Page 70 of Irrevocably

My head throbs, which obviously means someone hit me hard enough to knock me out.

The tide of fear rises higher. Who took me? Are they related to Lucien? Does he work for them? What do they want? And, oh my God, Dad. What happened to Dad?

The tide threatens to swamp me, and I have to take a couple of breaths to let it out, because panicking now would not be a great idea. I need to think, I need to get a grip.

Suddenly, someone pulls my blindfold off and dim light replaces darkness. I gasp, squinting as my vision returns.

I was right, I’m sitting in a metal chair and I’m tied to it, my wrists to the arms, my ankles to the legs. I’m in some big wide industrial space, with huge, dirty, cracked windows high up on the walls. I can’t see much since my glasses are gone and it’s dark, and the only light is above me, but bits and pieces of steel and wood, and mechanical detritus are scattered over the dirty concrete floor. The place stinks of old fish and dampness, and it’s cold.

But then I see who’s facing me, tied to another chair. Dad. He’s not blindfolded, and his expression is like stone. Though when I meet his gaze, he gives me a small, encouraging smile.

A momentary relief floods through me. Thank God, Dad is here and he’s alive, though my relief quickly vanishes when I see the man standing next to his chair, a gun in his hand. In fact, there are a number of men standing around, all wearing balaclavas, and all armed.

“Well, chief?” the man pointing the gun at Dad’s head says. “Now’s your chance. Or else your pretty daughter will have one finger less.”

I realise some other guy is standing by my chair and he roughly grabs one of my fingers in an unbreakable grip. In his other hand, he has a knife.

Cold realisation pours through me, and I can’t control my shiver. They have Dad and they have me, and if they’re threatening my father, then I can guess what they want. The same thing Lucien wanted. And they’re going to do to me what Lucien threatened to do to me, aren’t they?

“… someone else will take my place, and they won’t care about you, Astrid. They will hurt you to get to your father, believe me.”

Lucien’s voice and what he told me back in the cabin drifts through my head. So, it seems he was right, someone else has taken his place. Or perhaps I’ve been naïve all this time in believing he’d never hurt me. Perhaps he’s part of this.

“It’s okay,” Dad says, looking straight at me and ignoring the man questioning him. “It’s okay, Addie. I won’t let them hurt you.”

The man beside his chair laughs. “And how are you going to do that, chief? You’re a little tied up now.”

Several of the others laugh weakly at the stupid joke, and I look from face to face, trying to see if any of them have blue eyes. Is Lucien here? Is he one of them? Fuck, I need my glasses to be sure, but I really hope he isn’t.

I want to ask the man straight out if Lucien Frost is part of this, but I don’t want to betray either myself or him, so instead, I look back at Dad. “I know, Dad,” I say in a thin voice. “I’m okay.”

“Come on, chief.” The man beside Dad gives him a cuff over the back of his head with the butt of his gun. “Answer the question or my buddy here will start cutting.”

I flinch at the blow myself, protective anger rising inside me, thick and hot, and drowning my fear. “Leave him alone,” I say sharply, which is pretty pointless considering it’s clear they’re not going to leave him alone.

“There’s no need to involve her.” Dad sounds unutterably weary. “The MC pays me to look the other way. That’s it. That’s all. She’s not part of it.”

“They pay you? That’s it?”

Dad shrugs. “It’s good money.”

He’s lying of course and he’s lying to protect me.

“There are other interests who have their eyes on the MC’s operation,” the man growls. “What do you know about the Frosts?”

The name sends a hard, electric jolt through me. The Frosts. It’s plural, implying that Lucien is not the only Frost, also, if these people are asking about him, then he’s not part of this little situation.

Weirdly, despite the situation, I’m relieved. I always knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but it’s nice to know that my trust wasn’t misplaced.

Dad frowns, genuinely puzzled. “Who? The Frosts? No. I have no idea who they are.”

The man flicks his gaze to me and his mouth curves in a mirthless smile. “You want to tell him, or shall I?”

My whole body goes tight. “W-What?” My stutter is real as is the fear that suddenly comes roaring back. Does he mean tell Dad about Lucien and I? If so, how does he know? The only time we’ve been together in public was in Love Bite that one night. He can’t know. He can’t.

“Oh, I think you know what I’m talking about, sweetheart,” he says, correctly reading the shock on my face. “You and Lucien getting cosy together.”

Shock and fear wash through me, then they’re gone, drowned by the heat of my blazing temper. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I say flatly.