The Wedding Steal (Book Two): The Wedding Steal, #2

By Layla Valentine and Holly Rayner

"He kidnapped me on the eve of my cousin's wedding,
And now he's the only one who can protect me…"

HER:

I've been to a few bad parties, but this is the first one that ended in me getting kidnapped!
My hot-as-hell captor tells me he used to be a SEAL, that he'll make sure no-one hurts me…
Would you trust a guy who just abducted you, ripped body and soulful green eyes aside?
He came here to steal the bride,
But he got me, the bridesmaid, instead.
And now we're both on the run.

HIM:

I served my country, but now I'm working for the mob.
And instead of saving women, I'm being hired to kidnap them.
It doesn't feel good, but in my line of work there's only one way out.
I just didn't expect to fall for the girl I'm being paid to steal.
I'm gonna make this my last job, and damn the consequences.
If they want her, they've got to get through me first…

This is the second book in the The Wedding Steal series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: Mar 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201936334

Book preview

THE WEDDING STEAL

Book Two

LAYLA VALENTINE

HOLLY RAYNER

Copyright © 2022 by Layla Valentine

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

CONTENTS

1. Rachel

2. Colton

3. Rachel

4. Colton

5. Rachel

6. Colton

7. Rachel

8. Colton

CHAPTER 1

RACHEL

As a single woman living in a big city, who frequently walked around late at night after the comedy bars closed, I spent a great deal of my time preventing myself from being attacked. I carried my keys between my fingers so I could scratch someone’s eyes out if they got too close, and I kept pepper spray and a Taser in my giant purse, which I almost never left home without. It was always a possibility that I could be attacked, so I never let my guard down, but I just hadn’t expected it to happen in Ohio.

At first, when the man grabbed me, I thought Jenna had come outside to apologize, throwing her arms around me in a bear hug to be dramatic and try to make me feel better. It was only when his hand clamped down over my mouth that I realized something was wrong, but by then, it was too late. He overpowered me easily, pinning both of my arms to my sides with one of his arms. The hand over my mouth covered most of my face, making it impossible to scream while also obscuring my vision.

I did everything I’d always imagined I would do in this situation. I thrashed and screamed as best I could against the gag of his palm. I dug my heels backwards, scraping them across his pants, hoping I was tearing skin. But none of it mattered. He was able to carry me to his car, pin me against the dusty blue frame while he opened the door, and then threw me inside.

When I landed in the backseat, the air was knocked out of my lungs, and I paused for a second to take a rasping inhale. As soon as I could, I crawled across the seat and yanked on the handle. Nothing. It was child-locked.

The car sputtered to life and just like that, he pulled out of the space and drove away.

The man was just a shadow from behind. The lights coming through the windshield cast him in a silhouette, and I couldn’t tell anything about him aside from the fact that he was tall and strong. His head nearly touched the top of the car.

He raced through the streets, swerving around cars and blowing through stop signs so fast that I was afraid to attack him from behind, lest he swerve off the road and smash into a tree or a telephone poll or a house. We could both be killed, not to mention any pedestrians who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I reached over to the other door and pulled on that handle, hoping it would open and I could jump out. The fall from the speeding car might have killed me, but I much preferred that than whatever my abductor had planned. However, just like the other door, this one was locked.

Let me go, I said, surprised by the sound of my own voice. I’d never heard myself sound so desperate. So afraid. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just don’t kill me.

The man turned his head to the side slightly, allowing me to see the slope of his nose, though the rest of his face was still hidden in shadow. Something flickered in the back of my mind, but I was too frazzled to think on it. My body was in fight-or-flight mode, but I couldn’t do either without risking my own life. I was trapped and helpless.

Just relax, the man said. I’m not going to hurt you.

His voice made me freeze. I sat up straight and looked at him again, leaning to the right so I could see more of his face. Just as I leaned around, we passed under a street light, and the yellow glow filled the car. I gasped.

You! Catching my breath felt useless. My lungs were exploding. It was the man from the bar. The beautiful stranger.

If I hadn’t been so terrified, I would have laughed at my own bad luck. The first handsome guy I’d talked to in months and he turned out to be a complete creep. Go figure.

Don’t throw up in the car. Everything is fine, the stranger said.

I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud, but I also didn’t realize I’d leaned forward and rested my head on the back of the passenger seat’s headrest. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think, but I could barely hear my own thoughts over the sound of my heart hammering in my chest. Even breaths in and out, that’s what I needed. Inhale. Exhale.

Do you need a bag or something? he asked, turning around to look at me.

I turned away so he wouldn’t see my face. I knew it didn’t make any sense, but I was embarrassed for the attractive guy from the bar to see me heaving and sweating in his backseat…even though he was the reason I was there in the first place. How long did it take for Stockholm syndrome to set in?

I need you to pull over, I said with as much force as I could muster.

There was a long pause, and I actually thought he might be considering it. Then, I can’t. I’m sorry.

Who are you? Were you following me?

I looked up and saw that his lips were pressed together, almost as if he was trying to force himself to stay quiet. Like he wanted to answer but wouldn’t.

Had our meeting at the bar been random? Had I simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time? He’d known Jenna’s name, so that seemed unlikely. It had to be a targeted attack. But why?

Immediately, murder came to mind, but I dismissed the thought just as quickly. First, he didn’t tie me or drug me. Second, if I seriously considered the possibility that the beautiful stranger was a murderer, I would have a complete breakdown, and I didn’t have time for that.

The man thought I was Jenna—partially because of my own stupid lie, which I now regretted terribly—so I knew I could always tell him he had the wrong girl and maybe he’d let me go. But then he would simply go after Jenna. I couldn’t tell him about his mistake until I knew what he had planned.

What are you planning to do? I asked, my voice soft. If I didn’t scream or shout, perhaps I could figure out his plan and then convince him