Page 37 of The Captive
Sarah almost fainted.The phone fell from her hands, clattering against the white marble counter.She dropped her head in her hands and sucked in desperate breaths, fighting the wave of lightheadedness ripping through her.
“Sarah.Sarah!Sarah!”
Hank’s voice thudded from the phone.She finally picked up the cell.“I’m here,” she croaked.“I’m… Oh, lord, Hank, whoarethese people?”
He didn’t reply.
“You need to call the FBI,” she burst out.“And I’m calling Jim.”
“Not yet,” Hank blurted.“I promise you, darling, I’m taking care of it.I’m going to demand proof of life the next time they call, which should be any second now.They’re going to want to brag about their latest surprise.”
“Proof of life?”she echoed warily.
“I don’t want to involve anyone else until I know without a doubt that Lana is still alive.For all we know, they’re just playing with us.”
Another wave of dizziness.The mere thought of Lana being gone made her belly tighten with uncontrollable grief.“Jim might be able to help.”
“No.I’m not dragging another one of our children into this mess.I wouldn’t be able to live myself if something happened to that boy.Losing Lana is already bad enough.”
“We haven’t lost her,” she choked out.“Don’t say things like that.”
A heavy breath filled the line.“I know.I’m sorry.”He paused.“Just sit tight, darling.I’m going to make some calls, and I hope the men who have our daughter will contact me soon.Trust me.I’ll be in touch, Sarah.”
They disconnected, and Sarah’s head dropped right back between her hands.Tears filled her eyes.Trust me.
How could he even ask her that, after everything he’d done to their family?But what choice did she have?
She wanted her daughter back, and Hank was right.If they involved anyone else right now, the kidnappers could panic and kill Lana.If they hadn’t done so already.
She gathered up every iota of strength in her body, slowlylifting her head.It was becoming glaringly obvious that if she wanted her daughter home safe and sound, she really did need to do the impossible.
Trust her husband again.
CHAPTER 10
Lana feared her words must have fallen on deaf ears.Another miserable week had gone by, and she was still in D.C., in this lavish bedroom that only served as a reminder that whoever was calling the shots must have a truckload of cash at their disposal.This was no amateur operation.Le Clair’s bosses were no doubt loaded, which meant they had to be extremely important people.
Her father had plenty of political enemies, but Lana couldn’t even imagine the kind of power needed to undertake this scheme.It was definitely an expensive mission.Deacon and the others must be earning a huge amount of money for them to involve themselves in such a risky and time-consuming assignment, and Le Clair was probably pulling in a hefty amount of dough, too.Not to mention the state-of-the-art equipment, the weapons, the private jet, this fancy apartment.Whoever these men were, they had a lot of money, and a lot of time.
Unfortunately, time wasn’t on her side here.The pregnancy would start to show soon, yet she still couldn’t bring herself to tell Deacon about the baby.Each time she tried, the words got stuck in her throat like a wad of bubble gum, and she ended up swallowing them down where they congealed into a painful lump in her belly.
What would happen when she started showing?Sure, it might be another month from now—two even—but what if she was still a hostage at that point?Deacon hadn’t commented on the fullness of her breasts when he’d had his hands on them back at the cabin, but there was no way she’d be able to hide a baby bump from him.Or the others.
She grew sick at the thought, as she pondered Le Clair’s volatile reaction if he learned his hostage was pregnant.
When Deacon came into the room, she was still thinking about her dilemma, but any urge to blurt out the truth was squashed when Le Clair appeared at Deacon’s heels.Echo came in, too, and Lana’s chest tightened when she saw the sleek camcorder in his hands.
“What’s going on?”she asked uneasily.
“Your daddy thinks we killed you,” Le Clair explained, an irritated frown curling his lips.“We’re here to ease his mind.”
As usual, Le Clair’s accented voice was cheerful.She imagined him using that same tone while cold-bloodedly killing someone.
Wait, she didn’t even have to imagine.She’d witnessed it firsthand already.
Echo moved over to the living area, as Le Clair gestured for her to sit down on the love seat.She noticed he made sure to keep her away from the window, in order to ensure that their location wasn’t revealed.
With great weariness, Lana sat down.Not because she’d been ordered to, but because frankly, she was exhausted.The constant worry and panic battling in her belly were starting to wear her down.She barely even reacted when Le Clair thrust a piece of paper in her hands.
