As Adam stared down at her, Lexi drew in a sharp breath, desperately wanting to wake up, once again, from the nightmare. The waves of panic were sucking her under. Adrenaline pulsed through her. Adam might not be Salif, but he’d already made it abundantly clear as far as she was concerned that he was far more dangerous.
“I asked you a question,” Adam said. “Where is your brother?”
Her fingers gripped the edge of the bench beside him. “I told them earlier that I don’t know where he is.”
“That’s too bad. Because if you want to live, then I will strongly suggest it’s time for you—for all of you—to cooperate.”
She glanced at Karim’s weapon still pointed at them. How were they back where they’d started? And this time they’d walked right into the danger?
But regretting what they hadn’t noticed wasn’t going to change the situation. They needed a plan. A way to get out of this. Issa was hundreds of miles away, and they were still a day’s drive from the embassy. They had no phone access. No GPS tracking device. Adam was right. No one knew where they were, nor did they have any way to communicate to let someone know they were in trouble. But that didn’t mean she was ready to give up.
She looked briefly at Colton, knowing he’d do anything in his power to save her. But she couldn’t simply rely on him. He and Bret were here because of her and what Trent had done. Which meant she had to help find a way out of this. And the only place she knew where to start was discovering what the man’s next move was going to be.
“So this whole...kidnapping scenario,” she began. “It’s all about Trent and the money he embezzled?”
“You really are a smart girl.”
She caught the sarcasm in his voice and wondered if she should shut up or continue to press for more information. Staying silent, though, wasn’t going to give her the answers she wanted. “No one has told me exactly what Trent did.”
Adam sat down across from them, his demeanor completely relaxed, as he grabbed another one of the tiny cakes off the platter. “These are delicious, aren’t they? They make them fresh every day at a little bakery just down the road from us. Not quite as good as the Parisian bakeries, I suppose, or even the ones I’ve visited in New York. I discovered Italian doughnuts there.”
Lexi frowned. It was as if they were sitting down for afternoon tea together. But she didn’t miss what he was implying. He was telling her just how far his arm could reach.
“But I’m sorry. Where are my manners?” Adam said, brushing off his hands. “You were asking me about your brother. I’m surprised Salif didn’t tell you.”
“All he told me was that my brother had embezzled money from a business partner and that Salif had been hired to ensure he got it back.”
“That business partner would be me.” Any jollity in his voice had completely vanished. This was no game. “I’m assuming, then, as his sister, you know that Trent is a genius with numbers and computers. I was searching for someone I trusted who could set up a number of legally incorporated offshore corporations and then move my companies’ profits around discreetly.”
“You mean launder your profits?” Lexi asked.
Adam frowned at the comment, then apparently decided to ignore it. “What I didn’t realize is that he’s also a master manipulator. For the past couple of years, on top of moving my money to offshore accounts, he managed to create several bogus corporations through which he funneled funds—money stolen from my companies—into his own pocket.”
“And the money he stole?” Lexi asked. “Where is it?”
“That is the million-dollar question, now, isn’t it? I’ve got my best men on it and your brother didn’t make it easy. He set up his personal accounts all over the world, too. Which is why I need him. He’s the only one who can access them.”
Assuming he still had the money.
A year ago he’d bought a new house in a pricey neighborhood north of LA. Six months ago it had been a new car. She’d never thought he was flashy with what he was earning, but he was spending. Now she knew how.
“I’m assuming that the phone lines aren’t really down?” Colton asked.
“I couldn’t exactly have you calling in the cavalry, now, could I?”
Lexi flicked a moth, attracted by the light above them, off her sleeve. “If that’s true, then give me a phone, and I’ll see what I can do to find him.”
“I thought you didn’t know where he was,” Adam said.
“I don’t. Not yet. But Salif never gave me the chance. If I can get some of his friends’ numbers from my father, maybe I can track him down.”
