Page 46 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

"She was digging into one of our test company's stock drops, and we have had people in place to watch for that for a very long time. When she went to see Harrington, we knew she was putting the entire picture together."

"So you had her killed," she said flatly.

Drew's gaze shifted to Viktor, who stared at her with an inscrutable expression. Then Drew turned back to her. "I'm not a killer, Haley."

"You just have others do your dirty work."

"Why would I do it any other way? I am my father's son after all."

The mix of admiration and hatred in his voice startled her with its force. "Is this about your father? About being better than him?"

"Now you sound like Trent. Of course, it's not just about my father, but I will take great joy in watching his financial collapse."

"You're going after your dad's company?"

"I'm going after all of them. Because you and your FBI friends have been interfering, we had to move up the timeline, but it doesn't matter.

We're ready. In less than three hours, we're going to trigger the largest financial collapse in history.

It will take out the leading candidate for president.

He'll lose all his money, and so will his donors.

When the dust settles, the old guard will have lost everything," he said with smug and evil satisfaction.

"It's time for change. My father, his precious alumni network, all these old men who think they rule the world—they've had their turn. Now it's ours."

"You're insane. You're going to destroy millions of lives because you want to take down your father?"

"He's just a piece of delightful collateral damage.

He thinks I'm stupid, that I can't compete with him, that I would never be worthy of running his company.

That's why I went out on my own, why I created a dozen shell companies, all of which are going to benefit tremendously while he watches his investments go to zero.

And the beauty of it is that no one will ever know what happened.

Your brother's algorithm will trigger cascading failures across multiple markets simultaneously.

We'll profit from the chaos while everyone else scrambles to understand what went wrong.

And in the end, they won't be able to prove anything. "

"Someone will figure it out. The FBI is already on to you."

"I have people in place to make sure that investigation doesn't touch us. We own pieces of the system at every level, Haley. You can't stop us. We're invincible. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

She felt sick to her stomach. "You and your friends are already rich. You already have so much. When will it be enough?"

"It will never be enough until we have everything." He paused. "You didn't have to end up here. All you had to do was look away, go on with your life."

"I could never look away from my brother. And you're wrong that there won't be evidence. Landon left something behind. The FBI has already decrypted it. They're going to stop you."

"They'll be too busy looking for you." Drew checked his watch. "This was fun, but it's almost time for your final performance." He gave Viktor a nod. "Once I get to Branson, I'll text you."

"What final performance?" she asked.

"You're going to call Agent Lawson and tell him where to find you."

"I don't know where I am, so how can I tell him?"

"We'll make sure you have enough information for him to find you.

He and his FBI buddies will be desperate to do that, turning all their attention from me to you.

At the right time, he'll come running to save you, and when he does, this warehouse will become his tomb along with yours and everyone who comes with him. "

Terror ran through her as Drew and Viktor walked toward the door, leaving the third man behind to watch her.

There was no way she would tell Matt where she was and lead him to his death.

She would never do that. She cared about him too much.

She couldn't imagine letting him get hurt.

She wanted him to have a long life. She wanted him to have love and a family of his own.

She wanted that so much, because she was falling in love with him.

Tears filled her eyes. She wished she'd told him that.

Although maybe it was better that she hadn't.

He would blame himself for whatever happened to her.

She knew that, and she didn't want him to feel guilty, because she'd spent the past six years living in that kind of hell, and she wouldn't wish it on anyone.

So, she wouldn't call him. Maybe they'd put a bullet through her if she didn't. But at least, she wouldn't betray him. She'd save his life even if she couldn't save hers.

They'd gotten the lights back on an hour ago, but Matt's anger at himself for sending Haley into the breakroom alone had him impatiently raging on the inside as Derek and the others tried to figure out how someone had gotten past their security measures, accessed the building, and kidnapped Haley.

When the power had first gone out, he'd thought it was about Trent, that they were trying to get to him.

But instead, they'd grabbed Haley. He still didn't quite understand it, although as time passed, and all their resources were focused on getting Haley back, he wondered if that wasn't the point.

They'd needed a distraction to buy time, and what better way than to kidnap Haley?

He tried to convince himself that they would keep her alive, at least for a while.

But how long did they have? It had already been an hour, and they were getting nowhere fast. Trent had been steadfast in saying he had no idea where she was or why they'd taken her.

He'd even agreed to call his sister, to pretend to have slipped away from them, to be in hiding, so she would talk to him more freely, but Jill had said she couldn’t talk, that he should stay quiet or something bad could happen to him.

There had been real fear in her voice, as if she'd suddenly realized that she was in the middle of something very dangerous.

He sighed as he looked around the now much busier room.

Jason had called in more agents to not only help find Haley but also to locate Henry, Drew, Jill, Kyle, and Viktor.

It should have made him feel better to see more agents at work, but the deep pain in his gut for Haley was the only thing he could feel.

He'd let her down. He'd promised to keep her safe, and now…

he couldn't even contemplate what she was going through.

He felt so connected to her that her pain was his pain, her fear was his fear.

His emotions were tying him up in knots.

And he had to get off that agonizing rollercoaster.

He had to compartmentalize, to stay focused. It was the only way he could save her.

A moment later, his phone rang. He'd reactivated it once they'd left the safehouse. "Agent Lawson."

