“Sure you do. I want my money.”

“We’re working on getting it for you.”

“You’ll bring it here?”

“As soon as we recover it from the evidence locker.”

“I don’t want no games. You give me my money, I’ll let her go.”

“If Lieutenant Holland is hurt in any way, there’s no money. Do you understand?”

Reese ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.

Chapter 20

Sam figured SWAT probably had the place surrounded by now. She wondered if Nick was outside, too. Her mind wandered back to what he’d said the night before. No, I can’t go there. I’ll go crazy if I think about that.

She noticed Reese talking to himself and strained to hear him.

“It’s her fault I had to do the babies, too,” he muttered. “I never wanted to hurt them.”

Sam swallowed hard. “So then why did you?”

He stared at her. “What did you say?”

“Why did you hurt the babies?”

“I didn’t mean to. She was screaming at me again. We had no money for groceries.”

“Where’d you get the ten grand?”

Reese seemed almost ashamed. “I got a second job, and it still wasn’t enough. So I started selling drugs. Didn’t mean to get into that, but no matter how much I brought home, it wasn’t enough for her. She said she hated me and was going to take the babies and leave me. I didn’t want her to know I had the money. If she got her hands on it, she would’ve left me.”

Sam hung on his every word, forcing herself to stay still and let him get it out before she made her move.

“I couldn’t let her take my kids. That wasn’t going to happen.” He didn’t seem to notice the tears that tumbled down his face. “I went to get my gun. Just to scare her into shutting up, but she didn’t care. She just kept spewing shit at me.”

“Why’d you shoot her?”

Clarence’s eyes met hers. “She called me a loser. Said she never should’ve married me.” He shook his head. “After everything I’d done for her.”

“What happened with the kids?”

“Jorge started screaming. I told him to shut up so I could think. He wouldn’t shut up.” Clarence’s voice caught on a sob. “I didn’t mean to hit him. I loved him. I loved all of them, but nothing I did was enough.”

Sam wanted to go to him, but was mindful of the gun in his hand. “I can help you,” she said. “We can walk out of here with no one getting hurt. If you let me help, this doesn’t have to end badly for you.”

“It already has,” he said in a tone devoid of hope.