Frustration boiled over. ‘How? How did you “take care of it,” Adam? Are those girls still breathing? Because if they are, you not only didn’t take care of a damn thing, you just made the problem one hundred percent worse!’

When Adam remained stonily silent, showing no evidence of a fracture in his steady resolve, Alex whirled around, searching for something to break that wasn’t Adam’s fool neck.

A rainbow-colored bowl Adam had made for a glass-blowing class was the first casualty. Alex hefted it high before hurling it against the far wall, the shattering sound fueling a more intense rage. Within minutes, an entire cupboard of assorted dishes littered the floor, shards sparkling like glitter under the glow of the kitchen light.

The peace that came from causing the destruction of someone else’s belongings lasted only until it was over, and then Alex, nostrils flaring and heaving in great gulps of air, whirled on Adam once again, this time shocking both of them by shoving a gun into his face. The menacing sound of the gun being cocked echoed throughout the room.

The tic in Adam’s left eye pulsed rapidly as his face paled and he stumbled backwards, trembling hands raised in surrender. ‘Man, what are you doing?’

For several seconds, Alex stared coldly at Adam, then clicked on the safety before setting the gun down. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.’ Hazel eyes implored Adam to understand. ‘I just want to make sure nothing happens to you. Or me. I don’t want to go to prison, and you have your NFL career to think about. So, tell me, Adam. Where did you take them? Let me help.’

Chapter Sixteen

Saturday, October 5

Bright and early Saturday morning – well, early, anyway – Alyssa was back at the precinct, along with Cord, Hal, Joe, and Sandra.

At ten after five that morning, when her phone had jolted her awake from a troubling dream in which Sara was desperately treading water and begging Cord to save her, she’d expected her partner to be on the other end, and she’d subconsciously braced herself for bad news. So, when it was Tony’s voice in her ear, it had taken her a moment to swim through the confusion of her sleepy brain.

‘Hey, Lys. Did I wake you? I’m sorry. I just figured you’d be up already because I know you’re an early riser—’

‘No problem,’ Alyssa said while stifling a yawn. ‘I needed to get out of bed anyway. What’s up?’ Her head had still been muddled from her dream, so it hadn’t immediately dawned on her that it wasn’t the hour of the phone call that was strange, but that Tony was phoning her at all instead of waiting until he saw her at the station.