"This is Julia Harper. I don't know if Haley told you about me."

"She did. What do you want?"

"I know where Haley is. She's in trouble."

"Where?" he asked sharply.

"It's a warehouse by the airport, fourteen Crane Way. It belongs to Viktor Danilovich."

"How do you know she's there?"

"Because I've been following Drew Sanderson, and he arrived shortly after a gray van pulled up at the loading dock. I saw them carry Haley inside."

"How many are there?"

"At least two men besides Viktor and Drew. I would have gone in after her, but I couldn't take them all down by myself."

"We're on our way. Hang tight. Call me back if there's any movement or action at the warehouse."

He was on his feet before he finished speaking, and within minutes, they were headed across town to the airport. He and Jason were in one car with Agents Andi Hart and Nick Caruso in another.

"Are you concerned this might be a trap?" Jason asked as he sped down the freeway.

"Yes," he said flatly. "It seems very convenient that Julia is telling us exactly where Haley is."

"What do you know about her?"

"Not much. Former LAPD detective who worked on Landon's case.

Haley trusted her. She said Julia was the only one who was trying to solve Landon's murder, and she left the force about six months after that to become a private investigator because she was disgusted by what happened on Landon's investigation.

She could still be trustworthy, or maybe she was just playing Haley all those years ago, trying to keep the desperate older sister at bay so they wouldn't have to come up with more proof that Landon's death wasn't an accident.

" He shot Jason a look. "I don't want the team to walk into a trap.

You should all stay outside while I go in alone. "

"That's not the way this works. We're a team. We're doing this together. And we'll figure out if it's a trap before we go inside."

"If we have that kind of time. I have a bad feeling, Jason."

Jason gave him a knowing look. "I know. This case has become personal to you, and I've been in your shoes, worrying that someone might die because I can't get there in time. Hopefully, we will get there in time."

Hopefully …the word echoed through his head like a constant silent prayer.

The buzzing of a phone sent the man who'd been left to watch over her out of the room and while he was gone, Haley desperately tried to free herself.

This was her chance. Maybe her only chance.

She was zip-tied to a wooden chair in the middle of the main warehouse floor, surrounded by rows of tall metal shelving units that stretched toward the ceiling.

Most were empty, casting long shadows under the harsh industrial lighting.

Stacks of wooden pallets and abandoned equipment created a maze of hiding spots toward the back of the building.

She tested the zip ties again. The ones around her wrists were tight enough to cut off circulation, but the tie around her left ankle had some give to it. She kicked off her sneaker and began working her bare foot, twisting and pulling despite the plastic edges cutting into her skin.

In the upstairs office, behind frosted glass, she could see shadows, at least three people. Their voices grew louder as there appeared to be some sort of argument going on, which was a good opportunity for her to try to escape while they were distracted.

Her left foot was almost free. Blood trickled down her ankle where the zip tie had torn the skin, but she kept pulling, biting back a cry of pain as the plastic finally slipped over her heel.

One foot free.

The voices upstairs grew louder. Someone's voice rose above the others. "Should just finish her now. Too risky to wait…"

Then Viktor's voice rang out loud and clear. "Enough! I give the orders. When I get to Branson, I'll send you a text. Only then will you act."

Sensing their conversation was ending and that one of the guards might be returning soon, she struggled to her feet, the chair still attached to her right leg and weighing her down.

She tried to hop toward the back of the warehouse, but the chair was heavier than she'd expected, and the scraping sound it made against the concrete was too loud.

She needed a different plan. Looking around, she spotted several concrete support pillars hidden behind the shelves. If she could get the chair to one of those posts and break the leg...

She hopped forward, happy to be a little further away, even if she wasn't yet free.

When she reached the pillar, she began ramming the wooden chair leg against the concrete, over and over, trying to break it.

Each impact echoed through the warehouse, but she couldn't hear or see anyone from this vantage point.

Maybe they'd left. Maybe the guard had gone outside.

Or maybe they were about to discover what she was doing and put an end to her escape and her life.

She had no idea, but she had to keep trying.

On the fourth impact, she felt the chair leg splinter. Three more hits and it cracked completely, freeing her right foot.

Now she had to get her arms free. The zip ties around her wrists were still secure, but with both feet free and the chair broken, she was able to slip her arms over the back of the chair, her shoulders screaming in protest, but finally, she was away from the chair.

Her hands were still tied behind her back, but she could run.

As she started toward the back of the warehouse, she heard a shout. Someone had realized she was gone.

She looked around for cover. The shelving units were too exposed, but there was a cluster of equipment and pallets near the far wall that might hide her.

She moved as quietly as she could, staying low and using the shadows between the overhead lights. Her bare feet made almost no sound on the concrete, but every breath seemed impossibly loud.

She'd just reached the pallets when she heard another man yell, "Viktor said to forget her. They're here. It's time."

His footsteps moved away, and she let out a breath in relief, which was short-lived.

If Matt was here and the warehouse was wired to explode, she had to warn him.

She emerged from her hiding place and ran toward the back of the building.

There was a rolling door by what appeared to be a loading dock.

It was thirty yards away and probably locked, but it was her only way out, as any guards would probably be in front.

She ran for her life, praying she would be fast enough…