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If only she’d known he’d been behind the fire, she would have been more careful. And what? Stopped searching for her brother?
Paul’s dark eyes glittered. A shiver skated up her spine, and she gripped her elbows harder. “Is Charlie the burglar who broke into my house?”
“Didn’t I say you were a smart girl?” Paul leered.
“I’m not a girl,” she ground out through clenched teeth.
“Oh, yeah you are.” He pinched her cheek.
How soon was Charlie coming back? What about Mitch’s brothers? They were on the way. They should be here soon. Sweat ran down her spine. Keep talking. Something will give. “Charlie took some of my photos. Why?”
“I wanted one.”
Her chest compressed like an accordion. She could barely breathe. Paul sounded like a stalker. A predator. Boy, had she underestimated her ex-colleague. But she might as well find out the rest. “He also stole a phone.”
“Charlie’s smart too.”
“He was with you at the cemetery.” She slid a look at the street. Kurt and Jack needed to beat Charlie. If they didn’t… Her blood iced.
“You forced me out into the open again.” Paul’s mouth contorted. “I didn’t like that, you know. Too many people saw me.”
“What would they see? You were wearing that mask.” She lifted her chin to the pocket where he’d stuffed the knit cap.
Paul stepped closer. “Where are you meeting your brother?”
“Why do you care?”
“Do you want me to hit you?” Paul raised his eyebrows. “I will if you keep stalling, you know.”
She’d worked closely with Paul for nearly three years and had never seen him lose his temper, but everyone reached a breaking point. She’d already blown way beyond hers. “Why pick on me?”
“You and your brother are close. I remember from when you worked at VIP a week didn’t go by that you didn’t mention him. I put two and two together.”
What if Charlie drove that big, black SUV toward them right now? If he and Paul forced her inside that car—
“For the last time, where are you meeting your brother?”
Last time before what? “I’ll tell you if you answer a question. That’s the least you can do, don’t you think?”
“I knew you’d be difficult.”
Because I’m smart. Or stupid. Because no way am I telling you anything about Les. She clutched one of the fence spikes. The sharp edges of the trimmed hedge behind scratched her fingers, but she could maybe pull herself up and slam her legs into Paul’s chest. Who did she think she was? Ex-Ranger Mitch Guidry?
Mitch! She had to find him. She didn’t have time to wait for something to give. “Where would you have taken me if I’d left the Retreat with you?”
“Why ask now? You didn’t and I was forced to go out in public again.”
“You wore a Carnival mask when you ambushed us.”
“Appropriate for the season.” He hefted the gun. “Tell me where I can find your brother.”
Through the canopy of tree branches, a beam of sun struck a car coming toward them. The rumble got loud enough to break through the pulse pounding in her ears. A black SUV came into view. Was this Charlie or Kurt?
One way or the other, she had to act now.
Chapter 22
Pain ricocheted inside his skull. The scent of blood brought bile to his throat. Mitch clenched his teeth and cracked open an eye. Pitch-blackness. Wasn’t the path to heaven through a billowing cloud full of light?