I’m all business when I turn to Ryder. “Get Sadie. We need a plan. Whoever took her is stupid, messy, and dangerous. Our best shot is to be on offense, and the last thing we need is mass chaos. Since he didn’t plan to take her, he’s going to be on edge and panicked as he tries to figure out what to do next. He’ll be looking for any reason to get rid of her, and we cannot let that happen. Understood?”
“Understood.” But instead of leaving, Ryder steps toward me, puts his hand on my shoulder, and squeezes, looking me in the eyes. “It’s going to be okay, Charlie. I know my sister, and she can outwit this guy. We’ll find her.”
It almost breaks me, but I push away from the emotions threatening to swallow me whole, and when I speak, my voice is a deadly, eerie calm. “We’d better.”
Chapter 26
Jessica
If I don’t die, Charlie is going to kill me.
A burst of pain radiates across my ribs as I’m jostled around on the floor of the F-150, shaking me back into full consciousness as Russ Decker drives way too fast over what I assume is a railroad track.
As I bump around on the floor, my vision blurs at the agony. I hold my breath, waiting for it to pass, anchoring myself to this moment so I don’t pass out again.
I have no idea where he’s going.
I’m on the floor, unable to see anything in the darkened cabin. The only clue to my whereabouts is that it’s someplace remote. The sky the kind of pitch black only found in the middle of nowhere.
From the front seat, I hear my captor muttering.
Wherever he’s taking me, please, please let it be somewhere Charlie can find me.
I can’t die on him.
I can’t be one more tragedy on his long list.
That’s not the plan.
The plan is to shower him in happiness, fun, and endless affection.
To show him the other side of life, one filled with love, security, and family.
To be the best thing that ever happened to him.
If I die, he’ll blame himself.
It will haunt him.
I love him too much for that.
More than anything in the world, I want him to be happy, and dying will not make him happy.
I’m so, so stupid. Why didn’t I tell someone where I was going? Or what I was doing? Instead of jumping the second I’d seen an opportunity.
When Shane Donovan told me Russ Decker owned one of the early construction companies associated with the project, a jolt of excitement at the prospect of finding an unexpected thread to follow shot through me.
I should have gone directly to Ryder, but instead, I decided not to bother him and conduct my own investigation. Russ had been on his way out the door, and I’d determined I’d lose him if I searched for my brother.
My plan had been to pop out there, charm him, ask for his information in hopes of contacting him for background information, and be back at the tables in ten minutes.
With his ill-fitting blazer, balding head, and beer belly, he’d seemed harmless enough. Sure, when he’d first talked to me in the drink line, he’d been jumpy, but I’d assumed by the way he hadn’t been able to stop looking at me that I made him nervous.
So I’d chased after him. I’d thought it was going well, but the second I’d mentioned the project, he’d freaked out. I hadn’t anticipated the reaction, but the behavior was one I’d recognized over the course of my career.
Whatever scheme Russ Decker is involved in is unraveling faster than he can keep up.
Since I’m not a total idiot, I’d backed away, but it had been too late. His suspicions had been raised. It was then I fumbled around and managed to press record on my voice memos and leave enough information for Charlie to know who to look at before Russ ditched my phone in the parking lot.