Page 24 of Conquered Betrayal
“Fuck, man.” There was a pause and a sound of movement. Background noise trickled through. “It’s good to hear from you. After everything, I’d thought you’d been picked up by that fucking psycho.”
I straightened. “Psycho?”
“Yeah, Emerson Mahn,” he practically growled, making every fine hair on my body stand on end. “The things I want to do to that motherfucker would be too kind after the torment he put Sabrina and me through.”
It was a stab to the solar plexus.Emerson Mahn.The name echoed in my head. Why hadn’t I seen it before now? Jolyn’s brother. We’d all lived in Goldenlach Ridge, and everything that had happened with my friends was connected too: Brooke and Sabrina’s abduction here in Detroit, Walker going missing, and Jolyn almost getting herself killed.
I’d thought she was a professional thief, but she’d said she was taking down an empire. I should have asked more questions. I’d left the three people who could have given me answers.
“What happened to you two?” I’d put my friend in harm’s way by asking him for a favor.
A loud breath huffed on the other end of the line, then he said, “A lot. It’s too much to get into over the phone. Oh, and hey. I found Jolyn. She’s in Alaska. You can send me my paycheck now.”
I scoffed and continued pacing, my mind spinning. “Yeah, well, I found her too, so I’m not sure I owe you anything.”
“Bullshit. I guarantee you I found her first.” It sounded like he was trying not to laugh. Relief that he was okay and able to make jokes made the tension in my shoulders lessen.
“Are you returning to the hotel?” he asked. “Sabrina and I were about to get a bite to eat. She said something about wanting a salad for once.”
“Yeah, so about that. We need to talk.”
A stillness came on the other end of the line. “About what?”
“It’s necessary to change hotels. I did something stupid—you’ll love it by the way—and now I’m on Mahn’s radar. Which means the hotel isn’t safe for the four of you either.” I quickly gave him a rundown of my last couple days, being vague when I needed to. “So you’re going to need to keep a low profile while you change hotels.”
“Look, man, we’re already keeping a low profile. I don’t want to go into it over the phone, but yeah, I’ll get them moved safely. We’ll be there by midnight.”
The worry hovering in my chest dissipated. I could trust Walker to be careful. If he was mated to Sabrina like Brooke said, he would be even more cautious.
We hung up, then I hesitated a moment before calling my secretary, Nadine.
“Urick Enterprises.”
“It’s Landon.”
“Mr. Urick.” Her tone hardened. “I’ve been worried sick about you.”
I tried not to smile. Looked like she was going into full-on mother hen mode. “Sorry about that. I ran into a few problems with my phone.”
“Problems? You haven’t returned my calls for days!”
“Yes, well. I’m fine, but I need you to do something for me.”
“What is it?”
I could visualize her narrowing her eyes behind her wire-rim glasses. “You know the card we keep in case of emergencies, the one that’s not attached to me or the company?”
“Yes…”
“I’m going to need it to book a hotel here in Detroit, but you’re going to have to do it from your end.”
Rustling filled the silence, then she asked, “What’s this all about?”
“Nothing I can get into. See it done, please.”
“Of course, sir.”
“And Nadine?”
