Page 79 of Every Which Way

Kenna pressed her lips together. “Was Zeyla trying to do what I’m doing now and take them down? Did she get herself caught so she can fight back from the inside?”

“I’m certain that was her intention.”

It seemed like maybe some of Amara’s tactics had rubbed off on the daughter she’d had with Malcom Banbury. “Where was she staying?”

“I’ve already looked through her things. There was nothing there.”

“How long has it been since you saw her?”

Amara shrugged one shoulder. “A couple of months, maybe longer. She was working here, and I’ve been on a job in Germany. Trying to do our part to take them down from different angles. It puts both of us in danger to spend too much time together.”

“Because they don’t know she’s your daughter?”

“The way assets are raised…they don’t spend much time with their biological parents. That way, there can be little emotional attachment. I raised her. I made sure of that. But she was in the care of an older woman, a former asset. I trusted her, but the company believed they’d placed Zeyla with Olivette. They had to believe things were above board—the way they wanted them to be.”

“And under the surface, you live your life in a way that weakens what they’re trying to do.”

“You make it sound ineffective. We have dealt serious blows to the company, and they have never discovered it was us. Which is why Zeyla and I remain alive.”

“But if you try to trade one of their assets back to them in exchange for her, it will all be over.”

“She will expect me to not make the trade.” Amara fiddled with her spoon but didn’t take a bite. “To maintain our covers and let her dig herself out of this alone.”

“So why aren’t you?”

“The same reason you refuse to give up hope. I’m not going to abandon her. Not ever.”

Kenna stared at her, wondering about that. It was true that she never gave up hope. She just hadn’t ever thought of it like that. As if she somehow had the ability to be relentlessly hopeful. “I’ve seen what happens when hope dies. I don’t want to feel that. It doesn’t end well.”

“And so you cling to your hope in the face of…everything. That kind of determination is what Zeyla and I bring to the fight against the company. Because we can do nothing else but try to fight them. Try toweakentheir operation. One day, we will succeed in taking them down.”

Bruce shifted in his chair. Kenna refocused on Amara. “Why don’t you just tell me where their headquarters is or who is in charge? Give me a list, even. I have people who would work their way down and destroy everyone. Precise, strategic. There would be no company when they’re done.”

Bruce settled in his seat.

Stairns, across the table from him and facing Kenna, didn’t seem to approve. But if Bruce was all in on taking down the company in a way that would mean total destruction with little collateral damage, then she was willing to consider mocking up a plan to get that done.

“I’ll get you a list.”

It was a testament to how she felt about her likelihood of success or how tired she was with the length of time this was taking or her optimism that she would, in fact, get Zeyla back.

Kenna wouldn’t let the moment go. “I can help you. If you let me.”

“And give me more to lose?” She pushed the oatmeal bowl to the end of the table.

“I’ve discovered that even after loss, there’s still far more to gain. It’s a little overwhelming, actually. I thought I was fine living alone in my RV, solving cases by myself. My parents were dead. My fiancé and my baby, my career. Everything I thought I was going to have in my life was gone. I was completely alone, trying to keep my sanity. So, I can understand being desperate to keep what you have. Or not knowing that when you lose things, God can give you back more than you ever dreamed you’d have.”

“You think I’m part of what He gave you?”

Kenna wasn’t going to say what she might be thinking. Not when Amara’s tone sounded like that. “I guess we’ll find out.”

Amara didn’t smile, but a smidge of humor lit her eyes for a second.

“So, you’re taking Clare Hadley? The police will be looking for her. Should I tell them to call you to find out where she is, or do you expect me to lie and say I don’t know whose car she got into?” That would be a risk, given some homeowner around the golf course could’ve seen the crash. “I’m assuming you don’t need help making the trade.”

Part of Kenna quaked inside. What if she went with Amara to make the trade and ended up as one of the traded pieces given to the company? All so her mom could get Zeyla back.

“Maybe they’ll find the twin you mentioned, and she’ll be arrested.” Amara shrugged. “You could help with that, right? Point them in the direction.”

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