As soon as I know she’s not going anywhere, I rush over toward Anastasia. Sawyer, Jack, and my mother are all hovering over her. Sawyer has his shirt off and is pressing it to the side of her face.
My heart plummets. “How bad?”
She pulls the shirt away just enough for me to see a nasty gash on her cheek. Similar to the one still healing on my cheek. Tears stream down her face, and her body is trembling.
“Sawyer, get her to the hospital for stitches.”
“Take my truck,” Bradyn says as he hands him the keys.
“I’ll drive,” my mother says, taking the keys as Sawyer lifts Anastasia into his arms. She pauses next to me. “You make her pay for hurting my girls.” It warms my heart knowing she’s not just talking about Anastasia but about Tessa as well.
“She won’t get away with it,” I promise.
Ryker and Bradyn step out onto the porch first, each of them grabbing a hold of one of the men on the porch and dragging them into the house.
As soon as they’re propped up against the wall feet away from each other, Bradyn and Ryker cross their arms and stand watch, Bravo sitting happily at his owner’s feet. Sawyer steps out with my sister, my mom closing the door right behind them.
I turn toward Brenda. Jack and Weston have her seated in a chair. There is no emotion on her face. No anger, no fear—just an expressionless mask.
“Where is Tessa?” I ask, keeping my voice level. Interrogation happens to be a specialty of mine. Not because I go out of my way to cause pain but because I don’t allow the subject to believe I won’t.
Brenda knows my reputation, though. She knows my limits. Which means she knows what I’m willing and not willing to do for answers.
Fortunately, she also knows that Ryker has his own reputation. And if need be, I’ll pass it over to him.
“Where is she?” I ask again.
Brenda grins at me. “Do you know why I chose you?”
“I’m not interested in that.”
“I chose you because of how predictable you are. It’s sad, really. I can look at any situation and know exactly how you’re going to behave. It’s how I knew you’d leave Garrison here when you went to Savannah. How I knew you’d go to the basement, and how I knew you’d come back here after you survived.”
With a grin of my own, I drag one of my mom’s kitchen chairs over toward her, then slide it right in front of her. “That’s all well and good. But you crossed into uncharted waters when you got Tessa involved.”
“Me?” She rolls her eyes. “I wanted nothing to do with bringing that trash in.”
I ignore the insult and focus only on getting answers. Brenda wants to rile me up, but it’ll be too late for her when she realizes she won’t. “Then how is she involved?”
“You’ve made a lot of enemies, Zane. People who want to see you hurt.”
“Who?”
She grins at me, clearly thinking she’s won. “You really haven’t pieced any of it together, have you? What a shame. Either way, you won’t make it in time. Tessa will be dead in five hours, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Do you really think I don’t already have a team headed straight for the Southeast Environmental Commission’s building?” I ask with a laugh. It’s a total bluff, but I’m running out of time.
The slight shift of Brenda’s expression tells me everything I need to know.
“She’s there.” I shove the chair aside and push to my feet.
“Five hours is not a lot of time,” Ryker comments.
“I’ll call my team.” Jack is already on the phone.
“You’re going to fail,” Brenda sneers. “You’ll never make it in time.”
“You made a mistake when you went after what was mine,” I growl.
