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Dani's eyes widened in shock. "Mom was a thief?"
"I think she was a lot of things, and that was one of them. I was going to the hospital to talk to her, to finally get answers when they grabbed me." I paused, trying to think through the pain in my throbbing head. "But even without talking to her, I know a lot more now. Mom and Rachel went on the run after that robbery. At some point, they split up. Mom had us and married Dad. For seven years we had normal lives. Then something happened to change that. Mom went to New Orleans, probably to meet Rachel, disappeared, and faked her death. She couldn't come back to us without putting us in danger, too. She was able to stay hidden for a long time, until she saved a man's life, and her picture was on the news."
"What do they want now? Why are we even still alive? Why didn't they just kill us to get back at her?" Dani asked.
"Because they want the diamonds and the other stones. That's why they tore Mom's house apart. But they didn't find what they were looking for, so they needed incentive. They're going to use us to get Mom and Rachel to talk, to tell them where the jewels are," I said, as more pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
"And then they'll let us go?" Dani asked hopefully.
I couldn't dash that hope, even though it seemed incredibly unlikely. "Maybe, but we need to try to escape before they come back."
"How the hell are we going to do that?"
"We can stand up. We can try to jump whoever comes through that door next."
She looked at me in shock. "Seriously? That's your plan? We can't use our hands, Brynn."
"Do you have any better ideas?"
"No. But that's not going to work."
"It might. We have the element of surprise. They could think we're still unconscious."
"They know I'm not."
I struggled to get up, rolling onto my knees and then propelling myself to my feet. I hadn't counted on a shocking wave of dizziness, and I backed into the wall to try to steady myself.
"Are you all right?" Dani asked with alarm.
"Feeling a little dizzy," I said.
"Me, too. Every time I move my head, it hurts." Dani paused. "I can't jump anyone, Brynn. I can't risk the baby. Even though, it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to have this baby."
"Don't say that. You're going to have your baby—your boy," I said fiercely. "I will make sure of that."
She looked at me in bemusement. "You've changed. You're like a ferocious tiger. You're not hiding behind me or looking for me to lead."
"I let you lead for a long time, and you did an incredible job. In fact, if I'd listened to you, we'd both be in Carmel right now, but we're here, and I'm not giving up without a fight. You saved me when Mom died. You were my rock. I wouldn't have survived without you, Dani."
"You would have been okay. You've always been stronger than you think. And I've always been weaker than you thought."
"That's not true."
"It is true. I always needed you, Brynn. I just let you believe you needed me." She gave me an apologetic look. "I kept you from going after your own life, because I couldn't stand the idea of us not being together. I had to have you there when I got married, when I started the business, when I tried to get pregnant. You were right the other day when you said you had to live your own life. I didn't realize I'd been forcing you to live mine. I'd told myself you wanted everything I wanted, but you didn't."
"Force is a strong word. I stayed because I loved you, Dani."
"You should have been playing in orchestras years ago, but I persuaded you that music was an impractical career choice when, really, I just couldn't stand the thought of you going out on tour. I didn't want to be alone. I know Dad was around, but I always thought of you as my family. You were the only one I could count on."
"Same goes for me. I always counted on you, and we are going to get ourselves out of this mess, because this is not the end of our story."
Despite my strong words, I wasn't at all sure how to get out of this situation. I couldn't even move away from the wall.How was I going to jump someone with my hands tied behind my back and my ability to move hampered by debilitating waves of dizziness?
A door slammed somewhere—the noise a long, loud echo. I straightened.
Dani shot me a panicked look. "He's coming back."
I heard more than one voice, and one of them belonged to a woman—a woman who sounded exactly like Dani and me. She was arguing, demanding to be let go. And then the door opened, and she was shoved into the room so hard she fell to her knees. I caught a glimpse of a tall, bearded man, and then the door closed.
