Billionaire Undaunted:The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane(33)

The eldest Colter was already texting. "I'm working on it."

Ellie led Tate to the entrance of the underground lab and slid the front  panel aside. Tate gently pushed his way in, looking at the security  device on the door.

"It's a fingerprint scanner," he observed, playing with a few of the mechanisms on the heavy door.

"So we can't get in without Zane's print?"

"Generally, no. Not unless he reset the door to accept your prints, too."

"He didn't," Ellie said sadly, wishing she had pushed more to see what  Zane was doing in the lab. "I don't think he wanted me down there alone.  He said there were too many harmful substances there."

"Don't worry, Ellie. I can breach the system. I just need to get some  tools, and it might take me a while. But no security system is  unbreakable if you know enough about them."

Ellie knew that Tate was probably one of the best people to have around  if she needed somebody to break and enter. "Okay. What else can I do?  Should I report this to the police?"

"Hell, no," Blake commented as he came to check out what Tate was doing.  "They'd have police swarming the building. The minute this asshole sees  a cop car, Zane's chances of getting out alive aren't good."

"He's right," Marcus remarked, having followed Blake into the hallway.  "The cops are going to do what they're trained to do. That means SWAT  teams, hostage negotiators, and all of the other things that will get  Zane killed. Once Tate breaks into the lab, we'll handle this."

"I'm going with you," Ellie said stubbornly. "He told me to bring it,  and if he sees you guys, it could turn out badly. Besides, I know the  building. I know how to get in without being detected. I have the codes  for the alarms, and I know where the lab area and offices are located."

"You're not going," Tate said flatly. "Zane would never forgive us if  something happened to you. Christ! You've just recovered from being  kidnapped."

"If you don't take me with you, I'll show up there anyway," Ellie argued. There was no way she was staying behind.

"I'm going, too," Blake insisted.

"Neither one of you are trained in hostage situations. Just let Tate and  I deal with it so nobody else gets hurt," Marcus said gruffly.

Ellie crossed her arms and glared at all three men. "I have to go. He's  expecting to see me. How do you think you're going to explain when I  don't show up? If you catch him off-guard, we might have a chance."

"She has a point," Tate ventured. "But you know Zane's going to be pissed."

Blake shrugged. "Better angry than dead."

"I don't like it," Marcus rumbled. "It's too dangerous for Ellie."

Frustrated, Ellie turned around and went back into the family room, hoping for some backup. All three men followed.

"It's not that we don't think you can do it, Ellie," Tate said as he entered the family room with the others right behind him.

"Then tell me what it is, because I'm going to be there whether you like  it or not. It's Zane's only hope right now. If he sees you two, he  could kill Zane." She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"You have to understand that we can't put your life in danger. I would  kill anybody who let Lara come to any harm, including one of my  brothers," Tate answered irritably.

"I'm going, too," Lara informed her husband matter-of-factly. "You could use another skilled professional with a gun."         

     



 

"Like hell you will," Tate argued angrily, giving Lara a warning glance.

Ellie saw Chloe sitting on the couch with a crying Aileen, trying to  comfort her mother. All this arguing wasn't making this any easier on  Aileen or the rest of the family.

"Stop!" Ellie raised her voice to be heard over all the noise. Now  wasn't the time for debating. "I think all of you need to understand  that nothing will keep me from being in that building tomorrow morning.  Zane saved my life. He never gave up on me, even though he should have."  She hesitated before adding, "Since he never gave up on me, I'm never  giving up on him. I'd rather die trying than live in this world without  him."

Tears were streaming down her face as she finished her speech.

"We know you care about him," Blake said quietly.

"I. Love. Him." Ellie put emphasis on each word. "I love him more than anything else in this world."

God, she wished she had told Zane how she felt. Now, it seemed so petty to be worried about his reaction.

"Are we going to make a plan, or are we going to sit here and argue?" Marcus asked drily.

