Key Lime Pie (20 page)

He stared at her with those shark eyes of his, holding her with the intensity of a look that was as strong as the muscles in his arm. “Who are you?”

The silence was profound as Sadie tried to look at Eric, but couldn’t turn her head enough to make eye contact. The man stared at Sadie while keeping the gun trained on Eric. “Who sent you?”

He moved his arm from her neck to her collarbone so she could answer. She had to cough three times before she felt as though she could speak; her throat throbbed. “I told you, I’m from Georgia and—”

The click of the safety being taken off the gun caused the rest of the lie to stick in her throat. She looked at Eric, who had suddenly stiffened.

“I’ll kill him.” The man’s cold tone convinced Sadie he really would pull the trigger.

Should she attempt another lie? The look in the man’s eyes told her not to. “My name is Sadie,” she finally admitted, seeing Eric slump a few feet away. “Eric told me he was coming here, but . . . he refused to let me come with him.” She turned to look at Eric. “I’m so sorry I followed you,” she said, meaning every word of it.

“You weren’t supposed to tell anyone,” the man shouted, turning toward Eric, who startled at the volume of the man’s words.

“I’m sorry,” Eric said. “I didn’t think she’d interfere.”

The words were a slap, one Sadie knew she deserved.

The man turned his eyes back to her. “Have you gone to the police with this?”

“No,” Sadie said, suddenly hoping she was a bad enough liar that he would instantly recognize she was telling the truth now. “I only learned about it on the way here. Eric dropped me off so he could continue alone. I was just worried about him, I swear.”

The man’s eyes continued to bore through her. “This complicates things,” he muttered. He moved his arm from Sadie’s chest, but only to clamp his hand on her right arm, tightly enough to convince her that now wasn’t the time to try the skills that had gotten her out of similar situations in the past. Still pointing the gun toward Eric, the man dragged Sadie toward the doors. Partway there, he suddenly shifted and pointed the gun at her head instead of Eric’s. Sadie forgot to breathe for a few stumbling steps. Then, in one fluid movement the man turned around, keeping Sadie with him. He looked at Eric.

“She’s coming with me,” he said. “And the price just went up another five grand.”

“Fifteen thousand dollars?” Eric sputtered, shaking his head. “There’s no way I can get that kind of money. The sixty-two hundred was all I’d been able—”

“Find a way,” the man countered. “There’s a practice race at the Speedway tonight at 6:00. We’ll be in section C. Find us, bring the money, and I’ll give you your woman back as well as your daughter.”

At the mention of Megan, Eric’s face drained of both tension and color, as though realizing how seriously Sadie’s interference had jeopardized his chance to find Megan.

At the look on his face, Sadie felt the emotion she’d been holding back threaten to break free. “I’m so sorry, Eric,” she said as tears rose in her eyes.

The man’s grip on her arm tightened as he pulled her toward the door. She tripped over her own feet and nearly dropped her purse. He steadied her without looking at her, but it surprised her that he’d bothered.

“I hope you understand how serious this is,” the man said to Eric. “I’ve now got double coverage. You’ll have to give up ever seeing your daughter again if you choose to do something stupid.” He shook Sadie’s arm for emphasis.

They’d reached the glass doors. Though Sadie envisioned elbowing this man in the stomach, kicking him in the groin, and making her getaway, she didn’t so much as try to pull away. She’d caused enough trouble for Eric and didn’t dare compound it. The man pushed the door open and turned back to look at Eric, who stood in the middle of the entryway. So many feelings were playing over his face that Sadie didn’t have time to identify them. “Get out here so I can lock up.”

Eric paused for a moment then came forward, passing Sadie and the tipster in the doorway. Sadie tried to catch his eye, but Eric avoided her gaze. He exited the building and headed for his car. When he reached it, he dropped his chin, keeping his back to Sadie. She kept watching, waiting for him to turn around. Then she asked herself what she wanted him to do. Tell her it was fine when they both knew it wasn’t? Still holding her arm, the man pulled her completely out of the building. Sadie squinted against the blinding sunshine.

The door closed, and Sadie watched the man turn the key in the lock of the door before pulling on the handle to ensure it was locked. “You’ll wait here for five minutes before you leave,” he told Eric. “Following us will only make things worse. I’ve given you enough information for you to know
I
can be trusted; you have not earned my trust nearly as well.”

The man dragged Sadie around the car to the passenger side. “You understand how this arrangement works?” He released her arm and pulled open the door. It took her a moment to realize he was talking to her. He still had the gun in his hand, but wasn’t pointing it at her anymore. He didn’t need to. “You don’t scream or run or do anything to draw attention to yourself while you’re with me.”

Sadie nodded. “I won’t do anything else to make this worse,” she said. “I want Eric to find his daughter.”

“Good,” the man said. “If you do something stupid,
you
will be responsible for him never seeing her again.”

She nodded her understanding, looking at the ground, feeling Eric’s eyes on her—eyes she couldn’t bring herself to meet.

He motioned with the gun for Sadie to get into the car. She didn’t have to be told twice—or once, really—and she obediently moved the iPod off the seat and sat down. She put on her seat belt while the man made his way around the car and then she zipped up her purse and held it tightly in her lap. Moments later he pulled open the driver’s door and removed the jacket from the front seat. He slipped it on, covering the shoulder holster he wore. He slid the gun into the holster, and Sadie wondered how he could wear a jacket in this heat. The very idea increased her own internal temperature.

