Because those horrifying pieces were finally falling into place.
“The men I owe money to have connections all over the world.”
“Including within the Taliban.” Evie surmised.
Her stomach retched, and if there’d been even an ounce of food in her system, she would’ve vomited right where she stood. Not only was the man she considered family behind the first abduction, but he was also the reason she was here?
“When I found out about your trip, I saw a way out. The people I owe said they’d take care of things on their end…but then I got a call that Phillip had refused to pay the ransom. The next phone call after that was to tell me the men they’d hired to take you had been killed, and you and the girls had been rescued.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Landy.” Anger quickly replaced Evie’s shock from the man’s betrayal. “Let me guess…the guys you owe money to told you to try again. But here’s the thing…if Phillip didn’t pay the first time, what makes you think he’ll give a shit about saving me now?”
“That’s just it.” Landy shrugged one of his shoulders. “He won’t be paying me to save you. He’s going to pay me, so I don’t tell the world the truth about the kind of man he is.”
“You’d do that?” She shifted her stance slightly. “You’d expose the fact that I’m not really his daughter?”
“That, and the fact that he was ready to willingly let you die, rather than lose a penny of his precious fucking money.”
Evie huffed out a humorless laugh. “Look at where you are, Landy. You act as if you’re not just as bad as him.”
“I’m not!” The man yelled his denial. “I’m only doing this because Ihaveto! If he’d paid the ransom from the get-go, if he hadn’t refused to pay those terrorist assholes, we wouldn’t evenbehere!”
“We’re only here becauseyouborrowed money from a bunch of well-connectedcriminals!”
The hallway grew silent as the two continued standing off with one another. But it wasn’t much of a standoff, really. Not when he was the one holding the gun.
Only a fool brings a knife to a gunfight.
“It doesn’t matter,” Landy spoke up again. “What’s done is done.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I have no choice but to see this through. And since the team that rescued you killed the men working for those I owe money to, they’re asking for the full ten million for themselves.”
“And if you don’t find a way to get them their money?—”
“I’m dead.”
Tears fell from the corners of Evie’s eyes as she realized she’d been nothing more than a pawn in everyone else’s games…
The man she’d once thought was her father had taken the resentment he felt toward her mother’s affair out on Evie. As a child. As an adult.
Landy had used her in his first attempt to extort money from Phillip to pay off his ill-gotten debts. And when that didn’t work, he arranged for her to be kidnapped a second time with the intent of blackmailing his partner and friend into paying for Landy’s silence.
But there was part of what she’d learned that didn’t make sense. And with nothing left to lose, Evie went for broke and asked the man holding the gun?—
“Why am I really here?”
“I just told you why you are here. I need you to get Phillip to pay?—”
“Actually, you don’t.” Evie stared back at him. “You said you were going to force him to buy your silence, and then use the money he pays you to pay off the debt you owe. So I’ll ask you again…” She took a daring step closer. “Why am I here?”
Guilt clouded the man’s weary gaze as he uttered the final part of his plan. “Paying off the people I owe still leaves me with nothing. I need…” He cleared what sounded like real emotion from his throat before telling her, “I’ll still need money to live on after that.”
Money to live on…money to live on…money to…
“Oh, my god.”
“Evie, I’m so sorry. I told you, I have no?—”