Page 138 of The Savior

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

The outer and inner doors opened outside Liam’s glass holding cell. He pulled his head off the table and wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Sorenson, Westin, and Black walked out. Their expressions were tight and cold, shades far beyond how they left.

Liam’s gut tightened. Bad news was coming.

Sorenson made a point of settling herself before she looked Liam’s way, and both Westin and Black noticed. Their locked gazes bored into her like missiles on target.

Westin laid a heavy-handed fist on the table, and it was enough that the senator gave Liam her attention.

“Our information was flawed from the start,” she said.

“Samantha.” Westin worked his jaw from side to side. “So help me God. Tell him everything he needs to know.”

The corners of Sorenson’s lips tensed.

Liam didn’t care about their political battle. “What was the alarm for? Chelsea? Linda and Frank?”

Sorenson faltered, and for that half a heartbeat, Liam needed to scream. Westin lifted his chin at the man across the table.

“Chelsea was abducted,” Black said.

Liam’s blood went cold. His mind spun. Pham utilized explosions with the rare exception of a shooting and one abduction that no one would speak about. “Pham?”

Westin nodded and cracked his knuckles. “We didn’t expect that.”

“It’s happened before, right? Who?”

“The senator’s adult daughter.”

Liam’s attention swung to Sorenson. She remained unmoved.

Black cleared his throat. “Pham discovered that Sorenson was the reason his negotiations to return his daughter’s body failed.”

Liam raged. “All of this? This, this… goddamn shit show is your fault?”

Her jaw stiffened, but she remained silent.

Liam’s throat ached. “What happened to her?”

“Nothing yet,” Sorenson finally said. “Mr. Black believes Pham plans to keep her alive until the last loved one of your team has been killed.”

“It’s been…” He couldn’t wrap his mind around how this had grown.

“Years,” Sorenson said. “And I’m ready to bring her home.”

“We think there’s a chance Pham has dragged the attacks out because he’d found a sense of purpose. Maybe a sick kind of enjoyment,” Black explained.

Liam couldn’t process the situation. “Of what?”

“Stringing Samantha along,” Westin said.

“And that’s why there was so much time between the attacks? Between Julia and waiting for something to happen to Linda and Frank?”

“Perhaps,” Sorenson said. “If Linda and Frank perish, his game is over. My daughter is next. But you gave him another opportunity with Chelsea.”

“We didn’t expect him to abduct anyone else,” Black said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“None of this makes sense.” Except that he was also to blame for anything that happened to Chelsea. Liam clenched his teeth. “You couldn’t come up with a better plan than to bait Pham with civilian lives?”

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