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Sadie backed away. “No way. You made a deal for my life, and I want to know who else was involved. It wasmylife.” She pounded her chest. “I have a right to hear the details.”
“I kept you from being executed,” he stated, his patience thinning. “You should be grateful, not questioning my methods. Especially in light of the sacrifice I made.”
Sacrifice?She held up her hands again. “Fine. Fine. Then tell me this,Daddy. What did you give them? A negotiation is about give-and-take. What didyougive? What was yoursacrifice?”
“I can’t answer that question either.”
Outrage blasted her. “Can’t or won’t?”
“It’s the same thing, Sadie. You’re alive because I did what I did. Please, let that be enough.”
Her cell vibrated in her pocket before she could say anything else. She dragged it out with the intention of stopping the damned distraction, but Falco’s face flashed on the screen. She crammed the device against her ear. “What?”
“We need your help. Tori is missing. We think she’s with Alice. We just pulled up at the Cortez house.”
Worry sloshed over her fury, dousing it as surely as water pouring onto a fire. “I’m on my way.”
Sadie shoved the phone back into her pocket and glared at her father. “I will have the answers to my questions.” She turned and headed for the shitty yellow car parked at the curb.
“Sadie!”
Despite her best efforts to ignore him, she couldn’t. She turned back and waited for him to impart whatever the hell fatherly wisdom or asshole warning he had on his mind.
“If you continue down this path, I fear I won’t be able to protect you. I’ve done all I can.”
A new rush of outrage detonated inside her. “This time, I’d rather take care of myself.”
Then she was gone. Devlin and Falco needed her.
She stared one last time at her father before squealing tires as she peeled away from the curb.
She would have the truth. If it was the last thing she did.
41
8:45 a.m.
Birmingport Road
Birmingham
Tori peeked out the crack left by the partially open door. She couldn’t see Alice. Couldn’t hear her either. But she couldn’t have gone far. There was nothing out here but woods and these old warehouses.
And the maintenance shed, according to the sign on the door, where Alice had left Tori.
She glanced around the room. At least there were lights. There were big electrical boxes and all sorts of tools and a commercial-size riding mower.
Tori glanced out once more. She should make a run for it. She should have refused to get out of the car when they’d first arrived.
But she’d been afraid. What if she’d done that and Sarah really was in trouble?
Alice had told Tori to wait here and she would bring Sarah to her. Tori waited.
What she needed to do now was find a weapon to protect herself.
A thump had Tori spinning around.
The hum of whatever mechanical things were running was the only sound.
