“You heard me. Friday. What does your guy want with her, anyway?” He’d been reluctant to ask, but now that a baby was involved he had to know.

“He wants to convince her that she was wrong about him.”

“That’s bullshit! He had her kidnapped. You don’t kidnap a woman just to talk.”

“You do if you can’t get her to listen any other way. He needs her help getting his sister back. It’s legit, man. I promise. I know this dude.”

“He’s not going to hurt her.…” Emmett couldn’t help being skeptical.

Terry busted out laughing. “I doubt he could even if he tried. A strong child could kick his ass. That’s why he hired us—because he’s useless himself. He just needs her to sign a few papers so he can regain custody of his sister. That’s all.”

“Why can’t his parents raise the sister?”

“He doesn’t have parents anymore. Never had a dad to begin with, and his mother abandoned him and his sister when he was sixteen. At least that’s what he told me. Anyway, his sister is only six years younger than he is, but she’s retarded or something. In a facility.”

Someone who was willing to take care of his retarded adult sister couldn’t be all bad. Who’d volunteer for a tough job like that? “Okay,” Emmett said. “I’ll give him through Saturday. But stay in touch. I’m nervous as hell that this will turn into something we never expected.”

“I’m only a phone call away, but I’d better get back to work. I swear my boss hates me. She stares daggers at me every time she sees me.”

“Because you’re a lazy ass.” Emmett spoke as though he was joking, but he knew it was true. That was his sister’s greatest complaint about Terry.

“Fuck you,” he said, joking back. “I gotta go.”

With a sigh, Emmett disconnected. At least he hadn’t snatched a pregnant woman for the use of some sadistic monster. He could hold out through Saturday. It wasn’t as if he had to worry about being found. He’d rented this place via a recommendation from someone else he’d called after seeing a listing on the Internet, when their place was already taken, and there weren’t any neighbors close by.

So far, so good. Come Saturday he’d return to Minneapolis and never look back.

7

Hilltop, AK—Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. AKDT

Evelyn had finally slept solidly. It felt as though many hours had passed. What time was it? She hated not knowing, not being able to do something she’d always taken for granted. She was hungry again—another sign that it had been a while since she’d last eaten—but her captor hadn’t yet brought her breakfast, so … she couldn’t have slept that long.

She listened to see if he might be coming now, but didn’t hear anything. Just for something to do, she got out her shiv. She’d created a handle by tearing the lining of her jacket into strips, which she wound tightly around the coil.