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“Hey, Wade,” Xander said.
“Xander, hey,” Wade responded. I sat up when I heard how shaky his voice was. “Um, do you know where Zoey is?”
“No, why?” Xander asked. I could tell he was trying to keep his voice neutral.
“She and I were supposed to go to lunch. She asked me to pick her up at your place because Lucky wanted to show her something, but she’s not here. None of them are.”
“You’re at my house?” Xander asked, giving up his relaxed act.
“Yeah. I mean, Bennett’s car is here, and your receptionist at the lodge said Bennett had some kind of conference call planned this morning with some people in New York, so he should be here…”
Oz and I both stood up as the worry went to full-on fear.
“And Xander, the um, the front door was wide open, and that vase you keep on that table by the door is broken.”
“Fuck,” Xander said as his eyes shot between me and Zach. I could tell he was on the verge of losing it.
“Wade?” Zach said as he snatched up the phone. “Can you hold on a minute?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.”
Zach muted the phone.
“Fuck, he has them, doesn’t he?” Xander yelled as he began pacing the room. “Doesn’t he?” he practically snarled at Zach.
“Insurance,” Oz whispered.
“What?” I asked.
Oz had gone frighteningly pale. He put Boo down on the couch. “Insurance. That’s what that guy said. That they wanted me for insurance, but then… oh god!” He grabbed my arms. “Barton, he said he didn’t need it anymore!”
I tried to search my mind, but I couldn’t remember hearing that. But I’d been pretty out of it from the blows to the head I’d taken. I only remembered begging the men not to hurt Oz and then Barton ordering them to kill him.
“Insurance?” Xander said. “What does that mean? Insurance for what?”
“Jake,” Zach cut in, his voice eerily calm. “When you left Diego’s house in Colombia, did you take something? Some kind of proof of what Barton was involved in?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head violently. “No, I just got the hell out of there!”
Oh god, if Barton had them…
“Did you tell anyone else about Barton? Besides the cop who helped you?”
“No,” I repeated as I tried to stay calm. But the fear and guilt were threatening to overtake my ability to function. “I didn’t, I swear it!”
“Then Barton just assumes you did. He’s covering all his bases. That’s why he didn’t just have you killed on that mountain.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He’s assuming that in three years you talked to someone about him. He needs to know who before he takes you out. So he can take them out too. He needed something of value to make you talk. It wouldn’t have been hard to figure out that Xander and his family were your friends. They probably found something when they tossed your cabin.”
I took a moment to think about it and then felt my stomach drop out. “Xander and Bennett’s Christmas card was on the fridge. The picture was taken in front of the lodge.” I swallowed hard. “Oh god,” I said as I looked at Xander. “I’m so sorry,” I began, but Xander grabbed me by the back of the neck.
“Don’t you fucking do that shit,” he snapped. “This is not your fault. Just help me get them back.”
I nodded. “I will.” I looked at Zach. “I’ll give Barton what he wants.”
“No!” Oz shouted, but I silenced him by pulling him to my side and tucking his face against my chest.
“It’s not coming to that,” Zach snapped. “We’re going to find the fucker and get your people back. But we’re going to need some help. He took the phone off mute and said, “Wade, any chance you know how to use a gun?”
Chapter 33
Oz
Before we even had a chance to come up with a full plan, the call came in from Lucky’s phone to Xander’s. We all held our breaths in hopes it was actually a call from Lucky reassuring us he was safe somewhere with Zoey and Bennett.
No such luck.
The voice was the same from the walkie-talkie.
“Let me talk to Jake,” were the only words spoken when Xander answered his phone, putting it on speaker right away.
“I’m here,” Jake responded. His fingers curled painfully into mine, but I welcomed it. It was the only thing keeping me from collapsing onto the floor in a ball of fear.
The asshole had my friends.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine the terror they must all be feeling. It hurt to even think about it.
“Meet me at the lift maintenance shed at the end of Diamond Road. You have thirty minutes. And bring your friends with you. That famous boyfriend of yours and the two who helped you on the mountain. And don’t fuck around with me by trying to have someone stand in for them. I see anyone but you four, your friends are dead.”