She glanced at Colton. She knew he was working to formulate an escape plan as they spoke, but if she could talk to her father and figure out a way to let him know where they were, there might be a way for the embassy to locate them and come up with a rescue plan.
“And then what?” Adam said. “You tip off the authorities as to where you are?”
“You’re the one who needs to find my brother,” she said. “If Trent hasn’t responded to the video, he might this way.”
“I don’t know.” Adam rested his hands against his thighs and leaned forward. “I’m beginning to believe the three of you are more trouble than you’re worth. I’m half tempted to simply kill all of you and do this myself.”
She felt a shiver race up her spine and knew she needed to choose her words carefully. “Except you can’t do this yourself. You still need me.”
Adam tossed a set of keys from his pocket at Karim. “Take them in the Jeep. And in the meantime, I’ll give Trent forty-eight more hours to respond to the video.”
“And after forty-eight hours?” Bret asked.
“You all will have proven to me that you have no value left.”
* * *
Lexi felt the sharp jolt of the vehicle slam against her hip and winced at the pain.
Karim and his men weren’t taking any chances this time. They’d secured their hands behind them and already she could feel the numbness in her thumbs spreading from the tight cord wrapped around her wrists.
She’d tried to pay close attention to where they were going, but keeping track of the turns had become impossible. And beyond the cracks of light coming from the edges of the blindfold they’d pulled tightly around her eyes, she couldn’t see anything.
She felt the driver shift the vehicle into four-wheel drive and turn off the paved road onto a dirt one.
She also hadn’t been unable to gauge how much time had passed. Which was disconcerting. She’d always a strong sense of time. Yet over the past few days, time had seemed to move in a completely different rhythm. And it was the same with details. Things she normally would have remembered, she suddenly couldn’t.
Micah was a psychologist and had once spoken to her about the fallibility of witnesses’ memories. Witnesses of the same crime often had a number of completely different testimonies with victims and bystanders remembering not only details that hadn’t really occurred but also remembering things incorrectly. It was fascinating how human minds often filled in the gaps in what they remembered and interpreted due to fear, and the rush of adrenaline.
Lexi could relate. This situation had put her mind in a deep fog she didn’t know how to escape.
She could feel the warmth of Colton’s arm as he bumped against her. Guilt mingled with fear. If it wasn’t for her, Colton and his brother-in-law would be free. Bret would be back with his wife and son. Instead, their lives were again in danger.
“I’m sorry,” she said, barely above a whisper.
“For what?” Colton asked.”
“For all of this. This is my fault. The only reason we’re here is because I didn’t have my passport and we had to ask for help at the border. If we hadn’t had to do that—”
“This isn’t your fault, Lexi.” He pressed his shoulder against her. “And you have nothing to feel guilty about.”
She squeezed her eyes shut beneath the blindfold. She wanted to tell him he was wrong. That this was her fault, but there was nothing she could do anymore to try to fix things. Nothing she could do to make them all safe again.
The Jeep slowed down and came to a stop. The door next to her opened, and she could feel the butt of a gun press against her shoulder as she stepped out of the vehicle and into the darkness.
* * *
Colton opened his eyes and caught the yellow rays of light filtering through the one small window near the ceiling. Bret and Lexi were sleeping on thin mats beside him on the floor of the darkened room. He went to tug on the binding around his wrists, then remembered they’d taken them off when they’d left them here. There were no guards in the room, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any outside the thick wooden door in the far corner of the room. Apparently Adam was convinced there was no way to escape.
He was going to need to prove him wrong.
Colton got up off the mat, crossed the dusty cement floor, then pressed his hands against the door. It was solid and appeared to be bolted from the outside. Next, he moved around the inside perimeter of the room inch by inch. The walls appeared to be at least a foot thick, which meant while the construction seemed old, the structure was solid.
