Roslyn grabbed a handful of Kelsey’s hair and yanked backward. Kelsey’s hands automatically flew up, but her bindings prevented her from being able to defend herself.
“And I told you that I went there and it’s not where you said,” Roslyn said, her voice smooth. “Which is why Davis brought Brynn over to inspire some honesty out of you.”
The loud crack of a whip echoed through the basement as Davis brought it down on Brynn’s back, the thin material of her toga doing little to soften the bite. She crumpled to the floor and groaned.
“Brynn!” her sister screamed and tried to launch forward, but Roslyn held fast to her hair.
Brynn clenched her jaw, trying to think through the haze of pain. “It’s okay, Kels. I appreciate you trying to protect me all this time, but we just need to tell them. The evidence is at my house. She sent it to me to keep safe.”
Kelsey’s lips parted, but Brynn sent her a warning glare.
“Is that true?” Roslyn asked, twisting Kelsey’s locks around her fist.
“Yes, yes,” Kelsey said, frantically. “I couldn’t figure out what the names in the logbook meant, and I thought Brynn might be able to help. But I didn’t tell you ’cause I didn’t want you to hurt her, too.”
“If you take us there, I’ll give it to you,” Brynn said, hoping she sounded convincing. She knew that Davis and Roslyn had no intention of letting them go, since they’d already revealed too much. But maybe if she could get on her own turf, she and her sister would have a shot. If nothing else, she could punch in the emergency code into her security system to activate the silent alarm feature. Maybe the cops could get there before Roslyn discovered there was no evidence to be had.
Roslyn smiled, the expression holding no warmth. “Yes, I’m sure you’d love to get to your own house where you know every nook and cranny. No, you’ll tell us where it is, and I’ll take Kelsey there with me. You can stay here with Davis until I have the evidence secured.”
Brynn’s stomach twisted into a pretzel for her own fate, but a little flame of hope flickered for her sister. She nodded. “It’s in the back of my closet in a box. But you’re going to need my alarm code to get in the house.”
Kelsey’s face was filled with question marks, but Brynn mustered up her therapist mask to hide her emotions. Roslyn evaluated her with shrewd eyes, no doubt searching for any chink in Brynn’s facade. After a few agonizing moments, the woman gave a curt nod and released her grip on her sister.
“I hope for both your sakes, you’re not lying to me. If I discover this is a wild-goose chase, your sister will pay the price. I have a hefty overdose of heroin with her name on it. They say relapse is a bitch—can kill you by accident so easily.”
No. Please, God. Let the alarm code work in time. If the plan failed, they were both dead.
Roslyn pointed a finger at Brynn, but looked at Davis. “Keep her restrained until I call you.”
Davis’s thin lips spread into a smile as he idly toyed with the whip, winding it around his fingers. “Gladly.”
TWENTY-TWO
now
Reid leaned his head against the headrest and groaned. “Where the hell did he go?”
Jace sighed and pulled over onto the dirt shoulder, a cloud of dust engulfing the car. “We should’ve met up with him by now. This is where we saw him the first time, and I know he never passed us.”
“He must’ve turned off somewhere.”
Jace crooked his thumb. “There’s a small lake area a couple of miles up the road. I think there are a few vacation homes and rentals out there. That’s the only way he could’ve gone. There’s really nothing else on this stretch of road except cow pastures.”
The crush of pressure around Reid’s chest tightened. Brynn. Isolated with that whack job. “Do you remember where he wanted the stuff he ordered from you delivered?”
“No, my assistant handled that part. But I’d bet my left nut that he didn’t get any of it sent to that fancy house in Highland Park where he lives with his wife. He wouldn’t have had to use a fake name if he’d done that.”
“Let’s check it out, then.”
Jace swung the car back onto the highway and a few minutes later, turned onto a narrow, tree-lined road. They followed the winding gravel path, squinting through the darkness at the well-kept houses tucked behind the foliage. As they passed the homes, the car’s headlights illuminated each labeled mailbox. The fifth box they passed had Kennedy spelled out in gold letters.
“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner,” Jace said, his tone grim. “That’s the name he uses to make his orders.”
The world seemed to stop spinning as Reid stared at the mailbox. “Like the president.”
“Yeah, arrogant fucker, isn’t he?” Jace pulled around the next bend in the road and parked out of view.
Reid barely heard him over the pounding of his heart. He wet his lips. “Jace, do you still keep a gun in the car?”