At least he’d removed the duct tape from her mouth. Farrah was sobbing now, a heartbreaking sight. She wasn’t moving a muscle, her fear tangible. But even through her tears she showed a defiance that made Amos glad this woman was his daughter’s best friend.

And made Amos determined to save her.

“I just want to get away,” Ephraim called. “Nobody needs to get hurt. Step away from the SUVs and I’ll let her go.”

“We can’t shoot him now,” Daisy murmured, “and neither can Schumacher. He’s got fingers on both triggers. One wrong twitch and he’ll kill her.”

“I know,” Rafe growled under his breath, then raised his voice. “Let her go first. Then we’ll talk.”

Ephraim edged closer. “I’ll tell you where to find your brother, Sokolov. You might want to get to him quickly. He’s already lost a lot of blood. You know, from the crash this morning and the bullets I pumped into his gut. You can still save him, though. Every second counts. Get out of my way and you can save him.”

DUNSMUIR, CALIFORNIA

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 4:50 P.M.

Rafe’s heart skipped a beat, fear for his brother nearly overwhelming him. In that moment, he was tempted to do as Ephraim demanded, but he knew the man was lying. Ephraim would try to kill them all. Except for Mercy. She would be taken back to Eden and made an example. Rafe’s blood ran cold at the very thought.

Of course, Ephraim couldn’t succeed. He was too outnumbered. But Rafe wasn’t willing to risk even one of them for this monster. They just needed to get Burton’s guns away from Farrah’s head. Daisy was right. One wrong twitch of Ephraim’s finger and Farrah would be dead. Rafe hoped that Schumacher was fully aware of the situation. He hoped that she was somewhere behind Ephraim, ready to shoot but waiting for the right moment.

Mercy cracked the SUV door open. “He’s lying, Rafe.”

“I know,” Rafe hissed. “He’s not going to just walk away. He’ll kill us all. Close the door and get down.”

“No. Look at Farrah. Watch her mouth.”

Rafe did and immediately felt a wave of relief. Farrah was mouthing over and over again, He’s okay. Your brother’s okay.

“Oh thank God,” Rafe whispered. “Where the fuck is Gideon anyway? We need a diversion. Anything to get him to loosen his hold on Farrah.”

Mercy scrubbed her face with her palms. “He’s not going to let Farrah go. He wants me and he wants his damn safe-deposit box key. Let me open the door wider. I want to talk to him. And I won’t leave the car, I promise,” she snapped before he could warn her not to do just that.

Rafe sighed and opened the door, because he had a very bad feeling that backup wasn’t coming. Not only were Gideon and Hunter AWOL, the SWAT team that Molina was supposed to be bringing was not here. And they should have been. He was starting to wonder if Schumacher was really in the woods waiting for Ephraim to lower his guard. He thought she would have shown herself by this time, maybe even crept closer. Something was very wrong.