Billionaire Undaunted:The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane(32)

Zane nodded reluctantly. "I always want you with me, but I'm not about  to drag you away from here right now. I'll be back by tomorrow."

Ellie wrapped her arms around Zane's neck and kissed him, right there in  front of his family. He deepened the embrace, running his hands through  her hair and devouring her mouth until she was breathless.

"I'll miss you," Ellie told him earnestly.

"I'll miss you, too. Have fun with Chloe."

He was gone as quickly as he'd approached her, leaving a whole lot of  questioning expressions behind. Ellie looked around, and everybody was  staring.

The only one who didn't look surprised was Marcus.

"We're seeing each other," Ellie mumbled nervously.

Marcus crossed his arms in front of him with an evil grin. "I sure as  hell hope so. If not, I'm going to have to talk to him about friendship  etiquette."

Chloe threw herself at Ellie with enthusiasm and gave Ellie a big hug. "I'm so happy for both of you. Thank you."

Ellie hugged her back. "For what?"

"For making my brother happy. I could tell he cared about you from his expression. I'm so glad the feeling is mutual."

"Way mutual," Ellie said laughingly.

"I know you had a crush on him when you were younger, and I always  wondered if there wasn't still something there. You asked about him a  lot."

Ellie's cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry. I wasn't fishing for information. I just … "

Okay. Maybe she had been wanting to know what Zane was doing, who he was  seeing, and any other information she could get. But it hadn't been  intentional.

"It's fine. He grilled me for information about you, too," Chloe  reassured her. "I'm just happy you're together now. Do you love him?"

Her best friend's question took her off-guard. Finally, she nodded.  "With all of my heart. I've wanted to tell him so many times, but I  didn't want to ruin what we have."

"You won't. He loves you, too," Chloe responded nonchalantly.

Ellie wanted to ask how she knew that, and if she really thought it was  true, but her friend got distracted by her mother dragging her to the  kitchen with her to talk and catch up.

Chloe mouthed, "Talk later."

Ellie nodded, and then turned to Blake, who was trying to ask where Zane  had gone. Her heart clenched as she explained that he'd had to go to  the lab.

Pathetically, she missed him already.





The impromptu family gathering went on for hours, with plenty of  laughing, eating, and drinking while the whole clan was together  catching up. Aileen was happy, saying that it was rare for them all to  be in Rocky Springs at the same time. She'd also implied that she was  happy that Zane had somebody to pull himself out of the lab from time to  time.

It was late by the time Ellie got the phone call that was about to make her entire world come crashing down on her.

Most of the family had settled into the family room because it was  bigger, when Ellie heard the telltale sound of Zane's ringtone sounding  on her cell. Springing to her feet, she scrambled out to the kitchen and  quickly rummaged in her purse for the phone.

"Hello," she finally answered breathlessly.

"Ellie?" The voice wasn't Zane's. Ellie was confused for a moment before she recognized it.

"Sean? What's going on? Where is Zane?" Her heart started to beat  rapidly, knowing that if Zane let Sean use his phone, something was  wrong.

"He's here, but he's tied up. Literally. I couldn't say whether he  appreciates me holding a gun to his head, but I don't give a shit."         

     



 

Ellie's heart fell as she sensed Sean's mood, the sound of mania in his  voice. She'd experienced this before, and it hadn't turned out well.  "Why? Sean, why would you do that when he was the one who chose you to  be in charge of the research lab? He hired you, he was your mentor after  he put you in a position of power at the lab."

"You think I'm a boss? Hell, no. I don't have the money Zane has, and I  never will unless I make my own luck. Your boyfriend was born with a  platinum spoon in his mouth. I wasn't. The only thing I ever wanted was  Elena, and she left me for a wealthier man. I want her back. In order to  do that, I need money and a way to become wealthy enough to get Elena  back. And you're going to get it for me."

Ellie walked into the family room, every member of the Colter family  going quiet as they looked at her pale complexion. She put a finger to  her lips as a sign to stay silent.

