Page 53 of Secret Revenge

“Hey, cut that out,” Jonathan snapped. He yanked the hood off my head and I took a deep breath, appreciating the cool night air.

I took a look around where I was and saw it was an abandoned warehouse complex, with a main house to the side. It looked vaguely familiar, but that didn’t help if I couldn’t contact anyone.

Travis was already being towed to the warehouse by the two goons ahead of me.

“You’ve got me and you’ve got the data. Now let her go!” he called over his shoulder.

He was smacked in the head by one of the goons. “Shut it!”

I twisted toward Jonathan in alarm. “If they hurt him…”

“Oh, they’re going to hurt him,” Jonathan promised. “But don’t worry. They won’t kill him. He’s too valuable for that. You, on the other hand…I have some questions for you. How you answer may determine how valuable he is to us after all.”

I glanced back towards the warehouse as Jonathan pushed me into something that looked like a guardhouse. There was a table in the center of the room with two wooden chairs, and a naked bulb hung overhead.

Jonathan shoved me into one of the seats and snipped the ties on my hand with a knife. He sat down across from me and interlaced his fingers on the table, leaning forward.

“This could have gone a whole lot easier if you had just given me the drive,” Jonathan said quietly. “Why do you always have to make everything so difficult, Emily? Now look where we are,” He gestured with his hands. “See what you made me do? Do you have any idea how much higher than me this goes? Why couldn’t you just do the right thing?”

“The right thing?” I spat. “You’ve been lying to me for months.”

“Well, that makes you a fool,” he spat. “It’s so much better to work for Blackwell. You see, billionaires don’t really care about the masses. Some are just more honest about that than others. Imagine what Blackwell could do for you. Your family. This could change your life, Emily. If you let it.”

“You don’t need me anymore,” I said, hoping he’d forget about me and then maybe I could do something for Travis. “You have Travis. You have the data. What could you possibly want with me?”

“You’re very good at seducing billionaires, Emily. And Travis isn’t the only one Blackwell would like to get his hands on. Of course, if you refuse−: well, we simply cannot allow you to leave with knowledge of any of this.”

The threat was clear. And it was practical: I’d made my own argument too well. Theydidn’tneed me anymore, and Iwasa liability. Unless I cooperated.

I took a deep breath and decided to play for time. “How could you lie to me about your own daughter?” I croaked. With just a little encouragement, my eyes filled with very real tears.

Jonathan’s lips drew into a line. “I did lie to you. However, it doesn’t mean that story never happened. On the contrary. Everything I told you really did happen, it just didn’t happen to me. I took the identity of the person that it all happened to.

“The man in question wasn’t strong enough, you see. He killed himself shortly after his daughter died. He didn’t have themoney to take care of her, and he never could live with himself after she passed.

“So, you see, that’s the kind of thing that Travis and people like him are constantly doing to people. He may have camouflaged his crimes better than his father did, but I promise you, billionaires are all the same. You have two choices, Emily: work with them and reap the benefits, or work against them and be crushed beneath their feet.”

“Travis isnothinglike that.” I said. “When you look at the data I gave you, you’ll know that. He’d…he’d pay you double,” I grasped at straws. “And to work for someone who’s actuallygood. Look at the flash drive. It’ll prove it.”

If I could just get them to leave me alone for a few minutes, maybe I could come up with a plan.

Jonathan snickered. “You’re such a naive girl. You know nothing. The Rosses must have done a better cover-up job than I expected.”

That made me laugh. “And I’m supposed to be the naive one? You seriously want to tell me that a criminal like Blackwell can be trusted? You mean nothing to him, Jonathan. He’d sell you out if you ever stopped being useful, and you know it.”

He glared at me across the table, and I could see a vein bulging on the side of his head.Looks like I struck a nerve.

“That’s why you want me to keep working for you,” I realized suddenly. “Your usefulness to Blackwell is up after this. And you know too much. You need a reason for him to keep you alive.”

“Listen to me, you little shit,” Jonathan hissed as he pulled out his gun. “You’re going to work for Blackwell. Or you’re going to die here. And so will everyone you love. Your choice.”

“Your mother, your stepdad. Michael. I know everything about them. Ask yourself: is Travis Ross worth all their lives?”

A lump formed in my throat as I met Jonathan’s gaze - those eyes, once warm and guiding, now ice-cold and harboring a lethal intent.

Hewouldkill to protect himself, I was sure of it. If he believed Blackwell would kill him when this mission was over, who knew what he might do?

Maybe if I played along, it could buy me some time.