Ransom in Rio by Theresa Lynn Hall

Author:Theresa Lynn Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: christian Fiction
Publisher: Pelican Book Group
Published: 2017-12-15T16:00:00+00:00

6

Brayden carried two plates of hors d’oeuvres back to the table, scolding himself for kissing her. He knew better than to give in to his desires. His resolve had crumbled, and he’d acted like a goofy teenager. Leaving her at the table was making him nervous, but he had to get away from her to get his mind straight. This was business, and he knew it. He wouldn’t make another mistake tonight.

As soon as he approached the table, he knew something was wrong. Lexi was gone. He scanned the room for her red hair and green dress.

He thrust the plates of food onto the table. “Where did she go?” he asked her aunt.

“She had something in her eye.” Her aunt laughed at what could only be a private joke that he wasn’t getting.

Panic set in, and he went into professional mode. He weaved his way in and out of tables, raced past the long line of women waiting outside the restroom door, and reached around a woman wearing a mask and dressed like a bumble bee. He flung open the bathroom door.

“Lexi!”

No one answered.

An elderly woman appeared in the door and glared at him.

“Have you seen a woman with red hair wearing a green dress?”

The woman stared blankly at him.

“Cabelo vermelho mulher. Vestido verde,” he repeated. His Portuguese was a bit rusty, but he knew enough to get his point across. How many redheads in a green dress could there be?

“Nao.” She shook her head as she darted past him.

He raced back into the ballroom and scanned the room. There were too many people to see into the crowds. He ran back into the corridor and called her name. Sofia, Pedro, and a couple of other people he didn’t know joined him in the hallway.

“What’s wrong?” Pedro asked.

“I told her to wait for me at the table.”

“Maybe she went back to the house. I know she was tired, and her heart is hurting over the death of Jace,” Sofia said. “And she doesn’t like to be embarrassed. I’m sorry. We were only playful with our teasing.”

Brayden didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. “No, she wouldn’t leave without me. She knows the dangers.”

“Danger? What danger?” Sofia grabbed his arm.

He knew better than to slip up like that. Where was his head? “The whole Carnival thing is a lot to deal with, especially since she’s been grieving. It’s not safe for her to be out alone.”

It didn’t matter if they believed him or not. He was wasting precious time. “I’ll be back.” He yelled out her name again and raced through the crowd toward the front of the hotel. He had to find her. She’d been ripped right out from under his nose. And he’d let it happen. Brayden grabbed his cellphone from his pocket and called Luke.

“They got her.”

“Who?”

“Lexi. They got her.”

“What? How?”

“She left to go to the ladies’ room and someone took her. I should have stayed with her every second.”

“Are you sure? I mean, maybe she’s—”

“Trust me.

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