Page 83 of Still Afraid

“At least let me tell Josh I’m safe. Come on. And you know Gabe is going to mobilize the entire police force and maybe even get the FBI in on finding me.”

“Game plan first, then we’ll let them know you’re safe.”

“Fine. Give me my phone back.” She put out her hand, but movement behind the truck caught her eye. “We’ve got company.”

She couldn’t quite see who it was.

“Oh no.” Aaron opened his door. “Hurry, Chloe.”

A man in a black suit blocked Aaron from getting out.

“What do you think you’re doing, Mr. Jacobs?”

Chloe shifted so she could see the man’s face. Richard Montego?

“You’re out of time. I appreciate you fetching your sister. This should make things simpler.”

“Did you bring me to this guy?”

“No!” Horror streaked Aaron’s face, proving he didn’t plan this or was a good actor. But he’d never been a good liar. He turned to Richard. “Sir. Leave her out of it. We were talking about how to get you your money. Let her go get it.”

“I believe you took something else from me. Not money. I want back exactly what you took.”

Aaron stole from Richard Montego? What? Nothing was making any sense.

“This is how it’s going down. After handing over your cell phones, the two of you are going to get out of this truck and into the back of my sedan, where there are zip-cuffs waiting for you.” He drew a gun from under his suit jacket. “If either of you try to run, I will shoot the other one. Got it?”

Chloe’s throat closed. Richard Montego was more than a jerk of a businessman and father to a pretentious floozy.

How were they going to get out of this? If they stepped out of this truck, Josh would no longer know what to look for to find her. She slid her extra hair tie off her wrist and dropped it on the floorboard of the truck, just in case. If Poirot came here, he’d find it. Not that it would help anyone know where they went, simply that they’d been here. If only she could leave a better clue. Panic rose up inside her. God, save us.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Josh mindlessly stroked Poirot’s head where they sat in the police station. Chloe’s parents held each other nearby. It had been almost an hour since she’d been taken. They’d arrived at the police station about half an hour ago, having come with the hope they’d be kept in the loop better if they were here.

On the way over, he’d called his sister Amelia and told her what was happening. She promised to pray and pass the word along to their parents and brother.

A commotion behind him made Josh turn.

Jesse pushed past a couple of uniformed officers and into the detectives’ squad room. His gaze locked with Josh’s. “What happened? Where’s my sister?”

Josh shrugged and shook his head.

Troy approached Jesse. “How did you get here so fast?” The men embraced.

“I wasn’t going to take my time with Chloe missing. Any word?”

Troy shook his head.

The detectives’ captain came out of his office. “You guys don’t need to stick around. I promise we’ll contact you with any news.”

Troy ran a hand through his thinning hair. “We live so far out though.”

Josh stood. “We can go to my house. Poirot would probably appreciate some food.”

The dog barked, and a ripple of humorless chuckles passed through those in the room.

“That’s a good idea, Josh.”