Sadie did not try to catch Eric’s eye again. She’d messed everything up. As the magnitude of the situation descended on her, she winced at the ramifications. Could she live with herself if she was the reason he didn’t find Megan?

“Give me your purse,” the man said once he had sat down and pulled the driver’s door closed.

Sadie clutched the handles of her purse closer to her chest. After all this, he was going to rob her too?

When she didn’t comply, he reached for it. Sadie automatically slapped his hand, surprising them both.

“I’m sorry,” she said before realizing it was ridiculous to apologize to him.

“I’m going to put it in the backseat so you don’t get any crazy ideas.”

“What kind of crazy ideas?” Sadie said, wondering just how dangerous a purse could be. But then she thought of hitting him with it repeatedly, or sneaking her phone out when he wasn’t paying attention, or finding a pen and using it to defend herself. Not that she would ever really do any of those things and put finding Megan at risk, but thinking about the options helped her realize why he didn’t want her to have it. She handed it over before he could ask for it again, and he threw it over the seat. Sadie winced as she heard it land, all the items inside crashing into each other. Now, instead of a meticulously organized arrangement, her purse would be a mess. So far things were off to a
fabulous
start.

He picked up the GPS unit, and Sadie watched him press a series of buttons. She’d been right; he wasn’t from Miami. But where were they going? What was he going to do with her for the next three hours? Of course, she didn’t want to know badly enough to actually ask. Not that he’d tell her anyway.

“Your route is being calculated,” the female voice from the GPS said as he returned it to the cup holder. A moment later the voice added, “In twenty yards, turn right.”

Only then did he start driving. As he pulled out of his parking space, Sadie met Eric’s eyes, which were watching her from where he stood in front of his car. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed. He didn’t say anything back, just stood there, helpless. Sadie had to look away. She felt awful.

The tipster was pulling away from the building a few seconds later when Sadie saw the black-and-white taxi across the street. She’d forgotten all about Monty. He hadn’t texted her back, but he was still there, still waiting for her. Her stomach sank—again—as she made eye contact with Monty.

She felt horrible about not having paid him fully. She did have his card, however, so maybe she could call him when this got resolved and pay him the balance. He wouldn’t try to follow her, would he? Panic rose in her chest at the thought of him stepping in somehow. Sadie shook her head quickly, hoping to communicate that Monty wasn’t to follow her. His expression didn’t change, but he nodded and Sadie made a note to be
sure
and find a way to pay him the full fare she owed. He was a very nice young man. Hopefully she hadn’t cost him any jobs while he’d waited on her.

She didn’t turn her head to watch Monty until he was out of sight, but she sure wanted to. He was the last link to what she
knew,
instead of whatever lay ahead, all of which was what she
didn’t
know. After a few more seconds, she dropped her chin, reprimanding herself for being so blasted curious all the time. When would she learn? And she hadn’t even
wanted
to be involved in this one.

They traveled several blocks in a silence that pressed on Sadie until she thought she would explode. The man had made it perfectly clear that Sadie was a liability. She’d seen enough CSI shows to know what that meant.

“Are you going to kill me?” she blurted out. For whatever reason she felt better having said it out loud—there was no room in this little red sports car for the two of them and the elephant. She waited for an answer, wondering what she would do if he said, “Why, yes, I am going to kill you.”

He cleared his throat, and Sadie braced herself.

“I’d rather not,” the man said, his tone surprisingly casual. “Other than showing up in the first place, you seem like a pretty nice lady.” He glanced at her and settled into his seat a little more. “So long as you abide by the rules, I don’t
need
to kill you. I need that money, and Megan’s father wants you—and her—back badly enough to give it to me.”

“He
wants
to pay you the money,” Sadie said. “I tried to talk him out of going to meet with you at all, but he insisted he’ll do whatever it takes. You don’t need me as extra insurance on that.”

He shrugged. “Hopefully he won’t be trying to pull off a partial payment the next time we meet up then.”

Sadie wanted to insist he wouldn’t, but she had no idea where Eric was going to come up with the rest of the money.

“Look,” he said a moment later, his tone reasonable. “You seem like a sturdy woman.”

Sturdy?
Was he making a crack about her weight? She’d recently lost seven pounds, thank you very much!

“If you can just keep from freaking out and making me crazy, then when we meet Megan’s dad at the track tonight, I’ll hand you over, get my money, and we can part ways as friends. Understood?”

Friends?
She wasn’t inclined to argue with a term he was obviously using rather loosely. “I understand,” she said.

They drove in silence for a few more minutes, while Sadie pondered her options and came to terms with her predicament. Not ideal, for sure, but she didn’t feel as though she was in any kind of danger. Not right now, at least.

“Where are we going?” she asked. He’d practically said he wanted them to get along. This was his chance to confirm it.

He didn’t answer. Sadie let out a breath, annoyed with his hypocrisy even as she thought of another tactic she could use—humility and sincere regret. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry about following Eric,” she said, hoping to clear the air and make sure he understood her motives. “And he really didn’t know I was there; I followed him. He didn’t set it up.”

“Oh, I figured he didn’t,” the man said, smiling slightly. “Why would he have someone like you along as backup?”