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Before she could answer, Jason laid a hand on the back of her neck and squeezed gently. It didn't calm the storm inside of her, but it did help her choke back the blistering verbal assault she was dying to give. She and Luca sat staring each other down in a silent battle of wills.
Teagan finally broke the strained silence. "Can we have a minute with Evie, please?"
"You can have five." Standing, Luca bent to kiss the top of Teagan's head. "Make her see reason, would you?"
"I'm seeing just fine, Lorenzo," Evie snapped, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.
Luca narrowed his eyes at her, and she could have sworn she heard him growl. "It's a good thing you're not mine. That snooty voice would get you in trouble every time."
"Lucky for her, I happen to love it." Jason gave her neck another squeeze before pushing away from the table to join his cohorts.
Once the men had left, Teagan looked over at her with a sympathetic smile. "Evie—"
"Just save it, Teagan," she snapped, cutting off her sister's lecture.
The warmth fled Teagan's eyes, leaving them with that strangely flat, emotionless expression Evie thought of as her cop eyes. "No. You're going to shut up and listen." Evie sputtered in protest, but Teagan just rolled over her as if she hadn't spoken. "Those men are doing their damnedest to fix this for you. And you are going to listen to them and follow their rules. You know why?"
"Because I don't have a choice?"
"Yeah, that's part of it. Not to mention they've put their lives on the line for you, considering they could get thrown in jail, thanks to your parents accusing them of kidnapping." Leaning forward, Teagan jabbed a finger at her sister. "But the real reason is they know what they're doing. As do I. It may be your parents, but this is their op. Bottom line—do you trust them?"
"Why is everyone asking me that today? Yes!" Throwing her hands in the air in exasperation, she collapsed back against the chair. "I trust every single one of you. With my life. Happy?"
"Then trust them to do their goddamn jobs."
Glaring at her sister, Evie shook her head. "It's not that easy."
"I didn't say it was." Some of the warmth returned to Teagan's eyes. "It isn't for me, either. But if you want to talk to your parents, you have to trust them."
Leaning across the table to lay her hand over Evie's, Ro spoke softly. "Everyone here wants the same thing, sweetie. For you to be safe, your parents to welcome you with open arms, and for us to be able to go home."
Closing her eyes, Evie dropped her head back against the chair. All of her fight left her and she sighed. "Okay. We do it their way."
* * *
Half an hour later,she was sitting in front of a wall empty of any pictures or other potentially identifiable information with a laptop on the table in front of her. Jason was seated off to the side with his own laptop connected to the one in front of her.
"All right,tesoro. Here's the plan. I'm going to turn on the computer and we'll send the call through to your dad's phone. You remember the rules?"
"Yes." She was aware that her voice was stiff and overly formal, but she couldn't seem to help it.
"Look at me." The order was given quietly enough so she was the only one who heard. Reluctantly, she forced herself to meet his gaze. "You need to relax, little one. We won't let anything bad happen."
"I know." And because she did, and because she believed it with every fiber of her being, she was able to relax a bit. "I'm just worried. What if they don't believe me?"
"Make them," he said simply. The screen in front of her flared to life. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
The kitchen went deadly quiet as the computer began to ring. Her heart slammed against her ribs with every beat, and under the table, her fingers were twisting furious knots in her cashmere sweater.
Within seconds, her father's face appeared on the screen, and her heart stopped for a moment. How had he aged so much in such a short amount of time? Forcing a smile, she addressed him, "Hi, Dad."
"Evelyn?" The desperate relief in his voice broke her heart. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
"Is that Evelyn?" Her mother's voice, somewhere off screen, cracked with emotion. "Is that my baby?"
Her baby. Evie fought back a wave of anger and resentment. She wasn't their baby. She was the baby they'd picked and turned into the perfect little doll to be shown off to their country club friends and then married off to the highest bidder. They didn't even care enough to believe their own eyes when said highest bidder tried to murder her right in front of them.
