“You’re coming to his defense; how sweet,” Stone said dryly. “Have you already forgotten he arrested you? He must know you’re corrupted. If he was here with us, why wouldn’t he side with me?”
“He wouldn’t,” said Reece.
Stone scoffed. “Oh, this should be good. Tell me why I’m wrong, empath, as if you could possibly understand the Dead Man.”
“Because corruption is supposed to be a one-way street, but he took that bullet so I wouldn’t see Agent Nolan die,” Reece said tightly. “Which means there’s a part of Evan that doesn’t believe I’m a lost cause—some part of him believes I’m still worth saving.”
Reece caught the uncertainty that flashed in Stone’s eyes. “And that scares you,” he realized, “so much you can’t hide it. Because if Evan thinks I’m worth saving, he’s going to look for me, and you’re terrified of him—”
“Enough!” A muscle in Stone’s jaw twitched. He turned to Jamey. “Official records will show you both are being transferred to BC. The record will also show that the helicopter had an unfortunate accident on the way. Evan will believe you died in transit and never know the truth.”
Reece didn’t like the sound of that. “What truth?”
Stone smiled horribly. “I bet your sister can guess. You just focus on my questions, Mr. Davies.”
“Or,” said Jamey, “how about you don’t tell him shit, Reece.”
Stone looked at one of the men holding Jamey and nodded once. The man curled his fingers, brass knuckles flashing, and then he cracked his fist against her jaw hard enough to snap her head back.
“No!”Reece lunged against his captors like a dog against a choke collar. “Don’t—”
“It’s okay.” Jamey slowly straightened her head, tilting it side to side like she was simply stretching her neck. “He’s going to have to hit harder than that.”
There was a new cut on her lip. She wasbleeding. “I don’t care—”
“He doesn’t,” Stone agreed. “Your brother will answer any questions because he can’t bear the slightest act of violence against you.”
“Don’t hurt her,” Reece said desperately. “Please. Just ask your questions—”
“I already did,” said Stone. “Where is Jason Owens’ phone?”
“I don’t understand—”
But Jamey snorted. “Of course.” She spit a mouthful of blood, whether from the blow she’d taken or from her nose, Reece didn’t know. “I wondered why we were doing this dance up here instead of already on our way, but here it is.”
“Herewhatis?” Reece said helplessly.
“You were part of the whole plan, weren’t you?” Jamey said to Stone. “The broken webcam Grayson found in the yacht engine room—I bet that was for you. I bet you saw it when Cora broke out of the engine room, and you didn’t warn anyone, just bolted for Canada on your helicopter. Did Jason Owens call you as he was speeding back to his house, expecting you to protect him? But you left him to his fate to save your own skin, realizing too late that he had proof of your involvement?”
Stone’s expression had grown ugly. “That’s enough.” He bent to look Reece straight in the eyes. “Use your empathy to figure out where Jason Owens would have hidden his phone.”
“Don’t tell him anything,” said Jamey. “He’s planning to kill us either way.”
Stone only smiled. “She’s almost as charming as you.” He held Reece’s gaze. “Maybe we don’t know everything about empathy, but we know one guaranteed, no-fail way to corrupt an empath. Has anyone told you what it is?”
Reece swallowed.
“You torture the empath?” Jamey guessed.
“Please.” Stone scoffed. “Empaths don’t care what happens to them. No, if you want to corrupt an empath, you needsomeone else’spain.”
Reece went cold to his core.
“You find a trigger point,” said Stone. “A person they love unconditionally with their big empath heart—and then you applypressure.”
Stone looked pointedly at Jamey, then back at Reece. “So make yourself useful, Mr. Davies, because the moment you cease, you and your beloved sister are going to become useful in another way.”
Reece thought he might vomit. There was a ringing in his ears, growing louder. “That’s what you did to Cora.”
