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"Dammit. Okay." Luca blew out a breath. "It's early yet. We sent a man to do a drive by of his place, and his car is there. Odds are, he's still tucked into bed, sound asleep."
"Yeah. Right." It made sense. Everything was as it should be. So why couldn't he shake the feeling that something was horribly, terrifyingly wrong?
* * *
"What do you want from us?"
Her father, seated on the couch beside her mother with his spine ramrod straight, glared in her direction. But the glare wasn't for her. It was for the man who held her on his lap with a knife pressed against her side.
"Your cooperation, Roland," Branson drawled, pressing the knife more firmly into her side. "And your daughter, of course."
"Please." Leaning forward, her mother pleaded with him, tears streaming unchecked down her face, "Just let her go. We'll tell everyone it was a horrible mistake, whatever you want us to say. Just don't hurt my baby."
My baby. Evie's stomach twisted at the words. But unlike earlier, she didn't feel anger, only a mixture of love and grief for the woman in front of her.
Forcing a smile, she did what she'd been doing for the last three years. She lied through her teeth. "Mom. It's fine. He won't hurt me."
Her mother's head snapped back like Evie had physically slapped her. "How can you say that? I saw the bruises! He tried to kill you! He has a knife, Evelyn!"
"I know. But he loves me. Don't you, Branson?" Turning to look at him, she willed her heart to stop racing. She needed to stay calm if she was going to get herself and her family out of this mess she'd created.
The smug smile he gave her nearly snapped the tenuous grasp she had on her self-control. "Of course, I do. Why else would I be here?" Lifting his hand, he traced the tip of the knife down her cheek to the base of her neck. "I just want what's mine."
"She isn't yours!" her father growled.
Branson's attention shifted, just long enough. Without giving herself time to second guess, Evie grabbed his wrist and twisted the way Teagan had taught her. The sound of the knife clattering to the floor was nearly lost under the sound of Branson's outraged roar.
"You little bitch!" Snarling, he shoved her from his lap and reached for the knife at the same time she did. Her fingers closed around the warm wooden handle and she scrambled backward.
"Get out!" Hands steady despite the fear she felt down to her very bones, she pointed the knife at him. "Mom, call the police."
Before her mother could move, he lunged for Evie, but he was knocked sideways by her father. The pair crashed into an end table, sending a lamp flying into the wall. Glass rained down on them, but they didn't seem to notice.
"Evelyn! Run!"
Ignoring her father's order, she pushed to her feet. She had the knife. It wouldn't take much if she hit him just right.
Taking a step forward, she paused. What if she hurt her father instead?
That moment of hesitation cost her the advantage of surprise. Breaking free of her father's hold, Branson lunged for her again.
* * *
"Teagan.Rowena. Look at me and tell me you understand the plan."
The two were seated on the bench in the back of the van, both with their arms crossed, glaring up at Luca with identical expressions of defiance on their faces.
"I'm a trained police detective, Luca. You can't keep leaving me behind."
Nodding, Ro chimed in. "And she's our sister! We need to be there for her!"
"You will be, once we're sure she's safe." Luca crossed his arms and matched their glares with one of his own. "We can't do that with you underfoot. We are trained in extracting people from dangerous situations. Neither of you have a tenth of the training we do. And we won't be able to do our jobs if we're worrying about you the whole time."
Sensing Luca wasn't getting anywhere with them, Jason stood. "Let me talk to them. You go check with O and make sure everything is ready."
Glancing between him and the girls, Luca nodded sharply. "You have two minutes, and then we're going in."
He waited until the door shut behind their fearless leader before he crouched down in front of the bench, meeting each of their gazes in turn. "I know you love her. I do, too. And because I love her, I'm going to be distracted and emotional. Which means I could make a mistake. We can't afford for O and Luca to be distracted, too."
