Around: Wrapped Around You by Evelyn Adams Read Free Book Online Page A

the back of her neck, and he kissed her back, teasing her lips with his tongue until they parted on a sigh.
    “Let me go, so I can come back to you,” said Julie.
     
    ~~~~~
     
    Julie pulled out of Eric’s building and made the turn toward Harris Court and the parking garage where she would get her brother. She be lying if she said she wasn’t scared, but underneath the fear was a sense of hopefulness. Today she’d get Caleb back. Jackson would eliminate the threat from the animals who took him, and she’d go home to Eric and spend the rest of her life showing him exactly how much she loved and trusted him. She’d sleep in his arms tonight and wake up in them in the morning.
    She’d just made the turn onto Hamilton, two blocks from the garage when her cell phone rang in its holder on the dashboard. The now familiar number made the hair on the back of her neck raise. What if they changed the drop point? Maybe she should keep going and not answer it. What would they do if she didn’t answer? Fear that they’d take it out on Caleb had her pressing the button on the hands free to answer the call.
    “You lied to me, Miss Blake,” said the unremarkable voice. “I do not like being lied to.”
    Julie heard the slap of what sounded like something hitting flesh followed by a scream that turned her blood to ice.
    “Don’t hurt him! I didn’t lie. I didn’t.”
    “It’s much too late for that, you stupid whore. I’ve already hurt him. The question now is whether I let him live. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out that you were fucking Eric Auxtres? What kind of fool do you think I am?”
    Said in a completely civilized tone, the ugly words seemed even more evil. How could they have known about Eric? Julie gripped the wheel to keep her hands from trembling.
    “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to lie to you.” Another tortured scream ripped through the phone, and Julie fought back a sob. Falling apart wasn’t going to help anyone. “Please. You don’t have to do this. I have your money. Please.”
    “Don’t insult me. The price has gone up. Way up. Now, do exactly what I say and I may let your brother live. But I’m warning you, bitch, disobey me and I’ll kill him and work my way through everyone you care about, starting with your father and ending with that chef you’re fucking.”
     
    ~~~~~
     
    “Get her out of there! God damn it, Jackson! Now. Get her out of that car now. And figure out where the bastards have her brother. Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Eric scrubbed his hand through his hair.
    He hadn’t stopped moving since Julie answered the call and the wire transmitted the conversation to his living room. He should never have let her do this. What the fuck was he thinking letting her handle the exchange? He’d heard the screams, presumably from her brother and the desperation in her voice as she pleaded for his life. Knowing that she was alone in the car dealing with it by herself – God, it was killing him.
    And it was his fucking fault. If the kidnappers hadn’t found out he was involved, this would probably be over. Or she would be in deeper. A hundred grand wasn’t anything to him but he knew Julie couldn’t come up with that kind of money on her own.
    “I’ve got my men closing in on her now,” said Jackson, hard lines etching his face. “We’ll get her.”
    He’d heard the fucking animal tell Julie to follow the car in front of her. He warned her that if she talked Caleb would pay. She hadn’t said a word since, but Eric heard her crying. Every few moments a sob would escape, and it felt like his heart was being ripped from his body. If Jackson’s men didn’t get to her soon, he was going to fucking lose it.
    Eric held his head in his hands, squeezing his temples, feeling desperate and impotent. How had he put himself in a position where he couldn’t help her? Where all he could do was wait? He felt Luke move to stand beside him, but there wasn’t any comfort his friend could