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The guy let out a grunt and fell face-first on the floor. When he didn’t move again, I stepped over his body and knelt in front of the gap. “Charlie, honey, it’s Everett.”
She was crying so loud, I wasn’t sure she’d heard me. I could see her pressed up against the wall, her knees drawn up against her body. I called to her again and she stopped sobbing long enough to whisper, “Everett?”
“Yeah, baby girl, it’s me. Come on, I’ve got you now.” I reached my hand into the gap. She hesitated for a moment, then took it. I pulled her out and she instantly wrapped herself around my body. “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” I said.
“He hit Medusa,” she cried.
I turned to find the dog. She hadn’t moved at all after the guy had thrown her against the wall, but at the sound of Charlie saying her name, she moved and let out a little whine. I quickly picked her up, praying I wasn’t hurting her more, and gave her to Charlie.
“There… there are bad men in the house,” Charlie cried. “Pépère came into my room and told me I had to use the ladder to get out. But it wasn’t a fire.”
I knew she was probably talking about an escape ladder that allowed people to escape fires through their windows.
“He said I needed to hide, but the bad man chased me!” She cried against my neck. “Where’s my Daddy?”
“He’s coming, honey,” I said as I rushed out of the shed and tried to figure out where to go. The woods were my best bet, because we could hide there long enough for the cops to arrive. But I only got a few steps in before a figure stepped into my path.
“Don’t move,” he ordered. Like the dead men in the guest house, he was wearing all black. But he didn’t have a ski mask on like the others. Since he was standing just outside the range of the light, I couldn’t make out much of his features, though. But there was no mistaking the gun that was pointed at my head. “Drop the gun.” I did as he said because Charlie was still clinging to me and if the guy fired, she’d take the hit.
I’d dropped the gun, but I ignored his order not to move and very slowly lowered Charlie to the ground. She cried and tried to hang onto me, but I ignored her struggles and moved her behind me.
“I have money,” I offered. “In my wallet in the house. I’ll take you there. I have an ATM card too. I’ll go with you to the bank. Just let her go and I won’t resist. I’ll tell her to hide until morning… she’ll do what I say,” I offered.
“Very noble of you,” the man said in a raspy voice. “But I think we can do better than that, Mr. President,” he said with a sneer. “Just gotta take care of a little matter with your kid first.”
I swallowed hard. They were here because of Reese?
Charlie was clinging to me from behind. She had one arm wrapped around my hips and was crying softly. I wanted to try and comfort her, but I didn’t dare move.
“Reese? You’re here for Reese?”
“You wanna know how long I’ve been looking for your son?” he asked. “Every second of every day since he got my kid brother killed and had me thrown in that hellhole of a prison.”
I knew pretty quickly who the guy was. I remembered the story Reese had told me about setting up the guys he’d been working with who’d planned on stealing weapons and selling them to the enemy. The brother who’d escaped prison had put the hit out on Reese. Since Ronan and his men had killed that brother, I knew this was the one the government had given to the Iraqis in exchange for a prisoner they’d wanted.
“If you know who I am, then you know how much I’m worth,” I said.
“I’m counting on it,” the man said. “Your kid cost us millions. You’re going to have to pay his debt.”
I took a couple of steps back toward the shed in the hopes it would offer Charlie a chance to hide or even escape if I bought her enough time. But any hope I had of getting her to safety died a quick death when she suddenly let out a scream. I automatically grabbed her hand as I felt her being pulled away from me. The guy I’d shot in the shed had a hold of the arm Charlie was using to hold Medusa protectively against her chest. The guy was holding his shoulder with his free hand and using the hand on his injured arm to try and pull Charlie away from me.
I was just about to lunge for the guy trying to take her when I felt the other guy’s gun press against the back of my head. “Let her go,” he snarled.
