Page 72 of Lethal Deceit

As if this is second nature to her, Samantha keeps her cool. “Relax your shoulders, and stop smiling. You’re baring your teeth at me, and you look like you’re about to slug someone. You’re just a guy out with his girl, about to eat a taco.”

Luke clears his throat, as if agreeing with her, so I roll my shoulders and force the smile off my face, instead praying for Brooke and for God to give me peace in the midst of the storm.

Samantha’s lips twitch. “Better.”

Luke doesn’t say another word until Jake sits beside Samantha, handing her a taco and a soda and dumping ours on the table. While my impatience is burning through me, neither of them displays any outward signs they’re feeling any anxiety. When I risk a glance at Luke, he’s hunched over, eating.

Somehow, he manages to project his voice loud enough for us to hear while still eating his messy taco. “I’ve lost communication with Caleb. Silas will give you an update when he has one.” Without another word, he balls up his wrapper and rises to his feet, leaving me hanging without the confirmation I needed.

Underneath the table, Jake kicks my foot. “Eat your taco. By the way, you owe me ten bucks.”

Wondering if he’s joking, I glance at Samantha and find her one step ahead of me. She’s unwrapped her taco and is handing Jake a folded-up ten-dollar bill.

This is surreal. How can they carry on as if nothing is wrong when my sister is in the hands of the same terrorists who strapped a bomb on me?

“I’m not hungry,” I say to Jake.

He shrugs. “Neither am I, but this is how we roll.”

I jerk forward, straining to keep my voice low. “We’re running out of time. They only gave us until midnight.”

Jake jams his taco into his mouth and talks between chews. “I know that. We all know that. Delilah is working something out.”

“You aren’t going to pay them, are you?” Samantha asks him.

Jake shakes his head. “Nah. She’s just rigging an account that can make it look like we did.”

Samantha toys with her taco as I pop the tab on my soda can. “How?”

Jake opens his hands in an “I dunno” gesture. “Trick of the trade, I guess. What she does is out of my area of expertise.”

Samantha purses her lips. “Which is?”

Jake grins at her. “Similar to what you do, but with a few added bonuses.”

She rolls her eyes at him and looks across the table at me. “If they send you a bank account, we can see if it matches the one I gave you.”

I smile at her, encouraged that she’s thinking of Brooke’s well-being while Jake finishes his last bite of taco. “You have a bank account number? Send it to Silas. He’ll pass it on to Delilah.”

I do as requested, pulling my phone out of my pocket to send Samantha's note to Silas, praying they are dumb enough to use the same account as I type out an explanation. He doesn’t reply, but there’s a message from my dad, asking me if I’ve heard from Brooke.

Swallowing down a lump of guilt, I put my phone back into my pocket and pick up my taco. It may as well be chalk and cardboard, but I chew and force it down as I try not to think about having to call Mom and Dad and explain to them why Brooke’s not returning their calls.

Jake glances at his watch and picks up his soda, draining half of it before letting out a burp. When Samantha grimaces, he gets to his feet and stretches out his back. “Let’s book it.”

I snatch up my trash and am on my feet and walking toward the car before I realize Samantha is dawdling. I spin around, ready to give her the hurry-up, when I see why she was delayed. She remembered what I had forgotten in my hurry to get to Silas —the bag Luke left with her change of clothes. She swoops down casually, picks it up, slides her glasses over her head, and catches up to us.

Jake gets to the car first and opens the door, a smirk growing on his face. “You going to sit in the back or up here with me?” he asks me.

I frown, ready to ask why, but Samantha holds up the bag. “Up front. And I don’t want to see either of you looking in the mirrors until I’m dressed.”

Heat rushes to my face, and I fumble as I yank the front door open and climb in. Behind me the door closes, and Samantha unzips the bag, sighing deeply as she examines the contents.

Jake grins alongside me. “Having fun yet?”

I glare at him. “Seriously?”

He pulls a face at me. “Relax. Hightower is the best of the best. They’ll get her back.”

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