Billionaire Undaunted(2)

“Ellie!”

Hearing James’s bellow from the reception area tripled her heart rate, and she flat-out ran for the back exit.

I just need to get to my car. I just need to get to Chloe.

Ellie could hear James’s heavy steps pounding down the hallway behind her, but she kept on running, her breathing ragged from panic as she punched down the bar of the back exit and flew through the metal door without hesitation.

Hating herself for putting on heels that morning, she kept on sprinting as fast as her shoes would allow, clutching the laptop to her body like her life depended on it.

I have to get to Chloe. I have to get to Chloe. Please, just let me get to her place.

She’d almost made it to her beat-up little economy car—a vehicle she’d long ago dubbed the Blue Turtle because even though it was slow, it kept on moving—when James’s body collided with hers. They both went to the ground, but unfortunately his body had her pinned to the cold concrete.

“Get. Off. Me.” Her voice was a breathless hiss as she struggled to get out from under him.

“Is there some reason you’re running away with my laptop, Ms. Winters?” James asked as he wrapped an arm around her neck.

“I’m going to work from home tonight.” It was a lame excuse, but it was all Ellie could think of, and Chloe had always said she was a terrible liar. No matter what she claimed, she doubted James would believe it since she’d been running away from him, and he’d only asked her to find and print one document.

“You saw the videos,” he accused menacingly. “You were going straight to Chloe. Nosy bitch. I asked you to do one thing on the computer and you just had to look at things that weren’t intended to be seen by you or anyone else. Not now. You’ll ruin everything. I’m glad I came back when I realized you might not mind your own business.”

You shouldn’t leave stuff you don’t want seen on a computer that’s accessible to anyone except you, dumbass.

Ellie was a crime show addict, and it was obvious that James was either sloppy or psychotic enough to not think about the possibility of her seeing it earlier. Feeling his arm tightening around her neck, she was pretty sure it was mostly the latter.

“Why are you trying to hurt Chloe?” Ellie gave up her pretense in her quest for answers. “She’d never do something like that to you. She loves you.” The fact that Chloe had even cared about a monster like James made Ellie’s stomach heave. The bastard had never deserved to even be in the same room as Chloe.

“Of course she loves me,” James grunted. “We’re getting married, and nobody is going to stop me. I’ll finally get what I deserve.”

Ellie wished he’d get what he really deserved: handcuffs and a very uncomfortable jail cell for the rest of his life. It was obvious that James thought he was entitled to Chloe’s share of the Colter family fortune, a wealth that was almost unfathomable.

“You deserve to be in jail,” Ellie gasped out with what little air she could suck in.

“Shut the fuck up! We’re going to get up. I have a gun, and if you make a single noise, I’ll fucking kill you,” he rasped dangerously.

There was no question in Ellie’s mind that James would follow through with his threat. After seeing how he’d treated Chloe, she had no doubt he was capable of just about anything.

He yanked her to her feet, and it didn’t take long for her to see the glint of steel in the dim lights of the empty parking lot. He definitely had a weapon, and was prepared to use it. She considered screeching as loudly as possible, but she doubted it would do anything except get her silenced permanently. The office sat off by itself, down a dead end side street. It was after dark, and it was cold. The possibility of anybody hearing her was pretty slim. She decided if she didn’t want to end up dead, she needed to wait until she could make her escape.

What happened next screwed up her plan.

“I told Chloe you were worthless. You have no value to her. Your family is poor, and you’re poor. I only hired you to shut her up!” James exclaimed dangerously, right before he brought back his arm and punched her in the face.

Pain shot through Ellie’s head as she absorbed the hit. Dazed from the brutal blow, she was incapable of resisting as he led her to his car parked on the other side of the parking lot.

As he slammed her against his vehicle, she finally spoke, desperately wondering if he was going to kill her even though she hadn’t screamed. “James, you don’t want to do this. What about Chloe? What about your career? Stop this now and I won’t say anything. Just let me go home.” She began to lie her ass off to get him to let her go.