"Hello, Shane." Vince's tone held all the smug confidence Shane expected.
Shane's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Where is she?"
"Safe. For now. That all depends on you."
"If you hurt her?—"
"I don't want to hurt her, Shane. I just want what's mine."
"Kevin's not yours. Youneverhad that right?—"
"Not the kid." Vince laughed. Shane noted a slight edge of hysteria in it. "Jesus, you really think I give a shit about some little bastard?”
“Then what do you?—”
“I want her lucky purse."
Shane's brain stuttered. "What?"
"The Louis Vuitton Speedy Thirty. I know you’ve got it. Saw you pick it up in the courtroom before I could fucking get to it." Vince's voice dropped. "Do not damage it. Do not go through it. Just bring it to me unharmed, and you get the bitch back unharmed, do you understand?"
"What the fuck, man?" Shane's voice rose. "Herpurse? What kind of sick, twisted game are you playing?"
"No game. No purse, no April. Simple as that. You don't want Kevin to lose his mother, do you?"
White-hot fury burned through Shane's chest. "Is this some sort of fucked-up revenge against a kid you never met? What the fuck?"
"Just bring the purse—undamaged—to Echo Ridge Ski Resort. Midnight tonight. There's an old maintenance barn there by the lifts. You know where I mean?"
"I know it."
"Good. Midnight. Not one minute before, either, or she dies."
"You know I'm not coming alone."
"Yeah, I'm not stupid. Doesn't matter. Just bring the purse." Vince paused. "And Shane? If that purse is damaged in any way, she dies. Understood?"
The line went dead.
Shane stared at the phone, then at the purse on the passenger seat. What the hell was so important about a designer handbag that someone would kidnap April for it? Unless it had some sort of misprint or flaw that made it a priceless one-of-a-kind?Were they dealing with an international ring of thieves who specialized in luxury items?
This just doesn’t make sense.
The guard waved the line of vehicles through the front gate. Shane’s first instinct was to go to the safehouse, check on April’s family, on his son. But he couldn't waste a moment as long as April was in danger. He knew the plan—the women would gather at the safehouse with Kevin, his grandparents, and Pete and Benny, away from whatever shitstorm was about to unfold. Arden would be the one to tell Kevin. If anyone could help Kevin process this, it was her. Shane was grateful for that, as he pushed away the guilt gnawing at him for not being there himself.
His SWCC training kicked in—that cold, professional distance that let him function when emotions would only get in the way. He had a mission now. Objective: retrieve April. Nothing else mattered.
Shane pulled into the parking lot in front of Watchdog's main building, rain hammering the windshield, headlights cutting through the downpour.
Ben appeared at his window. "You okay?"
"Vince called. Wants the purse in exchange for April."
Ben's eyes widened. "The purse?"
"Midnight. Echo Ridge Ski Resort." Shane grabbed the bag and climbed out. Otherwise none of this makes sense."
They made a run for the main building, rain soaking them both.
