Page 35 of Toy

“They were all shouting over each other about who needed to do what. But it seemed that the overall plan was to make the call to officially set all the backup stuff in action. After that, they’d go.”

“Where?”

She licked her dry lips. “Costa Rica.”

My brows shot up. “So they did try to flee the country.”

I had to admit, that surprised me. All along, I’d assumed they were hiding right here in the US. I had no idea how they managed to get out of the country despite all the scrutiny, but at this point I wouldn’t put anything past them.

“Yes.” Lauren nodded. “They threw me out of the room after that. I didn’t hear anything else.”

I grabbed her chin and jerked it upward again. “Why the fuck didn’t you ever tell anyone?” I asked. “The FBI could’ve used that information.”

“I thought it didn’t matter. The men all died in the plane crash, so they never even made it to the backup place,” she said. “I also figured if I said anything about what I heard, people would start to wonder why I was in the room with the men when they were discussing it. Then Jolie might realize that I turned her in.”

“You couldn’t have that, could you?” I sneered. “Then she’d know what a piece of shit you are. Everyone would.”

Her upper lip trembled. “Yes.”

“Hm. One thing doesn’t add up to me,” I said, tapping a finger against my chin. “The men survived, and they made it to their backup place. Most of them, anyway. Jolie must’ve told you that, so you’ve had a few weeks to come clean and tell the cops about the Costa Rica thing. Why haven’t you?”

Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on,” I said stiffly. “You helped Jolie after I got shot. Surely she told you who shot me, and why.”

Lauren’s brows dipped in a confused frown. “When I got to the hospital, she was crying hysterically and saying something about Tom Anderson from New Eden shooting you. She said the cult was back.”

“And that didn’t tip you off?” I said sarcastically.

She shook her head. “Let me finish, please. I thought Jolie was just losing her shit because of how upset she was. Having some sort of flashback or something. I thought the guy who shot you was some random home invader who happened to remind her of Tom. I didn’t think she actually meant any of the stuff about him or the cult! I even gave her a sedative to calm her down.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Yes!” She nodded frantically. “We didn’t talk about it after that, because I’ve been so busy with work and exams. I went over to her apartment every couple of days to help change your dressings while you were still laid up in bed, but I didn’t hang around for long. I couldn’t. So Jolie and I didn’t really get a chance to talk much.”

I sighed and rubbed my head. “You really had no idea the men were still alive? They never contacted you?”

“No. Please believe me,” she squeaked, eyes flicking to the trove of torture implements on the floor.

“But they definitely said Costa Rica eight years ago?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing,” I muttered.

“Are they really still out there?” Lauren asked, her voice barely above a whisper now. I could tell she was being genuine. Until this very moment, she had no idea the cult men were alive.

“Yes, they are, and they’ve got Jolie. They want revenge on her for betraying them eight years ago,” I said, twisting my lips into a grimace. “Which they only know about because of you.”

“Oh my god.” Lauren’s face crumpled as she began to cry again. “I’m sorry. Please… I’ll do anything to help.”

My nostrils flared. “Unless you can tell me exactly where to find the men, you can’t do jack-shit.”

She went silent for a moment. Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet my gaze. “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” she said quietly. “Not just for Jolie. For your family. What happened to them… it was my fault.”

“Yes, it was.” I stared down at her, expression stony. “I always planned on capturing the person who betrayed me so I could torture them. I decided they didn’t deserve a quick, easy death. I wanted to draw it out for weeks.”

Lauren took a sharp, rattling breath, but she didn’t say anything.

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