The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1)(69)

An image of Kate appeared on the screen. She was wearing torn, and blood stained clothing, with her hands and feet shackled to a bed. The pain in Michael’s body slipped away as rage enveloped him.

He was going to throw up. “If he fucking touched her—”

“Just listen,” Jake urged.

With a strained voice, Kate said, “Michael, I’m so sorry. Dustin says he’ll kill me if you don’t do what he wants. But, don’t—” The video ended, her words hanging in the air.

Jake didn’t even give Michael a chance to process what he witnessed. “Following the video was a text message, which explained that you would be receiving an email soon. And he requested that you don’t show anyone the message.” Jake moved the phone away from Michael’s view.

“But you haven’t received any emails. At least, not to your phone,” Jake said.

“And if I do, I’m sure as hell not sharing them with you.” He couldn’t trust his best friend right now, and it burned him. “I’ll handle this on my own. Dustin wants me, and if I have a chance to save Kate . . . I need to do this myself.”

“Michael, you know I can’t drop this. I have the upper echelon of the U.S. government on my ass. They’re demanding a win.”

Before Michael had a chance to respond, he looked over to see David Adams entering the room. “Connor called me. Are you okay? Where’s my daughter?” His words tumbled out in an almost incoherent jumble. He rushed to the side of Michael’s bed.

“What the hell are you keeping from us?” Michael asked, gritting his teeth. “Kate was taken. We have no idea where she is.”

David took a step back and pressed his hands to his face, his fingers trembling. “Oh God, I am so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I didn’t know who he was. I tried to stop it. But he wouldn’t return my calls.” He sank into a nearby chair.

“What are you talking about?” Michael shot out.

David attempted to catch his breath. “Ever since Elizabeth died, I’ve been worried that Kate would discover the truth. I’ve been terrified. I tried to keep her away from this place, to keep her safe.” His breath hitched. “I lied to you all. Two weeks before her mother was murdered, Elizabeth told me that she could no longer live with the secret that she had been carrying around with her. She told me that she had cheated on me around the time she became pregnant. She didn’t know if the baby was mine.”

The paternity test. That part made sense now.

Michael tipped his head back a little, trying to keep calm.

“I was angry, and we fought. I didn’t want to know who she slept with—I didn’t trust myself. I didn’t even talk to her for those two weeks. I refused to take her calls. Even when I got a message on my answering machine from her the week before her death, I ignored it. She said in her message that she was scared, that the person she’d slept with was obsessed with her—following her around. I thought she was just trying to get me to speak to her.” He pressed his hands against the chair handles. “The day she was killed, she left me another message, asking me to meet her at her parents’ house. She begged for me to come, to at least talk.” He released a breath. “I decided to go, to talk to her—but I didn’t get there in time. I told the police about Elizabeth’s concerns about being stalked . . .”

“Apparently a little too late,” Michael said while shaking his head.

David nodded and rose to his feet. He began to pace alongside Michael’s bed. “I didn’t want Kate to know her mom cheated on me and that we fought before her death. I wished I didn’t even know that. And how do you explain it to a child? Then, when Kate told me she was considering opening a third location for her business in Charlotte, I panicked. I was worried she’d discover the truth somehow, that she would hate me. That she would find out that I might not be her father.”

“Are you?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. I never looked at the results of the paternity test. I have them in my safe, but I loved her the second the doctor put her in my arms. I didn’t care what the paper said—she was mine.”

“How does Dustin fit into all of this?” Michael eyed David as he clung to his last grain of self-control.

“I’m a defense lawyer. I asked one of my clients if he knew of anyone who could tail someone for me and frighten them without doing harm. I wanted to scare Kate away from Charlotte. She’s so headstrong. I knew it would take a lot, but I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t even know the name of the guy I hired. I was given a phone number and a location to drop the money. I provided the person with her name and picture.”

“Jesus. You hired an assassin—an associate of terrorists—to follow your daughter,” Michael said in a low, disbelieving voice.

“I didn’t know, I swear. When Kate called me about her mother, I realized everything had gotten out of hand. I tried to call the job off, but I couldn’t reach him. I flew down to Charlotte right away, but I didn’t know what to do.”

“You should have told us the second you arrived,” Jake said while reaching for his phone. “I need to make a call. Before I leave, is there anything else you’d care to share with us?” Flippant sarcasm laced throughout his words. “Like who gave you the man’s contact information in the first place?”