Page 138 of These White Lies

Oh god. The trackers.

My head is pounding with each step, and my body won’t obey my brain’s commands. I whimper when my shoulder slams hard into rough stone, and then I’m being pulled down a staircase.

Brady. I keep his image in front of me, willing myself to not to sob.

He has to know I’m gone by now.

Brady will come for me.

I just have to hang on.

Just a little longer.

The stairs end, and the floor beneath my feet is rough like outdoor carpeting. A heavy door groans open, and icy air washes over me. They shove me forward and dump me into a wooden chair. My body shakes so hard my teeth are clicking violently.

Hands wrench my arms behind the chair, and plastic restraints bite deep into my wrists as they’re pulled tight. Another pair of hands yanks my legs against the chair’s front posts and ties them tight. The bindings are so tight I can feel the thud of my pulse in my fingertips.

Inside I’m screaming, but I make myself focus. I’m a negotiator. Maybe I can… I know it’s hopeless, but it might buy me some time.

I blink through the haze. Rows of bottled wine are stretched out before us. A wine cellar.

Anna Lindquist stands at the far wall. She moves slowly, lifting a bottle from a rack. Retrieving a corkscrew from a nearby table, she waves it in front of my face before laughing when I flinch back from the sharp tip as its revolution comes too close to my eye.

Straightening, she uncorks the bottle with a clean twist, and pours herself a glass of red wine. “I’d offer you some, but…”

“Not a red wine girl.” My voice cracks.

Her smile is condescending. “Cute. Do you think you are going to reason with me? Make a deal?” She mocks. “Your ex-husband thought he could, and all he got was extra pain before I killed him. Much better to give it up now and save yourself all the trouble.”

“I have a security team. They’ll come for me.” I try to sound confident, but my voice trembles.

Her eyes flick toward me, amused. “Oh, I’m counting on it. I’m assuming they’re the ones you’ve entrusted the necklace to.”

She walks toward me. “Do you know the secret of the necklace?” I keep my face blank. “Aren’t you curious?”

She walks in a circle around me.

“No,” I finally choke out. “None of my business.”

She makes a tsking sound. “For a lawyer, you’re a terrible liar.”

She lifts her glass to sip and passes behind me again. I can feel her eyes on the back of my neck. I try to hide a shiver. I don’t like not being able to see her.

Anna circles me slowly, the stem of her wineglass balanced between her fingers. Her tone is almost conversational.

“Do you even know why you’re going to die?” One manicured finger lifts to wipe a drop of wine from the corner of her mouth. “Did Worthington tell you anything?”

I keep my jaw locked, refusing to answer.

She looks thoughtful. Her calm is more terrifying than if she was raving at me. Calm implies she’s in no rush to get the information out of me. “I’d want to know, I think. If I were going to suffer and bleed, I’d like to know why.”

Her red lips stretch into a wide smile that makes me want to throw up. “I think he told you, and this…” She gestures at me with her glass. “This is some pathetic attempt to save yourself. I know who he is. The undercover cop who caused all that trouble for us a few years ago. Nothing we couldn’t clean up, of course, but it was irritating.”

She takes a sip, eyes steady on mine. “Which meansbothof you are loose ends now. And anyone else he might have been foolish enough to share with.”

She sets the glass down with delicate precision before picking up the bottle and refilling her glass. “So, when he comes crawling to trade the necklace for your life, we’ll settle all of it at once. I’ll send him a message, but we should have fun while we wait.”

My body turns to ice as one of her men moves closer to me. Oh god. I bite my tongue hard to keep myself from begging. I won’t give her that.