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"I don't know. I was knocked out, too. I just woke up a few minutes ago."
"You're the person they dropped in here a little while ago. I heard the door open. I asked who was there, but no one answered. I heard footsteps and then a thud. I thought someone was in the room with me, but I couldn't tell."
"Let me see if I can get your blindfold off. My hands are tied behind my back, but maybe there's a way to pull it down. Can you try to sit up? There's a wall right behind you."
It took Dani several minutes, but she finally managed to prop herself up against the wall. I moved forward and using my mouth and teeth on the edge of the blindfold, I managed to pull it down around her neck. Our gazes met.
"Oh, God!" Dani said as tears slipped down her cheeks. "What's going to happen to us, Brynn?"
"I don't know. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"
"My head hurts and my hip, from where I landed on the ground." Her eyes filled with more tears and more fear. "I hope the baby is okay. I can't tell."
"That's a good thing. If you don't feel anything bad, then it's probably fine," I reassured her.
"It has to be."
"I'm so sorry, Dani. This is my fault. I should not have looked into Mom's life. I should have come home when you asked."
"It might not have mattered. They grabbed me a couple of blocks from my house."
"How could they know where you live?"
"Who knows?" she asked wearily. "I shouldn't have left you alone here in the city. I should have stayed. We've always been better together."
At her words, I pressed my forehead against hers, the skin-to-skin contact immediately soothing. This was Dani, my sister, my best friend, my other half. She was right; we had always been better together. We'd find a way out of this. We had to.
I lifted my head and looked around the room. There was a small window with blinds, but it was at least five feet off the ground. I didn't see anything to stand on.
"There's no way out," Dani said, echoing my thoughts. "Our hands are tied, and even if they weren't, I'm sure the door is locked."
I listened for a moment. "It's very quiet. This could be the back room of a church or maybe it's a religious school."
"Wouldn't a school be filled with people on a Monday afternoon?"
"I would think so. You know what's weird, I got a call from you right before I was knocked out. It couldn't have been you. You would have already been here."
"They grabbed my phone, made me give them the password. I think they took a photo of me to send to you."
I thought about that. Maybe they weren't sure they could get me alone and had planned to lure me here with Dani as the bait, but instead I'd entered an empty stairwell in my hurry to see my mother.
"Did the man say anything to you besides wanting the password?" I asked.
"He just said I wouldn't be alone for long. His voice was deep and menacing but it also sounded happy, like he was excited about what was happening. Do you know what time it is? I've lost track of everything."
"It was probably around one thirty when someone grabbed me." I turned around. "Can you see my watch?"
"It's two," Dani said.
"Then I wasn't out that long, and we can't be that far away from the hospital," I mused.
"Do you know what they want?"
I thought for a moment. Only one answer came to mind. "I think we're leverage."
"What does that mean?"
"Mom was part of a robbery crew before we were born. Maybe our aunt, too. I don't know. They stole diamonds, cash, and art from some wealthy collector. A security guard died during the robbery. I think Mom and Rachel have been running ever since then."
