Page 89 of Forged in Secrets

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Asher said, looking over his shoulder at Jade without moving his hands from Craig’s chest. “Killing Grace doesn’t fix this, okay? Think about it.”

Despite the severity of the situation, his twin’s voice had taken on its usual lighter tone. Ben swallowed his fear and anger, trying to calm his own words before he spoke.

“He’s right. Had your father let you kill Katie Fairman from the start, you might have gotten away with all of this,” Ben added. “But it’s too late for that now. Don’t do something you’re going to regret.”

It took every ounce of mental strength he had not to scream at her, but he knew that Asher’s approach was more likely to work. If they could keep her talking, help would come eventually. He had to believe that.

Before Jade could respond, her phone rang, the bright screen glowing through the pocket of her jeans.

“Gonna try and shoot me if I answer?” she asked Ben, rolling her eyes.

He said nothing, and she pressed the phone against her ear and listened for several seconds. He looked over at Grace. Even with a weapon touching her head, she looked more calm than he felt.

Was it possible her faith in God was sustaining her in this very moment? Did she trust in His mercy even more than she feared death?

Before he could consider the matter further, Jade jabbed at the phone screen and ended the silent call.

“Change of plans. It’s your lucky day, Hinton. Guess you get to live after all.”

Asher shot Ben a confused look, and he suppressed a shrug.

“And you–” Jade pointed in Asher’s direction “–you don’t seem like the kind of guy who is going to let a helpless man bleed out. Stay with him, and out of my way.”

Without allowing the gun to waver even an inch, Jade gestured in the vague direction of the bridge.

“You two, come with me. But first, I want you to throw that gun overboard.”

Ben didn’t bother to argue. He had no leverage here, and they both knew it.

Taking a few steps closer to the side of the vessel, he hefted his pistol and threw it into the glimmering turquoise water.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-NINE

GRACE

As soon as Grace saw the dash panel of the ship, she knew that Katie Fairman hadn’t managed to call for help.

Various screens, buttons, and switches seemed to cover half of the bridge, and there were three leather chairs. Clearly, the Lumeneer was designed to be manned by an entire crew, but they saw no one save her terrified friend.

“Leave it alone, Katie,” Jade said from her position behind Grace, holding the gun aloft to ensure that the young woman saw it.

She raised her hands in the air immediately, sinking down onto the center captain’s chair and staring helplessly at the array of controls. Grace examined the equipment from where she stood, watching as Ben did the same. Perhaps there would be a chance for one of them to try and figure it out, but at the moment, keeping Jade from shooting anybody was their first priority.

Fortunately, Katie seemed to realize the importance of keeping their captor talking.

“I want an explanation,” she said to Jade, who had now lowered the gun a little. “You were my friend. I cared about you. Why would you let your father do this?”

Grace cringed at the blank look on Jade’s face. She wondered if Jade had lured Katie to South Padre Island to have her taken, or if the trip was merely a useful coincidence. It would have been a lot more suspicious if Katie had been snatched from her dorm room at UT Austin, let alone from her family’s mansion.

“Let him? It was my idea,” Jade said, scoffing at Katie’s open-mouthed expression. “Well, kind of. You should be thanking my bozo of a dad for keeping you alive all this time.”

Grace's gaze flicked over to Ben again. He was watching the exchange with clenched fists, his pale face reddening in anger. He cut an intimidating figure, but Jade barely seemed to notice him. Then again, she was now the only one who had a gun, unless the one that she had taken from Asher was still laying around somewhere.

“What could I have done that made you want to kill me?” Katie said. Her forehead was wrinkled in puzzlement, but Grace could tell there was more hiding beneath the surface of her expression. Her mind raced. Could Katie be involved in something shady that had gotten her into trouble, or was she truly nothing more than an innocent victim?

Not for the first time, she wished she could talk things through with Ben. He was standing only about a foot away from her, but the distance felt like miles. All she wanted to do was to be in his arms again, safe and warm, but the glint of Jade’s gun in the Mexican sunshinestopped her from daring to step even an inch closer to him.

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