Page 64 of Abducted

Tanner licked his lips. He glanced around him as Cal backed him up, as if he feared more people would jump out from behind him.

“What do you want? Money? Go ahead, take whatever you want. Just leave me the hell alone.” His heel caught the foyer area rug. His arms flailed in the air, and he landed hard on his ass with a thud. Cal nudged his sock-covered foot.

“Get up.”

When he didn’t budge, Ethan approached. He hauled Tanner to his feet, twisting his arm behind his back.

He cried out. Ethan mumbled something to silence him and propelled him toward the kitchen at the back of the house. Cal grabbed a chair from the rustic eight-person dining room table and set it in the center of the kitchen. He motioned for Ethan to sit him down.

Ethan shoved him in the chair, grabbing the back of it before it toppled over. Tanner’s eyebrows snapped down. Sparks flew from his eyes. His hands opened and closed on his lap. He shifted his eyes to Cal, his temper settling to a low simmer.

“What the hell do you want?” he ground out through clenched teeth.

A satisfying calm washed over Cal. He smiled. This was it. He’d waited weeks to get his hands on the sonofabitch who had hired him. The suffocating weight of that responsibility had bound his sanity. Now it was over. He wasn’t leaving here until he got the answers he was looking for. He would tear Tanner limb from limb if it meant ending this shit for Lana, once and for all.

He nodded at Nate, and Lana stepped forward. Tanner’s gaze left Cal’s face and followed his line of vision. The muscles in his face went slack, and his green eyes grew as big as saucers.

“Lana! You’re–you’re okay? What the hell—”

He stepped closer to Tanner, his movements deliberate. He locked his eyes with Tanner’s. “I want to know why you hired me to kill Lana.” He spoke evenly, his voice barely over a whisper.

An insistent shove to his arm made him step to the side. Lana stood in front of Tanner, her fists on her hips and her dark hair billowing around her shoulders. Her lips moved into a tense frown, and her eyes sparked at Tanner.

“Tanner, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Her words lashed through the air. Tanner didn’t take his eyes off of her. His mouth snapped shut, and he nodded.

“I’m glad you’re okay. Jesus, where have you been?” His eyes moved to Ethan and Nate. “And why the hell are you with these guys?”

Her hands lowered from her hips, and her eyes flicked to Cal before landing back on Tanner. “Someone hired Cal to kill me. Given our research into your background, it seems pretty likely that you had something to do with it.”

Cal watched him carefully, examining every crease on his evenly tanned skin. The pleat in his brow deepened, and his hands fisted on his lap. He shook his head and wet his lips.

“Lana, I swear, I had nothing to do with it.”

“Really? Because after you—”

Cal grabbed her arm, stopping her. Lana snapped her gaze to him, her eyes clouded with confusion. He eased her out of earshot and lowered his lips to her ears.

“You got to let me talk to him, babe. I don’t want you to give too many of our cards away, all right?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. She’d wanted to confront Tanner, and she’d done that. But the real interrogation had to be from him. And she wasn’t going to like his methods.

“Trust me,” he said. When her pinched lips didn’t waver, he added, “Please.”

“Fine.”

He nodded his appreciation and moved back in front of Tanner.

Tanner swallowed as Cal crouched in front of him, bringing him to eye level. “This is all really entertaining, Tanner. But it’s time for you to start telling the truth.” Cal unfolded his arms, revealing his Glock again.

Tanner’s breath caught. “I told you, I had nothing to do with it! I wouldn’t hurt her. She’s my sister.”

Ethan stepped behind him, placing his baseball glove-sized hands on Tanner’s shoulders, stilling him. “If I were you, Tanner, I wouldn’t lie. That’s one.”

Cal dropped his gun to Tanner’s foot. A whimper broke Tanner’s throat. “For every lie you tell, I will shoot you. Starting with your feet.” Sweat rolled down Tanner’s face. His hands clasped the arms of the chair, and his breath came out in a pant.

“Those hurt.” Ethan shook his head. “Knees are a bitch, too. I can tell you that from experience.”

“You’re fucking crazy.” Tanner wrestled against Ethan’s hold. His efforts were futile.

---