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“Yes,” Elias.
“Was there anything distinctive about him?” I asked.
“Other than his height and size, not looks-wise. But…”
“What?” Elias said.
“He had an accent that I couldn’t place, though it sounded familiar,” she said.
“So maybe Armenian?” I asked, looking at Elias.
He just nodded and then looked at Amethyst again. “What else?”
Amethyst looked down, and I could tell she was considering her words. “He was…competent. I don’t know how many people were holding me, but I counted at least nine dead on the way out. Probably three more in the parking garage.”
“He was alone?”
“I think so. I didn’t see anyone else, and he didn’t talk to anyone.”
“Did he talk to you?”
“Not much. Just told me that I needed to come with him. Said that we were near the border.”
“Why did you go with him?”
I asked the question, and while I wasn’t angry, not really, I did wonder.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It was a way out. And it seemed like the best choice, given the other choices.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, rubbing my thumb over her knuckles.
“My father told me he asked for a hundred million dollars,” she said.
“You know I would give anything for you two, don’t you?” I asked.
She nodded. “If it had come to that, I know you would have. But that wouldn’t have been the end,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She looked at me, then looked at Elias. “If you’d paid, I know my father well enough to know he would keep coming back and then come back for more. Stringing you along until he got bored or decided that we weren’t worth the hassle anymore.”
“So you didn’t believe he was going to let you go?” Elias asked.
She shook her head. “No, especially not after—”
“After what?” Elias said.
“Turns out the bastard is not my father,” she said.
I looked at Elias but didn’t say anything else.
“So,” she said, taking a deep breath. “That guy, whoever he was, seemed like a better bet. Decided that if I wasn’t in that room, I might have a chance to be able to figure something out. So I took the risk.”
“I hate to admit it, but it was a good instinct,” Elias said.
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
“You’re right. Your father—Raphael—isn’t reliable. And I would rather you take your chances than be stuck somewhere with him.” Elias said.
