Page 85 of Billion-Dollar Ransom

CHAPTER 95

Friday, 4:19 a.m.

CASSANDRA BART’S SPANISH was just good enough for her to translate the words of an underling (she assumed he was an underling, based on his cautious tone) to his boss:“Ellos pagaron el dinero.”

They paid the money.

Oh, thank God,she thought. Maybe this would all be over soon. She couldn’t wait to be back home in her apartment, where she would shower for two days straight and then call her manager and instruct him never to say the name Tyler Schraeder to her ever again.

Or maybe she wouldn’t spend another night in LA. Her sleepy Texas hometown sounded pretty great right now. If someone had told her that the road to Hollywood involved forcible detention, torture, gunfire, and mass explosions, shewould have happily stayed in the bed of that truck watching the stars in the sky.

“What did they say?” she heard Tyler whisper. She couldn’t see him because they’d blindfolded her again. “Cass?”

“I don’t know,” she lied.

“They paid the ransom, right? I heard the worddinero.”

“Shh,” she replied. “Let me listen.”

“I knew my father wouldn’t leave me dangling,” Tyler said, relief in his voice. “I mean, I’m never going to hear the end of it, but whatever. The important thing is that we’re going to be back home and safe very soon.”

Their captors were chattering even more excitedly now; something was happening. Cass tried hard to tune out Tyler’s nervous patter so she could focus on their words, but she was able to pick up only snatches of conversation. Sounded as if their captors were arguing.

No, I want to do it. It should be me. You promised this to me.

I promised youpartof the money. Not this.

I’m better at this. What if you screw it up?

You can see to the girl.

Oh, I like the girl.

Or something along those lines. Why on earth would they be arguing if they’d just received their share of ransom? Their cut, it seemed, was something like a milliondinero.

“Stay with me, Cass,” Tyler said. “This will all be over s—”

Then came the thundering explosions that nearly knocked Cass out of her chair.

Blam!

Blam!

Blam!

She could smell smoke and pennies. She couldn’t see a thing because of the blindfold, and now her hearing was gone too, thanks to the three explosions. Deep down, she knew why Tyler had just stopped talking. But Cass refused to accept it. This was not how it went in the movies, and movies reflected real life, or were supposed to. Hence, this could not be happening.

But Tyler did not say another word.

Nor would he, ever.

Cass stayed in this dark cocoon of denial for a long time, even as they untied her wrists and ankles and carried her to another chair, which turned out to be the passenger seat of a vehicle. A safety belt crossed her chest and clicked down near her hip. The blindfold was removed, but Cass didn’t dare open her eyes even when the vehicle began to move and she felt fresh air on her cheeks. Eventually, someone began speaking to her in English.

“Miss Bart, please open your eyes,” a man’s voice said. “We are almost there.”

No, thank you.Opening her eyes meant accepting what had just happened, and she was not ready for that yet.

“I assure you, Miss Bart, you are in no danger,” the man continued. His accent was heavy. “I am just a driver. I am here to take you home.”