“Again, you’ve made your point. Anyway, I would have no reason to bring either of you down with me. Like I said before, relax. Everything’s running according to plan.” His plan, which, even he had to admit, was brilliant. Maybe his mind wasn’t quite as sharp as it used to be. But now that the seizures he’d suffered right after the brain hemorrhage were gone, his situation could be a lot worse. He could be sitting on death row with little or no chance at freedom.

“I’m trying,” Terry said. “But Emmett is unhappy. He doesn’t like that she’s pregnant.”

Bishop found that aspect of Evelyn Talbot’s situation especially appealing, but he couldn’t say so. He’d spent too long crafting a far different image of himself for Terry. “He must be afraid she’ll go into labor.”

“Do you blame him? He doesn’t want to be responsible for delivering a baby—or having the baby die while he’s in charge. He told me he’s about to bug out.”

Lyman felt his first real jolt of alarm. He’d finally made his move, had it all set up. He couldn’t have Emmett ruining everything. “He’d better not. We had an agreement!”

“I’ve told him that, but if he decides to go there’s nothing I can say to make him stay.”

“What about the money? Doesn’t he care about getting paid?”

“I’m sure he does, but—”

“You assured me he was dependable. I told you what I needed, and you said you could make it happen.”

“And I did make it happen. It’s just that Emmett’s a little … unpredictable.”

“Your wife’s his sister. Have her say something.”

“Are you kidding? She doesn’t know anything about this. Besides, he makes up his own mind, and he has this weird code of ethics. Some things he has no problem with, others are a big deal.”

“Then you should’ve gotten someone else.”

Terry threw up his hands. “I was lucky to get him! How many people do you think I know who’d be willing to kidnap a woman, especially someone like Dr. Talbot?”

Lyman toyed with the anxiety medication they gave him each night, along with a sleeping pill. He’d been saving his meds instead of swallowing them almost since the day he arrived at this facility. They made him feel tired and dull, and he couldn’t have that. “Ten grand is a lot of money. And I’m paying you the same amount. So if you want to keep your demanding wife happy, you’d better make sure her brother doesn’t let us down.”

He heaved a sigh as he came back toward the bed. “I’m doing my best. I had no idea Emmett would get this jittery. He talked so tough when we were in the joint. How much longer do you think we’ll need him to stay?”

“Could be as long as a week.”

“A week,” Terry repeated, as though Lyman had said a year.

“In order for this to be successful, we have to be patient. Tell him I’ll give him an additional two thousand dollars if he’ll stay.”