CHAPTER 11
“I HAVE A reply,” Kurt said from his perch at the counter.
Caitlyn’s stomach jumped. “What is it?” She jogged to his side.
“Brevard and Steele only. Six a.m. Whiffle Beach gazebo. Follow these rules or the sister dies.”
An anguished sound escaped her throat.Oh, Rose.She shook off the suffocating vine of helplessness creeping over her and found her voice. “WhiffleBeach is closed to the public for repairs to the boardwalk and facilities, so it’ll be deserted. I know they won’t willingly let any of us live, but you have to tell them yes. Absolutely yes.”
“The storm means we won’t have any backup.”
“I know.”
“Okay.” He sent the reply.
Kurt stared at his screen. “You know it’s a trap.”
“Yes, but what choice do we have?”
“None.”
“You don’t have to go,”she said, surprised by how much she liked having someone with her to face this ordeal. Having him around made it easier. Half of her wanted him with her to face down the enemy. The other half wanted him safely on the other side of the world. “She’s my sister. This is my fight.”
His mouth twisted into a scowl. “If you think I would walk away now, then you don’t know me at all.”
“No.” She neverdoubted he’d stay. “But I had to offer.”
“Whatever.”
She’d offended his pride, but she wouldn’t apologize. She removed the engagement ring from her finger and made reflected light play in patterns across the granite. “Somehow they know she’s my sister.”
“All it would take is a little digging. Or that woman on the stairs might have talked.”
Probably against her will.
Tears burned the backof Caitlyn’s eyes and her throat tightened. A stupid, useless response. She slid the ring across the counter until it struck the wall with a faintclink.
“Hey,” Kurt said.
Without responding, she crossed the room and ran up the stairs.
She shut the door to her room and sat on the bed, breathing deeply until she regained control. Out the window, the palm trees waved their arms wildly in theoffshore breeze, looking far too exuberant.
Somewhere out there in the fading daylight, Rose was alive, thank God. But Caitlyn didn’t trust Lambert or his goons an inch. Surely her sister was being used as bait to get Caitlyn and Kurt to show up so Lambert could take his revenge on his son’s killer and get rid of all the witnesses to Rose’s captivity.
But he wasn’t a dumb man. Would he huntdown everyone at Steele? Their families? How far would he go, and how many people would he endanger?
She couldn’t let that happen. No matter what went down in the morning, whether she and Kurt survived, they needed to rescue Rose, and take down Lambert before he could hurt anyone else.
She didn’t know how to do that yet. All they had was the gun Kurt had grabbed from Glenn’s partner last night.
Why had she left Glenn’s weapon behind after she’d shot him?
That now-familiar sick feeling doused her like a cold shower.
Breathe.
Heavily guarded as Lambert was, he would be hard to pin down. Not to mention, he had the local police in his pocket and public opinion on his side.
