Page 97 of The Black Trilogy

“He pointed a gun at me and asked for the money.”

“And you gave it to him?” Dan asked, and it was impossible to miss the incredulity in her voice.

“What would you have done? Taken his gun off him?”

“Probably. You remember much about the gun?”

“Only that he pointed it in my face. And when I asked where Tia was, he told me I’d find out when I handed the bag over. But when I gave it to him, he just laughed.”

“That was it? He laughed?”

“No, he spoke as well.”

“And…?” Dan prompted.

Luke rubbed his temples as if the motion could clear the fog in his head. What had the man said? He caught the edge of his stitches with one finger, and the pain helped to focus his mind.

“He said I disappointed him. That he never expected me to be such a pushover. I told him I just wanted my sister back, and that we had a deal.” Luke closed his eyes as the man’s voice echoed in his ears. “And he said, ‘Deal? I never said we had a deal. You took my life, and I’m getting it back.’ At least I think that’s right.”

“Any idea what he meant by that?”

“Not a clue. It doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

“Did he seem familiar?”

“Not at all. He wore a hat, and he’d covered the bottom half of his face with a scarf. His voice… His voice was kind of high-pitched for a man, but I didn’t recognise that either.”

“And were those his exact words?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure. Everything’s fuzzy.”

“A little haziness is to be expected. Can you remember what happened next?” Dan asked.

“I saw his finger move on the trigger. No way could I outrun a bullet, so I leapt at him. What other option did I have? That was when he punched me.” Luke gingerly touched his cut again. “Then I ended up on the ground, but everything’s black after that.”

It was more than he’d remembered this morning, and he half wished he could forget again.

Dan tapped her nails on the counter. She’d painted them turquoise with black dots, too playful for such a serious situation.

“That’s okay. We’ve got more to work with now. His comment about you taking his life suggests your paths have crossed before, so we’ll concentrate our efforts on your past. Can we get access to your employee files? Have you fired anybody who might have borne a grudge?”

She thought he hadn’t considered that?

“I can’t think of anyone, but I’ll arrange access to the files. Whoever this guy is, he’s well on his way to taking my life now, isn’t he? I mean, he’s got my sister, a chunk of my money, and the software I’ve spent years developing. What else is there?”

Luke groaned as Ash popped into his head. A week ago, she’d have been on that list, but where did they stand now?

“Oh, he didn’t get the ransom,” Dan said chirpily. “Ash did. It’s in the strong room.”

“What?”

“I guess you forgot that part. The guy was about to shoot you when Ash got there. She stopped him, but when she paused to check on you, she lost ground in the chase. He jumped in a van and escaped, but he’d already dropped the bag. Probably the knife lodged in his biceps made it tricky to carry.”

“Have I missed something? How did he get a knife in his biceps?”

“Ash.”

Ash?

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