AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah.”
“How’d you manage that one?”
“He showed up after you guys drove off without me.”
Halli’s basic explanation sat in an unexpected silence. She cringed, wishing she’d chosen better words. Rachel shifted in the seat. She groaned in pain as she turned anguished eyes to Halli. “I am so sorry. This is all our fault. We thought you were right behind us. We never meant to—”
“It’s okay. I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I don’t blame you guys.”
“First I left you, and now Ben,” she cried. “I’m an awful sister.”
&n
bsp; “Don’t you dare say that. You were always there for me when Mom and Dad weren’t. If this is anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I’m the one who kept taping. I’m the one who filmed something she shouldn’t have. I’m the one they’re after.”
“That’s what they want? Your video? What the hell did you film?”
“Someone was shot and killed right as Ben drove off.”
“Oh my God. You saw it happen?” Rachel asked in a horror.
“No, but the killers saw me with the camera across the water.”
“But if you didn’t see it, how do you know?”
“I saw the video,” Trent stated as he pulled over on a quiet, tree lined road. “It’s on there, and as you already know, they’ll do anything to get their hands on it.”
Halli shivered at the certainty in his voice. Not that she hadn’t seen proof enough of Alrigo Lapaglia’s determination, but the grim reminder made her wonder if the trade for Ben could even be accomplished successfully.
Phone in hand, Trent faced Halli and Rachel from the front seat. He locked his gaze with Halli’s. “Ready?”
She nodded.
He read a trust in her eyes that hadn’t been so forthcoming yesterday. Funny how he’d wanted her faith so bad, and now that he had it, it scared the shit out of him. She was counting on him to get the job done and he was terrified he’d let her down like everyone else in his life.
His heart pounded after he’d dialed the number and counted the rings. It was a bit of a surprise when the voicemail clicked on. Damn it. Now what? The beep sounded in his ear and he said the first thing that came to his mind. “Ben Sanders better stay alive or I’ll send the video to the police and every major television network in the country.”
Halli’s eyes widened when he flipped the phone shut. “What was that?”
“Voicemail. I improvised.”
“What if they don’t check it?”
“They will.”
Rachel’s whispered words drew his attention. She lay slouched against the back, her head now on Halli’s shoulder. She didn’t look good. Hell, he’d been improvising so far, but this shit had seriously gotten out of control. Especially since Rachel’s injury wasn’t a surface wound that could be patched up with butterfly bandages.
Halli caught his eye and jerked her head toward her door. Trent got out of the car, automatically doing a visual sweep to make sure they were still safe. When she joined him outside and shut her door, he left his open, ignoring her pointed frown. He got that she didn’t want to talk in front of her sister, but he didn’t want to be caught unprepared.
“What do we do now?” she asked quietly.
He shrugged, answering her while attempting to unseat the guilt riding his shoulders that he didn’t know exactly how to fix this new complication. Then he offered the best answer he had. “We wait. If they don’t call us back, I’ll try the number again in a little while.”
“I meant about Rachel. I’m scared she’s lost a lot of blood.”
She sounded more than scared and he knew exactly how she felt. He ran a hand through his hair; somewhere along the way he’d lost his baseball cap. Halli’s blue eyes beseeched him, tightening a vice inside his chest. If her sister died, she’d blame him. He would blame him. The thought left him with no decision at all.
He reached to open her door. “Get in the car. I’m taking you back to the consulate.”
