Fallon straightened despite the restraints.
“Why you?” EJ repeated softly. “Because you were chosen.”
Her blood iced.
“Years ago,” EJ went on. “Pretty little thing living in a pretty little house. A father who traveled. A mother who left routines like breadcrumbs. Predictable. Ideal. Your buyer called you a rare find. He was the kind of client who paid top dollar for a certain kind of girl, and I couldn’t let just any thug come and get you.”
“My buyer?
“I came to Calusa Cove with one of my top people. We came just for you,” EJ said.
“Who?” she asked with her heart in her throat.
“The who isn’t important,” EJ said. “All you need to know was that he was willing to pay a hefty sum for you. So, I introduced myself to your father. I told him I worked for a company he was dying to do business with. We had a drink. Walked the halls of your home.” His eyes glittered in the mirror. “My client was right. You were a rare find. All fire and ice. The kind of girl that would be fun to break.”
Fallon’s heart stumbled—hard, painful, once. “No,” she breathed.
“Yes,” EJ said simply. “But fate pulled a fast one. You didn’t work that next night at the Crab Shack.”
Her stomach bottomed out. “Tessa took my place.”
“At first, we thought she was you—same color hair. And you lent her that damn jacket,” EJ replied. “We left it behind. I wanted to send a message. It’s been fun watching you honor your friend when deep down, I suspect, you know it was always supposed to be you snatched in the night. Sadly, my client didn’t want Tessa, but she still had value.” He shrugged. “I sold her quick enough.”
Fallon’s vision blurred. Sold. Fucking sold. Somewhere Fallon couldn’t reach. Somewhere Tessa could never be found.
“I wanted to come back for you,” EJ said softly, as if he’d been robbed of something precious. “But the heat was everywhere, and by the time it really calmed down, it was too late—you’d made too much noise about finding Tessa. About starting the Tessa Project. I had to let it go—had to let you go. But I’ve watched you.”
The words crawled over her skin like something living. Watched. He'd been watching her grieve, watching her search, watching her build the Tessa Project from nothing—and he'd done it from safety. From shadows.
“So, after Buddy fucked me over, and I learned you two were friends… then an item… damn. I nearly lost it.”
A sound tore from Fallon’s throat, part inhale, part sob, part disbelieving horror. “Where’s Tessa? Where’s my friend?”
“I’m not a keeper,” EJ said with a shrug. “I move product, I don’t track it. She could be alive. Or dead. Or wishing she were. But wherever she is, she’s long gone.”
The world swerved—not the SUV, her world—and for one horrifying beat, Fallon couldn’t draw breath. It felt like hands were around her throat. Tessa’s hands. Reaching. Pleading.
Linda whimpered beside her, muffled and high, and Fallon forced her body to move—leaning in, pressing her temple to the older woman’s shoulder.
“I’m here,” Fallon whispered, raw. “Please hang on. Please.”
Linda’s tears slid silently down her face.
EJ studied them like they were a fascinating wildlife documentary.
“You see,” he said, conversational again, “you became a neat little loose end. And Buddy? Well, he’s made a career of tripping over loose ends.”
Fallon’s heart crashed against her ribs. “Buddy didn’t even know me then.”
“No,” EJ said, “but he knows you now. And that’s even better. A hero with a weakness is far more entertaining than a missing teenager.”
Fallon grinded her teeth. “You’re using me to hurt him.”
“Of course I am,” EJ said brightly. “Simon failed me in that regard. I fully intend to correct that.”
Her breath stuttered.
Simon.
