Her example made him recoil. “You’re not right in the head, you know that?”

“You think that’s the first time I’ve had someone say that to me? Admit it, under those circumstances, you could kill someone.” Before he could reply, her phone rang and she took the call. “Holland.”

“It’s Malone. We’ve got Josh, but he’s in bad shape.”

“How bad?”

“EMTs couldn’t say, but he’s been knocked around pretty hard, and he’s unconscious. They suspect he’s been drugged.”

“Great, so he can’t tell us who took him.”

“We think they intended to kill him with whatever they gave him. He’s being transported now, and we’re notifying his mother.”

“Maybe you ought to hold off on that.”

“On notifying the mother?”

Working a hunch, Sam said, “Yeah. I mean what if she’s in on it in some way? You guys said she was weird last night. I just have a feeling all is not as it seems there.”

“So we let her think he’s still missing?”

“For now.”

“I’ve learned to trust your gut, so we’ll hold off for now. But if he takes a bad turn, we’ll have to call her.”

“Understood. Let’s see what we find out in Knoxville and go from there.”

“Call me after you talk to the admin.”

“I will.”

They boarded the plane a few minutes later, and when Sam realized it was one of the smaller commuter jets, she began to feel nauseated on top of anxious. She checked the seat-back pocket to make sure there was a barf bag in there. Just in case. She nearly asked to be removed from the plane when the pilot informed them that he expected a bumpy flight and as such there would be no beverage service.

“Oh my God.” She wondered if it was too late to get off.

“What?” Avery asked, looking up from his phone.

“Did you hear what he said? The flight is going to be so bumpy they aren’t doing beverages.”

“If it wasn’t safe, they wouldn’t let us go. It’ll be fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered.

Closing her eyes, Sam focused on the breathing exercises Trulo had taught her when her anxiety had been at an all-time high after Stahl attacked her. Trulo had suggested that she take a low dose prescription to fend off the anxiety, but she’d resisted, a decision she regretted as the plane taxied toward the runway. Her hands were sweaty, her stomach was doing somersaults and suddenly she had to pee. Urgently.

The plane lifted into the air, rocking and rolling. Sam gripped the armrest and closed her eyes tight against tears that appeared out of nowhere.

Avery’s hand covered hers. “Sam. Breathe. Sam!”