76. Call


    <<. Miles. >>


    My relief is short-lived. I know something is very wrong as soon as the wordse out of her mouth. "Uhmmm Miles... Can you meet me?"


    From the corner of my eyes, I can see Ran swiftly working on hisptop to track her location. We are still in the jet. And we discussed this possibility during the flight. He was constantly trying to trace her phone. So I know this call is recording. My job is to drag this call.


    "Sure, Love... Anytime. First, I would like to know where you are?"


    "Remember that barn... I found one simr to it... I was wondering how about if youe here and we do some training."


    I wince. Am I imagining it, or is she really in danger? "Seriously, my doll? You have been MIA for 24 hours... and this is your first request?"


    Sheughs. Herughter is forced. My nails dig into my palms as I try to imagine what''s she is facing right now. Ran shows me a paper with something written on it.


    ''DON''T SHOW HER THAT YOU KNOW SHE IS MISSING''


    I nod. Of course I know that much. I think to myself, annoyed.


    "I... wanted to see if you get worried about me."


    I throw my head back in my seat, and my heart is beating fast. It''s a strange emotion dangling between anxiety and hope. "I was worried, Avery... You have no idea how worried I was... I am still worried. Is she safe? I want her to be


    safe.


    I nce at Ran, and he shows me a thumbs up. I sigh in relief. It means he has her location. I turn my focus to Avery and ask, "Are you at the barn now? Are you nning to buy this property?"


    "Uhmmm... no." She goes quiet. I look at Ran. He is carefully listening to the call too.


    "I was thinking we can take a tour. Wait... I will call in five minutes. Someone is at the door," she says and cuts the


    call.


    I pinch my brows in frustration, unable toprehend. "Please tell me she is fine..." I say and Ran shakes his


    head.


    "You know the answer, Miles... Someone is making her talk. Her voice is ufortable..."


    "Fuck." I throw my head. "If it''s a fucking kidnapping, why not simply make a ransom call?" I ask, agitated.


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    After Sleeping with My Childhood Prince, I Kicked Him Out from My World


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    "Probably it''s done out of instinct and it''s not nned.. and if it''s not nned, it only means one thing... Someone is doing it out of motive or revenge."


    He meets my gaze, as we both know the answer to this. Either Ethan or De.


    "How far is the location?"


    "It''s half an hour from the airport. Good thing it''s not in the middle of nowhere. Again, it''s a sign someone novice is doing this..."


    "Anyway... Now a few things...." Ran gives me a brief of things I need to ask when Avery calls again. Within a few minutes, my phone rings again.


    "Hey..." This time her voice is extra chirpy.


    "Who was it?" I ask to keep up the facade.


    "Just some maintenance people. The AC wasn''t working, so they had toe here on emergency call."


    "Oh.. Was it code Red? Are they done?"


    Sheughs. "It''s fuckin 85 degrees Miles. Of course it''s a code Red."


    She gasps, and my skin prickles.


    "What happened?" I ask out of instinct..


    "Uhmm, nothing. They will be back after sometime. Anyway... So I was telling you


    about the warehouse... Can youe here evening? So, we can view it


    together?" I can hear difort in her voice. But she tries to keep her tone


    light.


    Ran writes something on paper and shows it to me.


    ''MAKE IT BELIEVABLE. TALK MORE.''


    I nod and say, "What do you want to do with the warehouse? Are you interested in


    opening our own version of Barn or do you want a full-blown sex club?"


    Sheughs. "Both sound tempting."


    "Alright.. how about we do something before closing the deal?... We could do the first scene we watched at Dom''s club together."


    Oh Fuck. I would give anything to go back to that time.


    Sheughs. "I would love that.. I miss you Miles. I miss you so much..." Her voice


    is tight as she says this.


    "I miss you too." There is silence for a moment. take a deep breath, trying toe up with something believable to say. "How about a tour of nearby facilities too? We can see if it would be a good fit for our business."


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    After Sleeping with My Childhood Prince, I Kicked Him Out from My World


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    Avery hesitates for a moment before replying, "That sounds like a good idea... So see you in the evening?"


    Ran scribbles something on paper to show me, and I nod again.


    "Actually... I was worried about you, so I am already halfway to New York. So... Let''s meet in three hours."


    "Oh. Okay. I will send you the location when you reach here," she replies curtly and disconnects the call.


    Ran looks at me with a concerned expression.


    "She was scared. What do you think is happening?"


    "I don''t know. But we will be ready for anything. You have asked for three hours,


    but we will hit the location of call as soon as we are prepared. Let''s just hope she stays at the same ce."


    Jake meets us as soon as we make


    our way out of the airport. He informs us that a wellness check on Avery''s house was done. Obviously, no one was inside the house and the entire apartment was ransacked. Police are already looking for her. It raíses a burning question if we want to involve the police when I go to meet Avery at the warehouse. Would it risk her safety?


    "How stupid is this kidnapper?” Jake asks. “If Avery pretended she was at the apartment. Didn''t he realize that if she was not picking up calls, the first thing we would do is to check her apartment?"


    "It ismon in kidnapping or crimes done out of instinct. It also means he is probably alone," Ran replies. "It will work in our favor, Miles. Don''t worry." he says sping my shoulder.


    I stay quiet. People die too. A stupid part inside me wants to think that Avery is just sitting somewhere after her hair salon appointment and doesn''t know that her apartment was broken into. It''s stupid.


    "If it''s a kidnapping, why was there no demand for money?" I ask as we get inside


    a car.


    "Because of this..." Ran slides hisptop towards us. I squint my eyes and look at a bank statement to make sense.


    "Fuck," I mutter. Avery''s ount has been drained of money within thest few hours.


    "My assumption is the kidnapper thinks he can do the same with you."


    What if he changes his mind? What if he suddenly realises how wed his n is? A chill passes my spine.


    "We cannot wait... what if he suddenly decides he doesn''t need Avery anymore? What if he thinks through and cancels the entire n? What if he hurts her?" Ran scratches his stubble as he thinks.


    "You are right. We need to go secure the location of call right now. But Miles We should not go inside building unprepared. Being unprepared will do more harm than good."


    I swallow hard as my heart pounds behind my chest.


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    "We have to involve the police. That will make things faster..."


    "Alright. Let''s go."