Page 60 of Shadow Lies

“I—uh—”

“Oh, shit. You’re claustrophobic.” He’d forgotten but it came back to him now.

He’d taken Brittany to a fair one school break and they’d brought Alexis with them. She’d flipped out when they’d strapped her into one of the rides that had a small enclosed car.

“Come here.” He waved her over and she came, though slowly. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. “Sit. You’ll be fine.”

Charley, cold hearted pragmatist that she was proving to be, took that opportunity to slam the door closed and lock them in.

Alexis jumped at the sound, her eyes like a wild animal’s as she stared at the locked door.

“I’m here. Just breathe.”

“There’s not enough air,” she gasped.

“There’s plenty of air. The bars are open.”

“Bars,” she repeated, looking pale.

He grabbed her hands and held tight. The last thing he needed was a full-blown panic attack. Although as Wei was unceremoniously tossed into the cell next to theirs and his door slammed, making Alexis jump once again, her genuine panic might convince Wei their imprisonment was real.

Did Charley realize that? He wouldn’t doubt it was all part of her plan. The woman was wickedly evil but smart—and there were supposedly more just like her. A whole hoard ofCharleys. It was a horrifying concept.

He noticed Alexis had stilled next to him. He glanced up and saw her looking into Wei’s cell. He looked past her and saw the man himself. His eye was swollen. His lip split and bleeding.

The man hadn’t looked like that last time he’d seen him. Yes, he’d rendered him unconscious but he wasn’t responsible for the rest of the damage.

Had he known the asshole idiots he’d encountered in the hallway were going to do that to Wei, he wouldn’t have let them take him.

Alexis jumped up from the bench and ran to the bars separating them. “Um. Hello. Hi. Are you all right? Can I help you in any way? Are you hurt badly?”

Wei shook his head. Not as an answer but more likely because she was firing rapid questions at him in English.

Kane stood and moved to where Alexis clung to the bars. He repeated her questions—slowly and trimmed down to a simpler version—in Mandarin.

Wei answered in a short, brisk manner.

“What did he say?” Alexis asked.

“He said he’s not badly hurt.” And that was all he’d said.

Kane had a suspicion why. Wei had been through this before. They—whoever was leaning on him—had taken his child to force him to do what they wanted. For all Wei knew, he’d been taken again by the same people.

He was probably confused about what he’d done to earn their displeasure, but he knew better than to complain or talk to a couple of strangers. His family could be in jeopardy. He was going to remain locked down tight… which gave Kane an idea.

And idea he hated with every fiber of his being. But it might be the only way to get the information they needed without actually compromising Wei and getting his family hurt in the process.

It was cruel and underhanded, but it would work. And it would set Wei free sooner rather than later. Before anyone noticed he was gone. Before anyone panicked and took action against him and his family. It was probably what they should have done in the first place instead of trying Alexis’s plan first.

Kane strode to the door of his cell and yelled for a guard as loud as his voice allowed. When one arrived he demanded to see Charley.

She’d approve of his plan. No doubt.

Lying and telling Wei they had his daughter and would kill her if he didn’t reveal who was behind him and the camps was evil.

Kane hated it. But Charley would love it.

ChapterTwenty-Two

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