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“That’s pretty dramatic,” he said carefully.
She shrugged one shoulder, but he saw the pain on her face. “Fine. No reason to tell you, anyway.”
“I promise,” he said, softening his voice. What the hell? Whatever was going on was clearly very important to Sierra.
She straightened in the seat. “You need to be sure before I tell you. Because if you change your mind and tell the wrong person, there’s a good chance that Jack and I will be kidnapped. Held for ransom. And our parents wouldn’t be able to pay it.”
“I had the impression your parents were wealthy,” Cody said, studying her.
“They are. But these kidnappers wouldn’t ask for money. They’d ask for something my parents couldn’t give up without putting the US in grave danger.”
She looked completely serious. Like she believed every word she was saying. “That’s… that’s a pretty amazing story, Sierra,” he finally said.
She shrugged one shoulder. “It’s the truth.”
“You want to tell me the rest of the story?” he asked.
“No, I don’t,” she said. “I’m terrified to tell you anything more. I don’t know you that well. We’ve had an intense few days, but I don’t know very much about you. I know what my instincts are telling me, but it’s hard to trust instincts when so much is at stake.”
“What are your instincts telling you, Sierra?” he asked. He started to reach across the table and take her hand, but he stopped. Curled his fingers into his palm instead. She looked as if she’d shatter into a million pieces if he touched her.
“They’re telling me you can be trusted. That you wouldn’t betray me and the rest of my family.” She shrugged. “But I’ve been wrong before.”
“What happened when you were wrong?”
She swallowed and looked away, and he watched the ripple of muscle in her throat. Wished he could ease her stress but knew instinctively that he couldn’t.
“I was kidnapped when I was twelve. Held in the woods for three days. My parents were told they had to betray our country if they wanted to see me alive again.”
“And what happened?” Cody asked, leaning closer.
She sighed. “They weren’t very formidable opponents. On the third night, one of them brought a case of beer to the campsite. They drank it all. After the first few bottles, they threatened me. Told me what they’d do to me if my parents didn’t come through.” She swallowed. “It was… terrifying.
“Then they dismissed me. I was a kid who was tied up. What could I do? They started talking about what they were going to do with all the money they’d get from the people who’d hired them to kidnap me. They had big plans. Fast cars. Yachts. Women.” She sighed. “After they drank all the beer, they passed out.”
“What happened then?” He’d bet money Sierra had figured out a way to escape.
“I snaked over to the guy who’d drunk the most beer. He’d used the bottle opener on his knife to open the beer, and I was able to grab it. They’d started out with my hands tied behind me, but after a while, my arms and shoulders really hurt and I was crying. They were sick of listening to me, so they retied my hands in front of me. And the rope was looser. Took me a while, but I managed to get the knife open.
“I was able to cut off the ropes around my wrists, then my legs. I took one of their cell phones and ran. Called the police when I couldn’t see the campfire anymore. They used the cell phone to find me, and they arrested all three of them.”
“My God,” he said, staring at her. “That’s awful. And you weretwelve?”
She nodded.
“You said you were wrong about them. How so?”
“I trusted one of them. He was the father of my best friend. I’d known her since first grade. Played at her house. Knew both her parents very well. So when my parents were late to pick me up from soccer practice, my friend’s father offered to drive me home. I didn’t think twice, because he was Janie’s father. I got in the car.” She sighed. “I found out later that my father had a flat tire on the way to pick me up from soccer practice because someone had slit one tire. By the time he called someone to pick me up, I was gone.”
Cody remembered her dread when she’d asked if they were camping. No wonder she didn’t want to camp after that experience. “I’m sorry you had to endure that,” he said quietly. “I’m guessing that afterward, everything changed in your family. You had protection. Fences around your house. All your friends were thoroughly vetted.”
Sierra nodded slowly. “Yeah, my childhood pretty much ended when I was twelve. Jack was six. He had it worse than me. At least I had some normal to remember.”
“Your parents must be well-known, but I don’t know any Bakers who could put the country in jeopardy.”
“That’s because my real name isn’t Sierra Baker. And my brother isn’t Jackson…” She swallowed. Stopped.
So her brother’s last name wasn’t Baker. “What’s your real name?” he asked.
