Page 86 of Lie to Me

“He knows,” my dad states. “I caught on to the fact that he’d been swindling off the top of the earnings your family was making from my deal with your father, so I told Cormac before it got turned around on me. I never saw him again after that.”

“So, this could be about you?” I ask. “He could’ve been wanting to bring our family down the entire time and was just using Sloane as a small part of the bigger picture?”

Dad thinks it over for a second before slowly shaking his head. “Nolan was always a power-hungry asshole. If anything, he’d want the O’Brien empire under his thumb, so he’s probably using Sloane as a way to get to Finn while also trying to hurt me by targeting Marco.”

“Exactly. Which is why I want to see the recording,” Finn mutters, sending a glare Izzy’s way. My father’s hand lands on my forearm before I can get up and shoot the fucker.

“No need,” Izzy says, completely ignoring the tension that was building. “It’s him.”

She approaches us and seats herself on the arm of the sofa next to me. I rest my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me.

“I ran the picture through a software I created, aging it a little in the process, and what it gave me matched the guy who ran them off the road and put them in the van. He’s our guy. He’s who has them. I need an hour or so to dig up everything I can on him, and hopefully we’ll be able to track him down. Do you know much about him? Any properties he has? Or anything that can help?”

Finn thinks it over for a moment before adamantly shaking his head. “I was too young to even really know him. I’m certain Sloane won’t recognize him. The only reason I thought of him in the first place was because my dad was certain he’d come back one day and want to take everything from him.”

“You know we’re going to kill your uncle when we find him, right? I don’t give a fuck if he’s your family. He thought he could go after our family—he won’t live after that,” I say, needing Finn to know we’re not fucking around about this.

He meets my eyes dead on and a smirk curls his lips. “Sure, you can kill him, as long as I get a go at him first.”

I raise a brow, and he returns the gesture before sighing. “Sloane is one of the most important people in my life,” he says and takes a shuddering breath.“She’s my sister. My twin. She’s my only family and I’ll be damned if I let someone hurt her and live, blood relative or not.”

“Great. Now that we’re on the same page, can we find this asshole and put him in the ground while we rescue our siblings? I’d like to get home to my family,” Enzo mutters before taking Izzy’s arm and dragging her over to the desk so they can sit and look through whatever she finds on her computer.

Usually, Alec would be here to help, too, but he’s on a business trip in the UK. He offered to fly back over to help out, but we told him we’re okay for now and that we’ll reach out if we need him.

Finn and his friend head out, leaving the rest of us to dig up as much info as possible. Izzy and Enzo are still sitting at the desk, him no doubt chatting her ear off, but my dad is still sitting on the sofa, hunched over with his head in his hands.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad like this, and it’s fucking worrying.

I approach him slowly and take a seat on the coffee table so I’m in front of him.

“You okay?”

He lifts his head to look at me and runs a hand down his face as he lets out a sigh.

“It’s my fault this asshole has your brother. We should’ve figured it out sooner, we could’ve prevented this,” he mutters,but I’m already shaking my head before the words even leave his mouth.

“It’s not your fault. They’ll get through this, and they’ll be okay. It’s no good focusing on what we could have done differently, what we need to do is put our heads together and find them.”

“You’re right. I just fucking hate that we don’t know if they’re okay, what if—”

“No what ifs,” I interrupt. “We’ve got this, Dad. They’re coming home.”

Even if it’s the last thing I do, Iwillbring my brother and his girl home.

Chapter Forty-Three

Sloane

Present

The horrors I’ve witnessed in here will stay with me forever.

I thought I knew pain, but almost nothing can compare to the last week that we’ve been stuck in this goddamn room.

I know we’ve been here a week because I’ve seen the sun rise seven times. And every time it has set, we’ve still been stuck here, in the abandoned cabin that lives on my family’s property, with no end in sight.

I used to have fond memories of this place. Of Finn bringing me out here at night to teach me what he had learned from my father that day. Him and I sparring, practicing knife skills, laughing and joking with each other.

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