Page 58 of A Colby Christmas Rescue

Kenny followed him back into the house, beyond the great room and down the stairs to the walkout basement. It was like another house, the floor space no doubt as spacious as the layout upstairs.

Amar turned down a hallway to the left, which led into another large room with doors leading to the outside. A man wearing black, as they all had been this morning, was secured to a chair in the center of the room. He glanced at Kenny, then Amar, before looking away. His own smirk suggested he was not worried about whatever they had come to do.

Never a good sign.

“Mr. Reicher.”

He turned to Amar as he approached, but said nothing.

Kenny stayed back a few steps and watched. This was Amar’s show. He’d give him some time to see if he could pull this debacle together. Jamie liked the guy. Respected him. He must be better at this than he’d shown so far.

“Your girlfriend—Darla, I believe, is her name—and her baby are on the way here. Is there anything you’d like to share with us before they arrive?”

Reicher’s face paled a little. “I have nothing to say.”

Amar smiled. “Really. Darla says her baby is your son, Paul junior. She’s very excited to bring him to see the Christmas surprise I told her you had arranged.”

His face tightened. “She doesn’t know anything about all this.”

“That’s too bad, Mr. Reicher. I think she may be very disappointed about what she finds here today.”

He looked away a moment.

Kenny was out of patience. “That little girl your friends took better be safe,” he warned, stepping closer. “If something happens to her...”

Reicher glared at Kenny. “She’s fine. Nothing will happen to her if Dr. Case is delivered as requested.”

Amar shrugged. “You see, Mr. Reicher, that is not going to happen. We have the doctor, and he is the important one. I’m sure you realize this. And as much as we want his daughter to be safe, she really is not our top concern.”

Kenny bit his tongue to prevent calling him a liar. But he understood the tactic. He didn’t like it, but he understood it.

“I don’t think the doctor will see it that way,” Reicher argued, the fear in his eyes impossible to conceal.

“I have a onetime offer for you, Mr. Reicher,” Amar said. “You tell me where my friend Jamie and the girl are and—assuming they are unharmed—I will allow you to leave with your girlfriend and your son when they arrive.” He laughed. “Hell, I’ll even throw in a little bonus for that Christmas surprise. But, if you waste this opportunity, there is nothing I can do for you.”

Kenny shook his head. “He doesn’t deserve a deal. I say we just beat it out of him.”

“But I’ve already called Darla and she’s on her way.” Amar checked his watch. “We have maybe ten minutes before she arrives.”

“Okay,” Reicher said. “Just don’t hurt her or tell her about any of this.”

That was easier than Kenny expected. Maybe too easy. “Tell us where the girl and my friend are being held.”

“They’re in a house on Trinity Road. I can give you directions.”

“How about you take my friend there,” Amar suggested. “That way there are no miscommunications.”

“But what about Darla and the baby?”

“I’ll let them know to go home and wait. You’ll be there soon.”

Reicher looked from Amar to Kenny. “How do I know I can trust either of you?”

Amar withdrew a knife, opened the blade and sliced it through the bonds holding Reicher to the chair. “I suppose you’re just going to have to take a chance. If you’re not willing to take a chance, then you’re in the wrong line of work.”

Kenny grabbed the guy by the collar. “Let’s go.” He shoved him toward the door.

Amar leaned in closer to Kenny. “Once you have Jamie and the girl, just leave him at the house and get back here. We’re running out of time.”

---