“Fine.”
But Burke knew his brother well enough to understand one thing clearly:
Grant Scott was barely holding himself together.
50
Mountain Property Near Hollis Golf & Country Club
The building creaked as the temperature dropped outside.
Metal ticked softly overhead, the hot skin of the structure cooling inch by inch in the mountain night.
Inside, the air was stale and heavy.
No windows.
No insulation.
Darkness, concrete, and the lingering smell of oil and dust.
Izzy sat on the floor with her wrists bound behind her back, shoulders aching from the angle. Across from her, Cal leaned against a steel support beam in the shadows, hands tied the same way.
A single overhead bulb buzzed weakly above them.
Izzy’s throat felt raw.
“Where are we?”
Cal shifted slightly, looking around again.
“I think…” He swallowed. “I think this is one of my father’s old buildings near the country club.”
“You think?”
“I’m not sure.”
Izzy laughed bitterly.
“That’s comforting.”
Outside, wind moved through the trees.
Then Izzy looked at him hard.
“So your father’s going to let them hurt us?”
Cal frowned immediately.
“No. He would never do that.”
“Oh yeah?” Izzy snapped. “Really? Because from where I’m sitting, your family’s doing a fantastic job so far.”
Cal stared at her.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Maybe he’s not the one in charge,” she shot back.
