“You’re going to talk to your brother,” he said quietly. The statement startled her—what did Andy have to do with any of this?
The man continued. “You’re going to sound scared. You’re going to tell him to do what we say and not to call the police. And you are not going to ask questions. Understand?”
Her pulse hammered. Yup, she understood all of that—especially the scared part. She wouldn’t have to fake that at all.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“If you say anything else,” his hand closed around her upper arm, fingers digging in just enough to make his point, “this ends badly. For him and for you.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat.
The grip loosened. A phone began to ring nearby—not muffled, not distant. Loud. On speaker.
“Hello?”
Her mouth was as dry as sandpaper. She forced the words out anyway. “And—Andy?”
Her voice sounded wrong to her own ears—thin, stretched, like it had traveled too far to reach him. But it was hers.
Relief broke through the fear just enough to hurt.
“Tess?” Andy’s voice came through the phone, sharp with panic. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
Her chest seized. She clenched her hands behind her back, nails digging into her palms as she focused on the one thing she’d been told to do.
“Listen to me,” she said, the words tumbling out too fast, fear bleeding through despite her effort. “Do what they say.Don’tcall the police.”
The hand on her arm tightened again, warning.
“What? Tess, what are you talking about? Who?—”
“Andy—” Her voice broke on his name, guilt flaring hot and immediate. She couldn’t stop it. “Please.”
Something barked behind her—one sharp word she couldn’t make out, the scrape of a boot against concrete. The phone shifted in the man’s hand.
“Tess,” Andy said urgently. “Where are you? Tell me where you are.”
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Static crackled through the line—or maybe thatwas just her breath rushing too loud in her ears. The phone was pulled away from her before she could try again.
The call ended.
The silence afterward was brutal.
She sagged back against the wall, her heart racing and lungs burning as if she’d just run for her life instead of speaking a handful of sentences. Tears stung her eyes beneath the hood, but she blinked them back hard. Crying would only make this worse.
The deeper voice exhaled slowly.
“Good,” he said, satisfied. “That’ll keep him moving.”
Her stomach twisted.
Footsteps retreated. Somewhere nearby, a chair scraped across the floor, and someone sat as if this was business as usual.
Tess pressed her head back against the cold wall, shaking despite herself.