They all decided that a plan was the best option.





Zane knew he was going to die. It was just a question of when Sean  decided to off him. The only consolation he had was that at least Ellie  wasn't here with him, and he knew his brothers would keep her safe.

It had been a long night, Sean keeping Zane in a state of semi-consciousness so the guy could sleep.

Like it wasn't enough that he was tied to a chair in Sean's office with  so much overkill that Zane couldn't possibly get loose. And dammit, he'd  tried. Over and over again. The moment he started making too much  noise, Sean would wake and bash him over the head again. Thankfully,  Zane could hear his employee snoring from his office chair behind him  now.

Really, he found it pretty ironic that he was being held captive in an  office he owned and had given to Sean when he'd hired him not all that  long ago. It was a damn nice office, too. Now, he regretted not putting  his director in some crappy cubbyhole somewhere instead of granting him  an executive office as nice as his own.

Zane tried not to make a sound as his head began to clear. He wanted to  be awake and conscious in case the police arrived, to see if he could do  anything to help keep himself alive. Honestly, he'd expected police  intervention way before now. It was definitely morning, and by looking  at the sun rising through the window, it was well beyond dawn.

Fuck! He hoped to hell that Ellie wasn't planning on carrying through on  Sean's demands. The bastard would kill them both in a heartbeat if she  came walking into the building with the stuff Sean wanted. Zane's heart  chilled.

Whatever Sean's issues were, they weren't with Zane. He'd just become  his employee's fixation, a target that didn't really exist.

Why did I never see the signs? How was he able to hide this side of himself for so long?

Zane knew it happened. Hell, he'd just seen a news story about a father,  husband and seemingly normal man with no criminal record who just went  off one day, killing multiple people in a mass shooting.

Maybe Elena's apparently final desertion had set Sean off, but Zane had  no doubt that Sean's mental issues had always existed and had been  hidden away, just waiting for the right reason to go psychotic. The guy  might have a brilliant scientific mind, but in other areas of his brain,  there were definitely some major problems.

Turning his head slowly, he looked at the clock.

Almost nine!

He was getting nervous, worried about the fact that the police still  hadn't showed. Was Ellie really going to try to bring what Sean wanted?  Please God, no!

Not possible. I never got her access to my lab in Rocky Springs.

However, Zane knew that Ellie would have needed to work with his family  if she wanted the money Sean wanted, and his brothers could be downright  dangerous. With Tate and Marcus's skills, Zane didn't doubt they might  try something themselves. It was the only explanation for why the police  weren't here.

God dammit! The last thing I want is for any of them to get hurt.

He would probably have a better chance of getting out of this alive if  Tate and Marcus were planning something together. Truth was, he wanted  to live. Zane didn't want to leave Ellie on this Earth alone, and he  wanted to be around for her. They hadn't had enough time yet. He wasn't  ready yet.

I never told her how much I love her.

That was Zane's deepest regret. Maybe he wasn't a romantic guy, and  maybe he hadn't been all that good at telling Ellie exactly how he felt.  But damn! How hard was it to tell her that he loved her, that he'd do  damn near anything to see her smile?         

     



 

Obviously, it was difficult or he would have already told her. He hadn't  wanted to scare her off by pouring his heart out all at once. Now, he  wished he would have just taken the chance.

Sean's snoring suddenly stopped, and Zane quickly closed his eyes.  Better to look like he was still unconscious until something happened,  and he knew something would. He knew his brothers, and they weren't  going to leave Zane's fate to the police, especially when Sean had  threatened to kill him the minute he saw a police car.

Something was going to happen. He knew his family was up to something. He just wished he knew exactly what they had planned.



Ellie waited long enough for Tate, Marcus, and Lara to gain access to  the ventilation system. She'd let them into the building through the  delivery entrance with her key before coding in the numbers that would  stop the alarm system in the area, and relocking the back entrance after  the three of them were in place.