“I’m not giving him what he wants.” Buddy rubbed his neck. “I’m going to trust that Nick and Flagler can deal with the situation in Miami, and we’re gonna turn the tables on this asshole.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Dawson said.
There was no way Buddy was going to actually choose between anyone.
He was choosing all of them.
Or he’d die trying.
Chapter Twenty-One
Darkness swallowed the SUV whole—thick, absolute, the kind that erased the world beyond the windows. No streetlights. No moon. No landmarks to indicate where they were taking her. Just an endless black void rushing past, punctuated by the occasional blur of trees that materialized then vanished like ghosts.
Inside, every vibration of the road jolted through Fallon's bones. The zip tie bit into her wrists with each bump, each turn into that suffocating nothingness.
The confinement sank into her bones, grinding against joints she couldn’t shift.
Linda trembled beside her, frail and folded in on herself, her wrists purpling against her cuffs. Her staggered breaths whistled through the gag covering her mouth. Fallon nudged her shoulder gently, solidarity in the dark.
“It’s okay,” Fallon whispered, even though nothing about this was okay. “I’m here.”
EJ’s eyes flicked to her through the rearview— amused, curious, like she was a puzzle he already knew the ending to.
“You don’t need to bother comforting her,” he said. “She won’t matter much longer.”
Fallon swallowed the urge to scream. It wouldn’t help or solve anything. “Where are you taking us?” Her pulse spiked with something icy and brutal, as she waited for a response she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear.
“That depends,” EJ said casually, as if discussing a scenic detour. “On whether your hero understands simple instructions.”
Her jaw tightened. This was an impossible situation with no good outcome. “Why us? Why Buddy? Why this?” A million more questions rattled her brain, but she doubted EJ would even answer these.
The driver chuckled under his breath.
EJ didn’t. He watched her instead, gaze sharpening with interest—like she’d finally stepped onto the exact mental square he wanted.
“Still thinking small,” he murmured. “Still thinking this is about tonight.” He shifted slightly, turning just enough that she caught the shadow of his smile.
“What do you mean, small?”
He tapped his temple. “Use your brain. I know you have one. I’ve been watching you for a while now, and you’re smart. Maybe even smarter than that boyfriend of yours.”
Her heart raced. Her mind rattled. “Watching? For how long?”
“Honestly? On and off for years.” He licked his lips like she was a meal about to be devoured. “I never anticipated you and Buddy. That wasn’t originally part of the plan. Hell, you weren’t part of my plan to get back at Buddy for what he did, but you just landed there nice and neat.”
“That doesn’t make any sense if you’ve been watching for years. It doesn’t explain why me? Why Linda?”
EJ waved his hand as if he were swatting a fly. “The old woman? She’s collateral damage. An easy mark. Someone you care about. Someone the community cares about. Someone who would give me insurance on walking out of that fundraiser with you on my arm.”
Linda moaned.
Fallon tried to scoot closer. “That’s cruel.”
“It’s business,” EJ said sharply. “Buddy destroyed a large portion of my pipeline, and he cost me millions. It’s time for him to pay. You just made it even easier for me. And you gave me the chance to redeem myself for a mistake made years ago.”
“What does that mean?”
“Here’s a piece of truth you can choke on,” EJ said.
