“Hello, Paige.”
The deep voice held no emotion. The tone was even and calm, but Paige recognized it instantly. Her hand shook, and she tightened her grip to keep from dropping her phone.
“H-how did you get this n-number?”
Her heart pounded so loud that she almost didn’t hear him over the rush in her ears.
“That’s not important. I don’t want to waste time talking about subjects that are not important.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Memories surged to the surface despite all the time that had passed. She closed her eyes to will them away, but she ended up giving them room to play in her mind. He had come from nowhere, grabbing her from behind when she left her photography studio. His glove-encased hand clamped over her mouth hard enough to leave faint bruising on her face. The hold that secured her arms to her body had been strong, like a vise ensnaring her. The voice in her ear threatened to kill her if she made a sound.
Not only had she made a sound, but she damaged his shin trying to escape him.
“What do you want?”
“I think that is obvious, Paige. I want you.”
“Forget it, asshole. You can’t have me.”
He made a sound that could have been a laugh, but there was no humor or joy in the noise.
“When you hear what I have to say, you’ll change your mind.”
Steam started shooting up from the pasta, and she hurried to turn off the stove eye underneath it and the pan with the pasta sauce.
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
Her retort was met with silence, and she checked her screen to make sure the call was still connected.
“Charlotte? You there?”
Her hand snapped the phone back to her ear. “Ms. Miller? Oh my God! Are you—”
“It’s a shame,” the man continued. “For this old woman to be in danger because of you, and she doesn’t even know your real name.”
“If you hurt her—”
“Idle threats are cliché, wouldn’t you agree? There’s only one way for me not to hurt this woman. You come to me. I let her go. It’s as simple as that.”
Paige’s mouth went dry, and her stomach lurched. She closed her eyes to stave off the nausea. “I don’t believe you. Instead of letting her go, you’ll kill us both.”
“But you’ll come anyway, won’t you, Paige? I’ll make this simple for you. Take your boyfriend’s SUV. If you leave now and drive straight through, you can be here in four hours and ten minutes. Just in case, I’ll give you four hours and fifteen minutes to make it. If you’re not here in that time, she’s dead.”
“Wait! I can’t do that. If I take the SUV, he’s going to track me down. What if there’s an accident on the way? What if I run out of gas on the way? You can’t—”
“I hold all the cards, Paige. I can do whatever I want. But I can be a reasonable man. Let’s make it four hours and thirty minutes. If you’re late, she’s dead. If anyone follows you, you’re all dead. If you tell anyone where you’re going, you’re...All...Dead.”
The call ended, and Paige felt her heart stop when she realized he never told her where she was going. In the next moment, a text came through with an address in Biloxi, Mississippi, and she almost fainted in relief. A sob escaped herthroat, but she ruthlessly pulled herself together. Now wasn’t the time for a breakdown.
Her thoughts raced. She no longer heard the shower, which meant Ben would be back any second.All dead.The man’s words played on repeat, ringing in her ears with a sinister finality she couldn’t escape. She shoved her phone in her pocket and ran toward the door. Ziggy trilled behind her as she snatched Ben’s keys from the table in the foyer. Her hand landed on the doorknob when she heard Ben behind her.
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t turn around. If she did, she’d lose her nerve.
“I have to go.”
“I heard. I’m not letting you go alone.”
