Page 94 of Enigma

“We set up a tripwire around the house and activated it after you got here.” Sarah shrugged. “Just as a precaution.”

Olive suddenly felt as if she might pass out. The room began to swirl.

Jason and Mitzi . . . were they okay?

“What have you done?” Olive stared at Sarah, her heart pounding out of control.

“I’m not stupid, Olive. I knew you wouldn’t come here alone. Just like you, I always have a backup plan.” Sarah raised aneyebrow. “You didn’t think we were going to blindly trust you, did you? You’re smarter than that. I know you are.”

Olive’s throat went dry. “I don’t know how you live with yourself.”

Sarah waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Get her out of here.”

The men moved closer, one of them grabbing her arm.

“Where are you taking me?” Olive asked.

She knew she couldn’t leave here. These men would kill her, and her friends might never be seen again.

Olive couldn’t get the image of Jason and Mitzi lying outside hurt out of her mind. She needed to get to them. Needed to know they were okay.

But she knew she wasn’t going to be able to walk away from this.

“What do you want from me?” Olive demanded.

“I’m going to need your cooperation.” Sarah pulled out a tablet and swiped to a video file. “I think you need to see something before you make any hasty decisions.”

The screen showed a concrete room with harsh fluorescent lighting. Olive’s breath caught as she recognized three figures tied to chairs—Tevin, Trick, and Nova. All three looked roughed up but alive.

“Your friends have been asking about you.” Sarah kept her tone conversational. “Especially this one.”

She tapped the screen where Tevin sat, his face bruised but his eyes alert.

Anger flowed through her.

“Let them go,” Olive demanded. “They have nothing to do with this.”

“Actually, they haveeverythingto do with this. They’re your weakness, Olive. The thing that will make you cooperate.” Sarah’s finger hovered over the Play button. “But I need you to understand how serious I am.”

The video began to play. A masked figure entered the frame and walked directly to Tevin. Without warning, he pulled out a pistol.

“No!” Olive lunged forward, but the armed men blocked her path.

The gunshot echoed through the tablet’s speakers.

Tevin jerked in his chair, then slumped forward, blood spreading across his shirt.

Olive’s knees nearly buckled as tears rushed to her eyes. “You killed him. You actually killed him.”

“I did what was necessary to get your attention,” Sarah said calmly, closing the tablet. “The other two are still breathing. Whether they stay that way depends entirely on your cooperation.”

The room spun around Olive as grief and rage warred in her chest.

Tevin—brilliant, loyal, caring Tevin who’d flown across the country to help her—was dead because of her investigation.

“What do you want?” Olive whispered as despair tried to bite deep.

Sarah smirked. “Now you’re being reasonable. We’re going for a little drive.”