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Six police officers surrounded the cabin. Two were hidden in the woods across the street. One was beneath Aiden's window. One was on the other side of the house, under the kitchen window. And two had crept up from neighboring cabins and were hidden on the lake side just beyond the back patio.
They were all prepared to take the gunmen out if they showed themselves.
Even with all those guns, Samantha feared this would go badly.
She parked her SUV on the street in front of the house, where Lionel could see it if he looked, but far enough away that he probably wouldn't risk shooting at it—at her. She stepped out and stared at the cabin while Brady, who'd parked at the staging area about a quarter mile down the quiet road, crept up the narrow road to meet her. She was surrounded by familiar trees, secure trees, her trees. This was one of Sam's safe places, and Lionel was not going to ruin that.
Brady yanked on her hand, and they both crouched beside her rear wheel. He handed her the gunman's phone. "You remember what we talked about?"
She nodded, took a breath, and dialed. Brady leaned close to listen.
Lionel's phone rang once. "Why are you calling me?"
"It's Samantha. Plans have changed."
"Put Prat on the phone right now."
"Your man is incapacitated."
A long silence. "Interesting. How did that happen?"
"I saw your text, Lionel. The one where you told him to take care of me. I'd like to think you meant no harm, but your actions say differently."
"Shall I kill Garrison first?"
Her heart dropped, her stomach followed right behind. Brady mouthed stick to the plan.
"Not if you want your package," she said.
Lionel blew out a long breath. "I'm curious. How did you incapacitate my man?"
"I guess...Prat, did you say? Prat figured I'd go along with whatever he said. He figured wrong."
"Keep going," Lionel said.
She took a deep breath and relayed the story she and Brady had concocted. "He had to cut a chain to get into the lot. He left the bolt cutters on the ground behind him. So I whacked him in the head with them."
Silence met her words.
Brady nodded for her to continue.
"He's not dead. I'm no murderer. I wrapped his hands and feet with duct tape."
"You just happened to have that in your car?"
"I keep a toolbox in the back of my SUV. When you own sixteen cabins, stuff breaks."
"Where is he now?"
"He and the package are close. When my friends are safe, you can have them."
"You have the package?" Lionel sounded skeptical.
"Of course."
"What's inside it?"
"How would I know?" Samantha said. "I'm not stupid enough to open it."
"How much does it weigh?"
"I don't know." She didn't—she'd never handled it.
"Ballpark it."
"Couple of ounces, maybe? I'm not good at guessing those kinds of things."
A pause. Then, "So you expect me to believe that you came back here to make this trade all by yourself."
"I thought about calling the cops. But I can't see any way all my friends would survive if you thought there were cops. You don't seem to be a hands-up-don't-shoot kind of guy."
There was long pause. He didn't deny it, and even if he had, she wouldn't have believed it.
Finally, he spoke. "Samantha, since you seem to think you're calling the shots, what now?"
"You let Aiden and Matty go."
"I don't think I will." His voice sounded calm, too calm. "I think instead of letting them go, I'll just start shooting them until I get my package."
She looked at Brady, who nodded for her to continue. They'd considered this possibility. She took a deep breath and spoke. "You start shooting, and every cop in the county will be here in minutes. Then you'll have no opportunity for escape."
"Ah. But therein lies the rub," Lionel said. "Because I think, perhaps, you've already called the police." There was a pause, a deep breath. "Here's what we're going to do. You're going to get the package and bring it to me. You're going to walk right up to the front door, package in hand, and you and I are going to leave together."
Brady met her eyes. Shook his head.
She looked into the woods. Blew out a long breath. "Okay. First, you send out the teens."
"Where are you?"
"If you look out the front window, you'll see my car. I'm near it."
The phone went dead.