Page 68 of Stolen Goods
“Where’s Ryder?” the man grunted.
Addy shook her head, too frightened to speak. The twine circling her wrists had rubbed them raw. Her shoulders ached from the odd angle. Every inch of her trembled.
Beside her on the couch, Jo gave him a hard look. “We told you already, we don’t know. He said he was handing himself in. He said he was making a deal with the cops. We were told to stay here and he left with the Feds.”
The man slapped Jo across the cheek. Her face whipped to the side, revealing a bright red spot by the side of her lip. Blood. Addy screamed—a quick, shocked, desperate sound. Jo just spit a wad of goopy, gory spit at their feet and smiled.
“Hit me all you want. It won’t change the fact that we don’t know anything.”
He pulled his hand back, but his comrade stopped him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him across the room with a grunt. They put their faces together, talking in a language Addy didn’t understand and gesturing with their hands. Their words were forceful and angry. They were arguing about something.
“Psst.”
Addy turned toward Jo.
“It’s okay,” Jo whispered.
Addy gave her a pointed look. They were tied up and bound, stuck on the couch, facing off against two mobsters twice their size who had guns. How was this on any levelokay?
“Listen,” Jo said, so softly Addy had to strain to hear. They leaned closer together and Jo turned her head slightly to the side. “I grabbed a knife from the kitchen before I went to the bathroom to hide. It’s stuffed in my pants. And I managed to call Nate before they found me. Help is on the way. We just need to delay.”
Her arms moved subtly up and down, and a gentle scratching noise filled the air—rope fraying beneath a sharp, serrated edge.
“If we can separate them,” Jo said, keeping her gaze on the two men still presenting them with their backs as they fought, “I think I can take one of them down one-on-one. They won’t expect it, so I’ll have surprise on my side. I’m not sure they know who I am. I mean, I have no idea how they found us.”
“Could they have…” Addy swallowed. “Could they have spotted us at the Grand Canyon somehow? Followed us from there?”
Jo wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Not likely. I know Thad. He would’ve taken the necessary precautions. And if they were following you, they would’ve hit you before you got to the city. Or they would’ve followed Thad when he left with Nate. I mean, this is an FBI safe house. No one was supposed to find us here.”
“Could it have been an inside job?”Inside job? Since when do I even know what that is?
Jo’s brows pressed together. Her eyes narrowed. In the end, she sighed. “No. I don’t think so. Not this time. Ah!”
Her arms stopped moving. She must have gotten through the restraints. That thought should’ve provided some sort of comfort, but all Addy could think was,Great. Now I’m the only useless one in the room.
The couch cushion beneath her butt vibrated.
“What was that?” Jo asked.
Addy’s eyes went wide. She cringed.Not useless. Less than useless. A liability.“I know how they found us. I thought it was okay, now that I was with you. I thought— No. I wasn’t thinking. I put my battery back in my cell phone. They must have picked up the signal.”
Jo winced, but kept silent. When she met Addy’s eyes, there was no judgment in her gaze, only sympathy.
This is all my fault.
Well, it wasn’tallher fault—she never asked Thad to walk into her cake shop and drag her into his mess. But this, right now, this was her fault. It had been her mistake—and a stupid, stupid one at that.
I didn’t even use the freaking thing.
I didn’t even call anyone!
Addy sighed and closed her eyes, mind racing over the past couple of days, the past couple of hours, her conversation with Jo.
I can fix this.
I know how to fix this.
Her eyes shot open. Before she could second-guess, she blurted, “I know where the Degas is.”
