“You sent Matthews to pick her up,” I say, watching Vaughn grab the table as if to keep himself from pacing the room. “Where was he taking her?”
He squeezes the metal hard enough to leave dents. The stubble along his jaw hints that he’s not been in the right frame of mind to shave lately, and his shirt’s stained and wrinkled. It all confirms he truly has no idea where Hailey is. Some things you can’t fake, and the sorrow in his eyes, the fuckingguiltthere, is one of them.
“I didn’t,” he murmurs, almost to himself.
“What do you mean?”
“Ididn’tsend Matthews.” He rakes one hand through his hair, then drops it back down, staring at his fingernails; he’s bitten them so short they look sore. “I didn’t know Hailey was leaving. I didn’t even know about you until recently.”
“He didn’t tell you he was picking her up?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. Why wouldn’t he? “She called him to come get her and given how fucking paranoid you were, I get why she calledhimnot you, but—”
“How is that relevant?! Her life is on the line!”
“You think I don’t fucking know that?!” Now it’s my hand banging against the table, my patience fraying beyond its limit. “You’re not the only man here who’ll move heaven and hell for her. Don’t forget I let you put me in handcuffs for a chance to find out she’s okay, Vaughn.”
“You think I believe you care about her? You only want her because your father needs the evidence. Don’t take me for a fool.”
“How can I not when you’re acting like one? I was sent to Lakeside with orders to extract information. My mission was to break Hailey,” I seethe, the confession a bitter pill. “But she broke me and now she’smine. Better get used to that idea.”
“Over my dead body!”
“That can be arranged,” I shoot back. “Don’t tempt me.”
His mouth falls open, but he snaps it shut quickly, eyeing me with a newfound intensity.
“I’m an open book, Vaughn. No need for mind reading.” I lean back, my voice steady despite the turmoil churning inside me. “Stop wasting time. She’s not with you and she’s not with me but she’s out there somewhere. She’s too important to kill, because she knows too much, but there are many ruthless fuckers out there who know about the mole you planted.”
“They don’t know about Hailey’s involvement,” he counters, a hint of his composure resurfacing.
“They do. There are no lines they won’t cross when their lives are on the line. And... Rhett has a rat in his ranks. It’s safe to assume everyone who’s in the business of knowing knows. Hiding her at Lakeside wasn’t such a smart move. My father paidoff a nurse at the hospital. She told him where Hailey was going before you even signed the admission papers.”
“We both know what your father is capable of.” He rubs his neck that’s glowing red with exasperation. “I did everything I could to protect her. We didn’t talk about her memories in case Rhett had tapped my phone.”
Better safe than sorry, I guess.
I get why he put that particular safety measure in place, but if Vaughn had ignited a stronger sense of trust in Hailey from the get-go, she’d have called him, not Matthews.
“Where exactly did you find Matthews’ body?” I ask, my mind grabbing the scattered puzzle pieces. “He obviously got paid to bring her to someone at the first opportunity.”
“No,” Vaughn clips, a hint of ruthlessness piercing his hurt. “Matthews wouldneveraccept a bribe, Willard. Believe it or not, some men just aren’t built that way and if there’s one man I’d bet my money on, it’s Matthews.”
I scoff, my knuckles rapping a steady, cynical rhythm. “Loyalty is a luxury. In our world, it’s often the first thing to be sacrificed. We all have our limits, Vaughn. We all have our vices and most of us have weaknesses. Looks like Matthews’ weakness was his daughter. I bet you can relate.” I let the words hang between us, a cruel smile playing on my lips. “If I had Hailey at gunpoint and told you she’d die if you didn’t drop the investigation, would you really sacrifice her to protect a flawed system?”
His throat works, a hard swallow betraying his struggle, a bead of sweat tracing a path down his forehead. His silence is louder than any words he could utter.
“I didn’t think so,” I continue when he doesn’t answer. I won’t lie, I thought he’d disagree and stay on his high horse. We’re on opposite sides of an invisible line, but he’s desperateto find Hailey, and the line between right and wrong he tries so hard not to cross has begun to blur. “I need a phone.”
“Forget it,” he snaps, the clean-cop façade crawling back over him.
“It’s been seven days. Hailey’s being held captive and you don’t have a clue where. Think about what they could be doing to her.” I lean in, my eyes locked on his. “Your accusation won’t stick. I didn’t kill Matthews. You have zero evidence, so I’ll walk out of here the minute I call my lawyer. Do you want your daughter back or not?”
“Of course I want her back, but we’ll do it my way.”
“Your way?” I let out a cold, humorless laugh. “Because that’s worked so fucking well thus far? You had your chance and you failed. I have resources you can only dream about, zero inhibitions, and the capacity to do what’s necessary. Get me a phone.”
He bristles at my words, but that clean-cop façade he’s barely put on starts sliding away again. “If you think I’ll work with some criminal to—”
“Iwillget her back.” I shut him up. “You have my word.”