"I'll bring it to you if you just promise me you won't hurt Zane. Please."

Tate got up and came over to where she was standing on the phone, turning it so he could listen in with her.

Sean grunted. "That's not all I want. Zane's been doing some private  research, an independent project that doesn't belong to the lab. I want  the research."

"I-I don't even know where it is. What is it?"

"He has an underground lab there. I need the laptop he keeps down there."

"I don't-"

Tate quickly put a finger over his mouth and shook his head. Was he  telling her not to let Sean know that she didn't have access to the lab?  Evidently, that was exactly what he seemed to be saying.

"I don't know exactly where it is, but I'll find it," she told Sean  adamantly, realizing Tate was right. If she admitted she couldn't get  what Sean wanted, he might kill Zane.

"Make it fast. I want you here by ten o'clock tomorrow morning or I'll  waste your boyfriend. Then you can see how it feels to lose somebody you  love. Maybe then you'll understand," Sean rambled.

"It's the weekend. The money may not be accessible," she stalled.

"They're Colters." Sean spit out the name like it was vile. "Those  bastards can get anything they want. I want a million dollars in  unmarked bills, and the laptop from Zane's home lab."

"Is anybody else there in the lab with you?" Ellie saw Tate nodding at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Nope. Everybody took the weekend off. It's just me and the asshole who distracted my woman, turned her head with money."

Ellie's hands were shaking, so Tate took the phone from her, keeping it  in the same position. She wanted to argue with Sean, tell him Elena had  never been worth all of this, that Zane had never had the slightest  interest in her, but she didn't. Zane had never encouraged the woman.  Ellie had seen that firsthand. But it was impossible to reason with a  man who had gone off the deep end. Unfortunately, she'd learned that the  hard way.

While she was grateful that Sean couldn't hurt anybody else in the lab,  she was terrified for Zane. "I want to talk to him. Put Zane on the  phone so I know he's still alive."

She heard a scuffle and then Zane's desperate voice. "Ellie, don't come  here. Call the police and let them handle it. He's not going to let  either one of us go. He'll just kill us both."

Sean must have gagged Zane again, because it was quiet as he came back  on the phone. "He's wrong. If you follow my instructions, I'll let him  go. I'll have the means to become a very rich man with the money and his  research. If you bring in the police or I see one police car sitting in  front of this building, it's over. Bring the stuff by morning and come  alone. If you don't, your boyfriend is dead."

Ellie panicked as she heard the distinctive sound of a dead line. "Sean! Wait! Please!"

Tate clicked out of the call and put her phone down on one of the tables in the family room.

"Disgruntled employee, I take it?" Tate asked.

Ellie quickly explained everything she knew about Sean and Elena to  Zane's family, which was really very little. Then, she shared everything  that had happened on the phone call.

"So it's some fortune-seeking bitch who isn't even worth it," Marcus commented disgustedly.

"I don't know what to do," Ellie admitted. "I don't even know how to  access Zane's lab here. He always meant to take me down there, but we  never got a chance before we left for Denver."

"You know the project he's working on?" Blake questioned.         

     



 

"Yes. Not in depth, but he said he's been working on some vaccines for  some worldwide diseases. Since it was going to take years, he started  the project on the side. I don't know how close he is to being finished,  but I know that putting that research into the wrong hands could be  disastrous if making money is the only objective to wanting the studies.  Zane didn't want pharmaceuticals. He wanted prevention. That's why he  kept it a secret. He wanted to take the research all the way to  vaccines, and he's meticulous about thorough research and replication  before he acts on a discovery. He probably felt he could share the  project information with Sean. He's the director at the Denver office.  Zane's information should have been safe with Sean."

"Where's his lab?" Tate asked urgently.

"Underground. But it has security."

Tate grinned. "Not a problem. Just lead me there." More seriously, he asked, "Marcus, can you round up the money?"