Page 29 of Two Hearts
She blinked.“My goodness.You’re dumber than I thought.”
The guy behind her jerked her arm, twisting it behind her and sending a bolt of pain into her shoulder.“Watch your mouth, sweetie.”
She ignored him, talking only to the leader—Paulo Darius.“You don’t even know who we are, do you?”she asked.
“I don’t really give a damn who you are, lady.”
“Oh, you should.Because we are the daughters of the richest man in the state.”
His eyebrows rose, twin arches of pale brown, just like his hair.He looked like a prep school grad, not a drug lord.“Right.”
“My wallet’s in my pocket,” Grace said, hands at her sides again, Benny holding on to one wrist in case he felt like hurting her.“Take a look at the name on my driver’s license.Hell, if you look, I think there’s a photo of my father in there, as well.Harrison Phelps?”
“Bull.”
She shrugged.But Paulo nodded to Benny, and Benny let go of her wrist, reached around her, slid his hand into the pocket of her warm-up jacket.She could have broken his arm, slammed him to the floor and had his gun.But maybe not fast enough to avoid the one in Paulo’s lap.She glanced at Jack.He shook his head side to side so slightly it was barely a movement at all.But she got the message anyway.Not yet.
Benny had the wallet by then and, stepping back, he flipped it open.“Grace Phelps McCain.”Then he flipped through the photos.“Shoot, she wasn’t kidding.Harrison Phelps’s pictureisin here.”
“Lemme see that,” Paulo snapped, coming to his feet and snatching the wallet away.He stared at the photo, the one Grace knew was of her and her father arm in arm, on her wedding day.
“So who’d you marry?”Paulo asked, leering at her.“Donald Trump?”
“No.I married a cop.”Both men swore, but Gracie rushed on.“So you can see you got yourself a solid-gold hostage in me.It wouldn’t hurt you a bit to let these other two go.”
He shook his head slowly.“Your father would pay more to get both of you back alive than he would for just one.”
“My father would give every nickel he ever earned for either one of us,” Grace said.“He’d also spend it all trying to hunt you down if you harmed either one of us…and make no mistake, Mr.Darius, if my sister doesn’t make it, he’ll blame you.He’ll never give you a dime, and he’ll die trying to make you pay.”
The man flinched.It was subtle, but she saw it.
“On the other hand, if you let her go, she can tell our father that I’m alive and unharmed, and that I’ll be returned safely just as soon as your demands are met.Hell, he won’t even tell the police he’s been contacted if Hope tells him not to.Will he, Hope?”
Hope lifted her chin just a little, and seemed to try to focus.“Daddy…would do whatever he had to, to keep us safe.”
Grace nodded hard.“Including seeing to it you had money, a safe ride out of here and a private jet to take you to wherever the hell you want to go, and anything else you might ask for.”
Benny said, “Paulo, maybe it’s not a bad idea—”
“Shut up.”Paulo paced, shotgun clasped in his hands.“How the hell would I even contact him?”He yanked his cell phone from the inside pocket of his battered suit.“You think I’m an idiot?You think I don’t know the cops have already tapped his phones?”
“Just write him a note, Einstein.Give it to my sister, and let her go.I’m telling you, my father has the clout and the money to get you out of this mess.He might be the only person who can.”
Paulo scowled.“If I let her go, how do I know she won’t just tell the cops right where we are?”
“I don’tknowwhere we are,” Hope muttered.
“Listen, blindfold her, have Godzilla over here drive her around for a while, and drop her off at the nearest hospital.Just to be sure she lives long enough to deliver the message.”
His eyes narrowed on Grace in suspicion.
“What the hell have you got to lose?”she demanded.
Licking his lips, he seemed to give the matter a lot of thought.Then, finally, he nodded at Benny.“There’s a parts room in back.Put these two in there, and lock it.”
“And what about Hope?”Grace demanded.
Paulo looked at Grace for a long moment, and she stared back at him.Then finally he went to Hope and crouched in front of her.“If you don’t do this exactly the way your sister said, I’m gonna kill her.You understand me?The first sign I get that you screwed me over, she dies.And I’llhurther, lady.And I’lllikeit.”
