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“I was certain it was the right thing for both of us. But an opportunity opened up for me to move back to Alabama. I looked you up, and you were already in a relationship withhim.”

“You can’t be angry that I moved on. You dumped me, remember?”

TJ’s face reddened. “It wasn’t like that! I gave us space. We were meant to be together, just not then. But you didn’t wait for me. You found someone else. You found two people. There’s never been anyone for me except you.”

Terrence made a noise sounding suspiciously like a muffled curse. Reagan zeroed in on him.

“You said he was your father,” Reagan challenged him.

“He is. He used my mother to fulfil his needs when he couldn’t have the one he truly wanted.”

Bitterness dripped from Terrence’s tone, and Reagan almost felt sorry for him. She understood the resentment born of having a father who didn’t want his child. What she didn’t understand was how Terrence could have a hand in their kidnapping if he hated his father. But hadn’t she offered herself up as bait to trap English’s attacker?

Traci’s expression was unreadable as she pierced TJ with a stare. “And I was the one you truly wanted?”

“Always.”

If the setting had been different, Reagan might have found the conversation romantic. Instead, she wondered how long her mother would play into TJ’s delusional game.

“You’ve kept tabs on me.” Traci said it as a statement more than a question.

“Yes. I couldn’t help myself. Even when I knew we couldn’t be together, I had to know what your life was like. I wanted to know all about your disappointments and your successes. Weren’t you ever curious about me?”

Traci shook her head. “No. I never wanted to think about you again, and I haven’t.”

TJ’s eyes narrowed, and his mouth thinned. When his nostrils started to flare, Reagan realized they were about to see his anger in action if she didn’t distract him.

“Now that the reunion is out of the way, maybe you can explain why we’re here.”

TJ glared at her. “You’re here because I want you here. Or to be more accurate, I wantherhere. You are my insurance policy to keep her here.”

Reagan shared a look with her mother. Traci shook her head imperceptibly, and Reagan would have missed it if she hadn’t been facing her mother. It was a signal for her to keep her mouth shut. Growing up, staying silent had never been a virtue she possessed, but her instincts prevailed this time. She nodded just as faintly and waited to see how her mother handled Thomas James Terrell III.

“You can’t keep us here, TJ. My husband will come for us, and he has plenty of help to back him up. Please be smart and let us go.”

“He won’t come for you. No one knows where you are. No one knows I’m even here.”

TJ spoke with such arrogance that Reagan replied without thought.

“Maybe not, but they know about him.” She lifted her chin in Terrence’s direction and was pleased to see TJ direct his anger at his son.

“What is she talking about?” TJ demanded.

“She’s only trying to trip you up. She doesn’t know anything,” Terrence denied.

“I saw you at English’s bar. You sent armed gunmen to catch me, but English’s boys got me out of there before you could. You didn’t see us, but I saw you. You were in front of the bar talking to the men. You stood in the light of a street lamp, so I could see your face without a problem. I told the boys and my dad about it too.”

Terrence looked shocked. TJ looked pissed. Her mother looked worried, and Reagan tried not to look like anything, though she wanted to crow at causing tension in the ranks. If they turned on each other, she could make a move to get her and her mother out of there. Only she couldn’t alert them to her intentions, or they would close ranks.

“You went to the bar? I told you to stay out of it!”

“He was at the hospital too. He stopped them from shooting me and my bodyguard. They only shot at the ground to scare us.” Reagan didn’t know that for sure, but she took the risk, hedging her bets that she hadn’t been so wrong about Terrence. With all the time he spent having Randall’s back as his partner and being a part of their family, she didn’t want to believe he had completely duped them.

“You fool!” TJ hissed at his son. “I told you to stay out of it. I only need you to get close to them, not tip them off. Damn you!”

“Damn you!” Terrence retorted. “Damn you and this stupid plan. She loves Randall, not you. I should have never gone along with this. If you weren’t dy…”

Terrence abruptly stopped talking, but Reagan caught enough of what he said to react. Her gaze whipped around to glare at TJ, and she saw the truth in his pale skin, hollow cheeks, and dark bags under his eyes.