Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(72)

“But when you finally learned where she was . . . ,” Sharp prompted.

“I decided to leave her alone.” He frowned as if he didn’t truly understand why. “I grew very sick with diabetes. Such a disease is not easily managed in prison. Much damage was done.” He pointed to his foot. “I lost some toes. My sight is fading. My life will not be a long one.” He pried the knife loose and touched the point.

Complete and total bullshit.

Sharp couldn’t believe the man who had given his daughter to his lieutenants to use for sex had suddenly turned into a doting parent. Joe thought of only Joe. Sharp’s face must have shown his disbelief.

“Do not think I let her go because I forgave her. I have not. But she is cunning like me. I respect that.” Joe’s head inclined slightly. “Also, she has a son. I have only one other living relative.” He gestured to Aaron, still leaning on the wall, still staring at Sharp as if he’d like nothing more than to peel the skin from his face.

Sharp’s belly cramped. He liked his skin on his face.

“So far, Aaron has no sons.” Joe cast an accusatory glance at Aaron. “Evan is the reason she still lives. He carries my blood. He can ensure that our bloodline survives.”

“Evan is missing.” Sharp watched him carefully for a reaction.

There wasn’t one. Joe let the knife dangle from between two fingertips. Joe didn’t care about Evan. Joe cared about Joe’s legacy, his DNA.

“I know,” Joe said. “But he carries my blood. He is a smart boy. He will not be found until he wants to be found. Why do you think he runs?”

Sharp added, “The police consider him a suspect in his stepfather’s murder.”

Joe dropped the knife. It pierced the table and stood upright. “Did the stepfather need killing?”

“I don’t think so,” Sharp answered. “But the police think Evan is the murderer. They might just shoot the boy.”

“If he gets caught that easily, then he doesn’t carry enough of my genes,” Joe said, his voice emotionless. “Is he guilty?”

“No,” Sharp said.

Joe seemed almost disappointed. “I have not seen his mother since her husband was killed. I assume the police are hiding her.”

Sharp didn’t respond.

Something glimmered in Joe’s eyes. There was something he wasn’t saying. Sharp couldn’t shake the feeling that Joe wasn’t ignoring Evan’s plight. But it was very hard to read the face of a sociopath.

And that’s exactly what Joe was. He had no conscience. No empathy.

Pushing on the cane, Joe stood. He pulled the knife out of the table, and it disappeared under his sport coat. “And now I must go. I have business to attend to.” He glanced from Olivia to Sharp. “Unfortunately, you’ll have to leave the same way you came.”

Sharp and Olivia stood as he shuffled past. He opened the door and left the room.

Olivia shrugged. She and Sharp stood and walked to the door.

Aaron stopped them with a hand on Sharp’s chest. “Wait.”

Aaron barely blinked as they waited. Finally, he received a message on his phone and stood aside. Olivia exited the room first, but Sharp stayed close. Aaron herded them across the concrete floor.

Nerves formed a cold ball in Sharp’s gut. The threat felt huge and looming as they walked toward the sedan. The four extra men and the second car—and presumably Joe—were all gone. Only Aaron and his two thugs remained in the warehouse.

Sharp breathed. This would all be over soon. They’d climb into the car, put on the hoods, and be delivered to Olivia’s Prius.

Keep your cool.

With the additional men missing, the warehouse felt too silent. The only sound was the click of Olivia’s heels on the floor. They approached the car.

Aaron gestured to the car. Sharp turned to open the rear door. Something smacked him in the head. A hood slammed down on his face, and his hands were bound with plastic ties.

Over the ringing in his ears, he heard a feminine gasp.

Olivia.

He heard the sound of a trunk opening and barely had time to think, Shit, before a solid kick to his back sent him sprawling forward. His thighs hit the lip of the trunk. He put his bound hands in front of him to catch himself. But someone shoved him inside, scooped up his legs, and tossed them in. Sharp’s face burned as it slid on the carpet.

A soft weight landed on top of him.

“See that no one finds their bodies,” Aaron said, just before the trunk slammed closed.





Chapter Twenty-Nine Lance’s arm fell asleep, but he didn’t move it. Sophie’s long eyelashes fluttered as she woke. She lifted her head and pushed off Lance’s chest. Her color had improved, her face had plumped up, and her eyes were no longer sunken. Her pajamas and his T-shirt were soaked with her fever-breaking sweat.

“Can I have a Popsicle?” she asked.

Lance kissed her temple. “You sure can.”

Morgan called a nurse into the room.

“Well, don’t you look better.” The nurse ran the thermometer over Sophie’s forehead and smiled. “Ninety-nine point six. Excellent. How does your tummy feel?”

“OK.” Sophie picked up Lance’s phone. “Can I play that game again?”

“Sure.” Lance thought this would be a good time for her to ask for her own phone or a car. At that moment, he would have given her anything she wanted.