He stepped into the center of the room that held a few miscellaneous items like water jugs, a pile of discarded tires and a couple cardboard boxes, the room was empty. He looked at the window again, which seemed to be the only possible means of escape. It was too small for him, but if they could remove the bars, Lexi might be able to make it through. Shoving two of the tires next to the wall, he climbed up on the precarious ladder that made him just tall enough to look through the levers of semifrosted glass panes that were secured with rusty metal bars on the outside.
He shook his head and listened to the wind howling across the edges of the building, wondering what Adam was planning. Would he really kill them after the forty-eight hour deadline had passed? His gut told him yes.
“What can you see out there?”
Colton turned his head at the sound of Bret’s voice. His brother-in-law was sitting up in the dim light, stretching his back.
“Looks like there’s one other smaller building to the left, built into an embankment of sand. This one probably is, as well. Beyond that, it’s just desert.”
“So where do you think we are?”
Colton stepped down from his perch. “I’ve heard about deserted villages sprinkled across the desert. There are supposed to be a vast expanse of secret trails and hiding places drug smugglers, human smugglers and other outlaws use to avoid being detected. This might be one of those places.”
“It would make sense. Sounds as if we’re definitely outside the city.”
Colton nodded. “I agree, but we need to find a way out. We can’t just sit here and wait the forty-eight hours.”
“Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“The sun is sitting low above the horizon, so it must still be early.” Colton glanced back at his brother-in-law. “Why don’t you try and sleep some more?”
“I feel like all I’ve done the past few days is sleep. I want to do something to put a stop to this nightmare and get back with my family. We need to find a means of escape.”
Colton nodded, but even if they did manage to get out of this building, chances were they were miles from help. He shifted his gaze to Lexi, who lay sleeping across the room. He knew she was exhausted. And knew the shock that was going to take hold when she woke up and realized that all of this hadn’t just been a dream.
He watched her steady breathing. Her hair brushed against her face. She looked so peaceful and relaxed. All he wanted to do right now was to get her away from here. Not being able to do so made him feel helpless. But he was thankful that she was able to sleep. She needed to rest. There was no telling what was going to be ahead of them in the coming hours.
“You have feelings for her, don’t you?” Bret said.
Colton’s gaze shifted. He was too tired to deny how he felt. “It’s that obvious?”
“Oh, yeah.” Bret chuckled softly. “It’s like watching a rerun of when Becca and I first met. I was completely smitten with her. I couldn’t stop looking at her. I found every excuse in the book to talk with her and just be around her.”
He wanted to deny the truth behind Bret’s observation, but he knew he couldn’t. “This isn’t exactly the best scenario for getting to know someone, but Lexi...she’s different.”
“Different from Maggie?”
Colton sat down on the edge of the tires before answering. “I’ve tried not to compare them, but yes. She knew the risks coming here and yet she came anyway. Maggie would never move halfway around the world to help people she didn’t know. I don’t know how I missed just how different we really were.”
Bret caught his gaze. “Why do I get the feeling there’s a ‘but’ coming?”
“Because I can’t forget Maggie. I keep thinking about how things ended between us. I don’t want to go there again, and to be honest, how well do I really know Lexi?”
“You know she’s beautiful, loyal, brave...”
“Is that enough?” Colton asked.
“It’s enough for a start.”
“Maybe. I just can’t let it become a distraction. Not now. We need to find a way out of this, but how many times can we escape these people before our time runs out. I’ve checked this place over and it’s locked up as tight as Fort Knox.”
“And if we don’t figure our way out of this?” Bret asked.
“Let’s face it. They don’t need us. Unless they decide to try for ransom money again, and we already know Becca can’t come up with what they want.”
No matter how he looked at things, it seemed like a no-win situation. And while he wasn’t used to being a pessimist, he didn’t know how to save them. Not this time.
“All I know is that when this is over, I think you need to pursue Lexi,” Bret said. “Go out on a date like normal people do when they like each other, and then go from there. The two of you have a lot in common. A lot more than you and Maggie did anyway. All you just need is time to figure out how to make something work.”
