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“Whoa. Hold on,” Ash said. “I think we’re going to need the longer version. What was the scam, and how does this relate to the Wren Project and Serena’s abduction?”
A new wave of guilt washed over him, similar to how he’d felt when he had finally told Serena. He had known these two men forever. They, along with Hawke, Gideon, and Xavier, had been like brothers to him, and yet, he had never shared the painful, gut-wrenching story of his daughter.
Knowing the best way to spill his guts was to make the cut deep and let it out in one big gush, he said, “My stepmother was trying to find evidence that proved my daughter was still alive.”
The silence that followed was almost as painful as the telling. He’d hurt his friends, and he had no excuse other than his inability to face anything that related to Emma. And where had it gotten him?
Finally, Ash said, “All right. We’ll unpack all of that later. What happened next?”
As succinctly as possible, he explained that he’d arranged to meet with the scammers and how they’d taken him down.
“Colton Kingsley was the man in charge. Admitted that he was part of Wren and was delighted to have captured one of the elusive OZ operatives.”
“How long were you there?” Liam asked.
“Almost two months.”
“What did they ask you?” Ash asked.
He shook his head and shrugged. “The obvious things—where OZ is located, names and addresses of our operatives, confidential informants, past and present. All the things you’d expect, but…”
“But what?” Ash asked.
“That wasn’t the main reason I was there.”
“What do you mean?” Liam asked.
“Serena was their target. They took me as bait…to get to her.”
Ash nodded slowly. “And once they had her, they were going to use you as leverage to get her to comply with their demands.”
“Exactly.”
“She wasn’t injured?” Liam asked.
“Not from what I could tell. I don’t think she’ll be physically harmed. They’ll use emotional blackmail to get what they want.”
Sending him a piercing look, Ash said, “You well enough to travel?”
“Yes.” Didn’t matter that every inch of his body screamed in agony. Right now, the most important thing was to start working with OZ on finding Serena.
“Okay, then let’s get you back home, and you need to tell us everything you can remember.” Turning to McAlister, Ash said, “You coming with us? You’ve got a bounty on your head. We can provide protection. Plus, I know Jazz would be happy to see you.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine. Tell Jazz I’ll be in touch.”
There were some wild dynamics here. The man had been hired to kill him and had ended up saving his life instead. Neither Ash nor Liam had been unfriendly toward the guy, but they hadn’t exactly been amicable either. But not only had the man helped him out, he was Jazz’s stepbrother. Until Brody McAlister showed something different, Sean felt nothing but gratitude for him.
Pushing up from the chair, he grabbed the crutches and turned to McAlister. “Thanks for your help. You saved my life.”
“And you saved mine,” McAlister said. “We’re even.” Turning his gaze to Ash, he said, “I’ll be in touch.”
“Appreciate your help,” Ash said.
McAlister gave an abrupt nod, his eerie eyes gleaming with secrets. “Maybe I’ll let you return the favor one day.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kingsley’s Compound
