“Roman.”
She said my name like it held all her hope. My heart ached, threatening to crack in two.
“I—”
But I never got to hear what else she had to say because Anderson returned, setting my teeth on edge.
“See? She’s alive. For now. Come alone, all five of you. Don’t bring any other reinforcements. I’ll let you into the building and we can…negotiate.”
“If you fucking hurt her, I swear I’ll—”
“Kill me?” Anderson chuckled. “I’m the killer, Roman. Don’t forget that. You have forty minutes to get here before I start slicing into her. If I get any sense that you’re fucking with me, even if you do manage to get her back, she won’t be recognizable.”
He hung up.
I stared blankly at the phone screen.
August grabbed my shoulder as numbness seeped through me.
“I’m okay,” I said, though I really wasn’t.
I looked at each of my brothers, who seemed as enraged as I was.
I had to focus. I couldn’t lose it.
August stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest. “We have forty minutes. Let’s use them to the best of our ability. We will make Amos Anderson regret that he ever threatened this family.”
44
Palmer
Istaredatthedarkscreen in Amos’s hand, even after the call had ended.
Roman’s voice still echoed in my head. It had felt like I could reach out and touch him—like he was right there, close enough to hold onto.
Now it was like that tether had been cut.
The urge to cry rose up, sharp and overwhelming, but I swallowed it down. I refused to give Amos that satisfaction. I knew exactly what he was. I’d read enough about him to understand what he liked.
He enjoyed it when women cried for him. When they screamed. When they struggled.
I wouldn’t give him that.
No matter what happened, I would do everything I could not to satisfy the monster.
“Well.” Amos slipped the phone into his pocket.
He grimaced at me like I was nothing more than a dead spider on his pristine desk.
“As much as I hate dealing with those godforsaken men,” he continued conversationally, “it’ll be worth the effort to finally get rid of them.”
My gut twisted.
“I thought you wanted the safe house?” I said.
Amos looked at me like I was a complete idiot.
“They would sooner die than give me the coordinates to that place,” he said calmly. “Which is exactly what they’re going to do.”
