Billionaire Undaunted: The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane Read Online Free

longer as dry as the desert.
    Pulse racing, her breathing erratic, Ellie’s reaction was pure terror. Frantically, she started to look around the cabin, hoping there was nobody here.
    Except…she wasn’t in the cabin anymore. Her rational mind started to function and she slowly tried to take in her surroundings.
    It didn’t take her long to realize she was in the hospital, medical personnel scurrying around and passing the open door to the hallway at a pace that made her dizzy.
    The white sheets and blankets that were covering her helped verify her location, as did the IV in her arm and all of the wires attached to her body.
    She started to feel terror welling up inside her, not understanding why she was here or how she got to a hospital, when she heard his voice.
    “Thank fuck! You’re awake.”
    Her head jerked up to see an exhausted-looking Zane Colter at her bedside, his clothing rumbled and his hair mussed, as though he’d been running his hand through it over and over again.
    Her suspicion was confirmed when he raked his hand through his hair again, either in relief or frustration. Sometimes with Zane, it was hard to tell what he was thinking. But stoic or not, she was glad he was here, and she felt her body relax for the first time in a very long time.
    “What happened?” Her voice was as weak as her body. “How did I get here?”
    “You don’t remember anything?” Zane asked with a frown.
    Ellie probed her brain, vaguely remembering hearing Zane’s voice telling her everything would be okay. “I thought you were a dream.”
    “I hardly think I’m anybody’s dream,” Zane said drily.
    Ellie suddenly remembered how she had gotten in her current condition in the first place, horrifying memories flowing back into her brain as she struggled to sit up in bed. “Oh, God. I have to talk to Chloe. James—”
    He pushed her back down gently. She didn’t have the strength to really move, much less sit up.
    “Is dead,” Zane finished. “He killed himself, Ellie. Before that, he was in the hospital because he was stupid enough to hurt our sister. That’s why you didn’t get food and water. You were in bad shape when I finally found you in that cabin.”
    “Chloe—”
    “My little sister is on her honeymoon. She married Gabe Walker, a man who will take good care of her.”
    Ellie’s head was spinning by the time he caught her up on what had happened to Chloe, and how she’d been blackmailed. She’d missed so much, and so many things had happened while she’d been held captive by James.
    “Thank God,” Ellie whispered and let her head fall back onto the pillow. “After I saw those videos, I was so afraid for her.”
    “He knew that you knew about them?”
    Ellie nodded. “He caught me with his laptop. I was on my way to Chloe when he kidnapped me at the office and tossed me in the trunk of his vehicle.”
    “Christ!” Zane cursed vehemently.
    “I was unconscious for a while, so I didn’t know how far he’d driven. I didn’t even know exactly where he had me hidden. All I knew was that I was in some sort of cabin, and I assumed it was remote. I never did figure out why he didn’t just kill me.”
    “Insurance,” Zane grumbled. “I have no doubt that after the wedding, he would have stopped caring whether you were alive or dead.”
    “Everybody thought I was dead?” she asked quietly.
    “Pretty much,” he agreed. “But Chloe and I never stopped looking. Since your car was missing, most people assumed you had either left or were already dead.”
    Ellie shuddered. Her poor Blue Turtle had been in the office parking lot. Obviously, James had gotten rid of it. “I think I was almost dead. Toward the end, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted James to come back, or just let me die.” His visits hadn’t been frequent, but they’d always been painful.
    “Don’t say that,” Zane rasped. “I know he beat the crap out of you. Did he rape you, Ellie?”
    “No,” she told him, embarrassed.