, doubt written large, but I have his attention. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not. Look it up. You should find photos of her on the internet easily enough. Go on; search for images, Richard and Elizabeth Haswell.”

He jerks his head at one of the chimps in the background. “Do as she says. Look it up.”

The thug taps in on his phone, staring at the screen, gapes and then thrusts the phone at Klempner. He looks at it, looks at Beth, comparing the two.

“Alright. She’s worth a lot. That doesn’t mean she’s not joining in the fun…”

“Haswell is a billionaire.” I drip contempt from my words. “He likes his goods pristine. If you mess with her, he’ll probably not pay as much, or at all.”

Klempner sucks in his cheeks. “Yeah…. I’d see it like that too…. Okay. Lock her up again.” Then he turns to me. “Now, you….”

Oh, crap….

The group of men closes in on me.

*****

BETH

The door opens, and Charlotte is all but thrown inside, landing hard on the floor. She picks herself up slowly, rubbing her shoulder and hips, where they hit the concrete. Her face is swollen on one side, starting to bruise.copy right hot novel pub