Johnny. This man was Lieutenant Sloane. She didn’t know him at all.
“Whoever kidnapped Lauren, they’ve thought this through and planned her abduction for a long time. Framing you and Brian took months. I think they planned for you to die in the car. Then the Webers would rescue your daughter and have custodial control over the trust fund without any questions.”
As hot as the evening still was, her skin was covered in goose bumps. He’d spoken with chilling reality, logic and confidence.
I think they planned for you to die, his voice echoed in her head.
The sheriff had said something like that, too. And still, she’d shrugged it off, been optimistic, unable to think the worst, and she definitely didn’t want to believe Shauna could really hate her that much.
“Your theory makes perfect sense. I just can’t begin to think like you and I’m so grateful you came home. Without you, I’d be in jail and lost to Lauren forever.”
“Don’t think about that possibility. Besides, why should a nurse who spends her time caring for others think like me? I’m glad you can’t wrap your mind around this situation. Really glad. I like who you grew up to be.”
“Are they going to hurt her? Be straight with me, Johnny.”
“I don’t know. If you concentrate on the unknowns, it sort of makes you crazy. Just remember that we will get her away from them.”
No tears. Not even a threat of them. She was all cried out. Too worried about making another mistake. John twisted to face her, taking her chin in his fingers, nudging her to stare from the street toward him.
“Wherever they lead us—if they go at all—you know there’s no guarantee Lauren will be there.” The crease between his brows grew prominent with his concern. “If she is, it might get messy. Maybe I should drop you off and—”
“No. I’ll do anything necessary to keep my daughter safe. Don’t worry about me. I’ve been on my own for a while now.” And she had. Her father, Dwayne’s accident and then her father-in-law. “Talk about something else while we wait.”
“Dev said the money in Lauren’s savings was a series of small cash deposits over the last four months. Different branches. Nothing electronic.”
“Alicia, you okay?” he asked after a minute of silence.
“I’m fine.”
“I wanted to ask before, but where’s your dad and brother through all this? I expected them to show up sooner.”
“Alzheimer’s. Dad had a slow progression in the beginning. I took care of him as long as I could. But he doesn’t recognize me anymore. He mistook me for Mom for a while. But he hasn’t had many lucid moments in a very long time. He was in a nice place in Denton, but when Shauna got me fired, I had to move him to a state facility about four hours from here.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” His large hand covered hers, squeezing. “My dad never mentioned it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. J.W. was pretty upset. He lost his two best friends in a short amount of time. My brother’s never been close and is stationed in Germany. He volunteered to go shortly after Dad needed round-the-clock care, and I haven’t called him about Lauren. It doesn’t make sense. What could he do?”
“Alicia, I can’t begin to understand what you’ve been through. What about Roy? Dad said he died from a broken heart. I asked what that meant, but he never said.”
“He shot himself three months after Dwayne’s accident.”
“Son of a— That can’t be true. They’re certain? Who found him?”
“Shauna.” She hated saying the woman’s name. It was bad enough thinking about her. “This isn’t exactly the subject to help relax me.” She forced a short nervous laugh and relaxed her fingers again.
“You’re right. That was stupid of me.”
“What are we going to do when we follow them to where they have Lauren?”
“There’s no we. I’ll go inside and do what’s necessary. You’ll
“Whoever kidnapped Lauren, they’ve thought this through and planned her abduction for a long time. Framing you and Brian took months. I think they planned for you to die in the car. Then the Webers would rescue your daughter and have custodial control over the trust fund without any questions.”
As hot as the evening still was, her skin was covered in goose bumps. He’d spoken with chilling reality, logic and confidence.
I think they planned for you to die, his voice echoed in her head.
The sheriff had said something like that, too. And still, she’d shrugged it off, been optimistic, unable to think the worst, and she definitely didn’t want to believe Shauna could really hate her that much.
“Your theory makes perfect sense. I just can’t begin to think like you and I’m so grateful you came home. Without you, I’d be in jail and lost to Lauren forever.”
“Don’t think about that possibility. Besides, why should a nurse who spends her time caring for others think like me? I’m glad you can’t wrap your mind around this situation. Really glad. I like who you grew up to be.”
“Are they going to hurt her? Be straight with me, Johnny.”
“I don’t know. If you concentrate on the unknowns, it sort of makes you crazy. Just remember that we will get her away from them.”
No tears. Not even a threat of them. She was all cried out. Too worried about making another mistake. John twisted to face her, taking her chin in his fingers, nudging her to stare from the street toward him.
“Wherever they lead us—if they go at all—you know there’s no guarantee Lauren will be there.” The crease between his brows grew prominent with his concern. “If she is, it might get messy. Maybe I should drop you off and—”
“No. I’ll do anything necessary to keep my daughter safe. Don’t worry about me. I’ve been on my own for a while now.” And she had. Her father, Dwayne’s accident and then her father-in-law. “Talk about something else while we wait.”
“Dev said the money in Lauren’s savings was a series of small cash deposits over the last four months. Different branches. Nothing electronic.”
“Alicia, you okay?” he asked after a minute of silence.
“I’m fine.”
“I wanted to ask before, but where’s your dad and brother through all this? I expected them to show up sooner.”
“Alzheimer’s. Dad had a slow progression in the beginning. I took care of him as long as I could. But he doesn’t recognize me anymore. He mistook me for Mom for a while. But he hasn’t had many lucid moments in a very long time. He was in a nice place in Denton, but when Shauna got me fired, I had to move him to a state facility about four hours from here.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” His large hand covered hers, squeezing. “My dad never mentioned it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. J.W. was pretty upset. He lost his two best friends in a short amount of time. My brother’s never been close and is stationed in Germany. He volunteered to go shortly after Dad needed round-the-clock care, and I haven’t called him about Lauren. It doesn’t make sense. What could he do?”
“Alicia, I can’t begin to understand what you’ve been through. What about Roy? Dad said he died from a broken heart. I asked what that meant, but he never said.”
“He shot himself three months after Dwayne’s accident.”
“Son of a— That can’t be true. They’re certain? Who found him?”
“Shauna.” She hated saying the woman’s name. It was bad enough thinking about her. “This isn’t exactly the subject to help relax me.” She forced a short nervous laugh and relaxed her fingers again.
“You’re right. That was stupid of me.”
“What are we going to do when we follow them to where they have Lauren?”
“There’s no we. I’ll go inside and do what’s necessary. You’ll
Similar Books
