Page 110 of Wrecked
Chapter 34
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Hallene had thoughtthe storm would miss them, but clouds joined forces overhead, turning day to night as Sam drove them down a two-lane paved road to the resort. The four-star rated place sounded as if it offered everything but came up lacking on one point.
This dead-end location had only one way in and out.
Even she knew that was not desirable on an operation like this. Coop had said how he hated caves for the lack of a decent exit strategy.
She kept twisting the ring around her finger.
Sam reached over and took her hand, pulling her out of the torment spinning through her head. So many things could go wrong. They could fail to save Phoebe. Sam could die.
Sure, that sounded selfish when compared to losing a senator whose presence affected so many others beyond his own family, but she was feeling selfish. She wanted all her chicks tucked in close and safe.
“Get out of your head for a bit,” Sam said gently.
Smiling, she draped her arm on the console. “Thanks. I’m fine. You need both hands in this wind.”
He shrugged, handling the SUV with no trouble in a driving wind that bucked his side over and over. “It’s not so bad. You said you and Phoebe weren’t close. Is she expecting her dad to come in and save her?”
Hallene appreciated Sam talking about Phoebe with them so close to seeing her. “Sadly, I’m thinking she’s feeling alone and abandoned. I’m not sure how much our mother has told Phoebe about what I do. My mother constantly tries to get us to connect. If not for seeing me in that bedroom on my first attempt, she would have no idea I was hunting for her. She probably thinks I’m dead and is hoping Kovac will pay a ransom. I doubt she knows money is not the currency for this deal.”
A silence passed slowly.
Sam prodded, “What kind of girl is Phoebe?”
“She’s not bad, just annoying sometimes. In fairness to her, I’ve kept my distance when I could. She’s the product of a wealthy father who doesn’t care and believes she and our mother are only financial burdens. She’s close to our mother so I sometimes feel Phoebe sees me as a threat—the older daughter whom my mother admires.” Hallene chuffed a sad laugh. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about all this. Phoebe and I have more in common than I realized when it came to fathers.”
“That’s messed up about Kovac.” Sam shook his head.
“True. Our mother was very pretty before she got sick. She leaned too heavily on her looks to get by and never chose well when it came to men. My father was an investment broker, but in truth, he gambled. He came from old money. My grandmother would not feed her son’s gambling addiction. When he got deep into trouble, his mother made him go into rehab in exchange for bailing him out of bad debts. He did that, then came out and acted normal for two weeks. Then with no warning, he withdrew large amounts of money and flew to Monaco where he spent a stupid amount of cash on an escort and gambling. Our mother had to live through the media pictures and videos, including the one of him smashing a Lamborghini into a church. Death mattered little to the media when they could run with a headline of his betrayal to my mother and grandmother.”
“Man, what a piece of work. You didn’t like him much, huh?”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Hallene admitted. “I had what I needed financially growing up, and my mother loved me, so I didn’t struggle compared to so many others.”
Sam’s fingers wrapped around her arm and gave her a little squeeze. His way of saying he understood her life hadn’t been a cakewalk either.