“Maybe.”
“Because it’s worth it, Colton. Finding the right person and falling in love.” Bret clasped his hands in front of him. “I’m worried about Becca.”
Colton turned away and studied a large crack in the wall that snaked across the bottom where the plaster had split. It was a subject he didn’t want to talk about. He hadn’t told Bret about the threats Becca and Noah had received. Or the fact that she’d gone into hiding, believing they were in danger. He hadn’t wanted his brother-in-law to worry any more than he already was. Especially when there was nothing he could do.
“Colton...what is it?”
He debated for another few seconds what he should say, but trying to hide the truth at this point wasn’t going to help. “I spoke to Becca back at Issa’s place on his sat phone. You were pretty out of it that night with the pain from the scorpion bite, as well as from the medicine Sara gave you.”
Bret leaned forward. “What did she say?”
“She got a phone call.” He paused again, but there was no way of downplaying the significance of what she’d said. “They threatened to come after her and Noah—”
“Wait a minute.” Bret stood up and began pacing in front of them. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because there was nothing we could do, and adding to your stress—”
“I deserved to know, Colton.”
Colton glanced at Lexi, who stirred on her mat, unable to ignore the surge of guilt. Bret was right. He shouldn’t have kept things from him.
“Please tell me there’s no way they can reach Becca,” Bret asked. “Is there?”
“I don’t know for sure, but your kidnapping was Salif’s idea. Not Adam’s. And from what we know Salif’s hold is just here in North Africa. And not even into Morocco. So he’d have to way of reaching Becca in the US.”
Colton caught the anguish on Bret’s face. He prayed he was right, but knew there was no way to be certain.
“If you’re wrong, and Adam is involved in my kidnapping...” Bret shook his head, looking unconvinced. “He owns an international business whose reach definitely stretches to the US.”
“All Adam wants is the money Lexi’s brother stole,” Colton said, trying to convince himself that Becca was safe as much as Bret.
“If that were true, then why am I still here? Why are you still here? They can’t use us as leverage when it comes to Trent.”
“I can’t answer any of that.”
Bret combed his fingers through his thinning hair. “So you have no idea where she is or how to get a hold of her?”
Colton caught the panic in Bret’s voice. “She’s smart, Bret. She gave me the number of a burn phone where she can be contacted. I’ve got it scribbled on a piece of paper in my pocket.”
“So she’s gone off the grid.” He let out a huff of pent-up air.
“No credit cards. No cell phone tracking. She’s also been in contact with the agent from the FBI who’s been handling your case from the beginning.”
“So that means she’s safe.”
Colton nodded. Even if it meant their own lives were disposable.
Lexi stirred again, then sat up. He turned and read the confusion on her face as she looked around the room.
“Lexi...you’re okay.” He knelt down next to her. “We’re all okay.”
For now.
“I remember the guns, the ride in the vehicle...” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Where are the men who brought us here?”
“We don’t know. They locked the door and left.”
“And they haven’t come back?”
“No.”
She looked up at him. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
This...” She waved her hand. “This is all my fault. All my brother’s fault. And now the two of you are involved. You should be home with your wife right now, Bret.”
“Forget it,” Bret said. “I’ve tried the whole guilt thing with Colton. It doesn’t work on him. And besides that, he’s got this thing for rescuing damsels in distress.”
Lexi looked up at him. “Okay, then how do we get out of this mess? I don’t think Trent’s going to come forward. He’s probably taken the money he stole and is already living it up in some nonextradition country.”
If she was right, he didn’t like where that left them. They had no way of escape and no leverage. Or maybe Adam was going to go ahead with a ransom demand as plan B. What did he have to lose? Three foreigners. Two who held American passports. Maybe he thought they were a guarantee that he’d get at least a big chunk of his investment back.
Colton frowned. That had to be his plan. Because if not, he and Bret would already be dead. But either way, they needed to find a way out of this place before their captures returned and decided their fate for them.