A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 241

Marcia’s eyes were red and puffy, panic making her words tumble out in a jumble. “Someone—someone just called. They told me to come alone and save Hickey…”

Frank latched onto the one thing that mattered. “Where do they want you to go?”

“H-here. This place.”

With shaking hands, Marcia fumbled for her phone and thrust it at Frank.

It was the same abandoned industrial park.

They’d taken both his wife and his nephew.

Frank barely glanced at the screen before striding to the car, his voice icy. “I’ll handle this. You go home and wait.”

“No!”

Marcia grabbed his arm, her desperation flaring. “Hickey is my son. He’s been kidnapped—how could I possibly just go home and wait?”

Frank shot her a skeptical look, but there was no time to argue. “Fine. Get in the car.”

“Okay.”

Marcia nodded frantically and scrambled into the passenger seat.

—

It didn’t take long before their SUV pulled up outside a derelict factory at the edge of the old industrial district.

Elissa’s instincts told her they’d left Vistapeak City far behind.

As the car screeched to a halt in front of the crumbling warehouse, the tattooed man beside her yanked her out with rough hands.

From the passenger side, a middle-aged man with a jagged scar across his cheek climbed out, his tone sharp with annoyance. “Can’t you show a little more respect for a lady?”

Inside the warehouse, she counted several more tough-looking men—no way she could fight her way out alone.

Forcing herself to stay calm, Elissa fixed her gaze on the Scarred Man—he was clearly the one in charge. She took a steadying breath and got straight to the point.

“Someone hired you to kill me. How much are they paying?”

The Scarred Man licked his teeth, eyeing her with a look that made her skin crawl. “So what’s the plan? You want to buy your life back? Or maybe… sell yourself?”

Elissa swallowed the bile rising in her throat, forcing her voice to stay steady. “I’m a married woman. What would you really gain from that? I have money—a lot of money. How much are they paying you? I’ll give you double.”

The men laughed, exchanging glances. The tattooed one sneered, “Big talk. The client’s offering half a million for your head. What, you think you’ve got a million lying around?”

They’d already looked into her background before snatching her—a small-town doctor couldn’t possibly have that kind of money.

Elissa exhaled, not hesitating for a second. “I can pay it.”