Page 76 of Fierce Hope
“Chad!” Sarah screeched. “Idiot—don’t shoot!”
Chad Delgado—Sarah’s hard-looking ex—lowered his weapon, panic giving way to recognition. He recovered quickly, a familiar cockiness returning to his stance as he holstered his gun.
“Dude. You scared me,” he complained, tugging a snow-covered beanie lower over his brow. “I wasn’t expecting you for another hour.”
Sarah’s demeanor changed dramatically as she stepped forward, her voice suddenly syrupy and conciliatory. “Sorry about the surprise, sweetie. I had to speed up our timeline.” She glanced back at Jade with an almost apologetic smile. “Everything’s ready for our agreement though, right?”
Jade maintained her composed expression, pretending to play along with the charade Sarah had constructed.
Chad looked bewildered. “Agreement? What agreement?”
Sarah shot him a warning glance. “Jade’s agreed to take the fall for the missing funds.” She turned to Jade with a brittle smile. “A million dollars is a lot of incentive to disappear permanently, right, Jade?”
“And a million for DJ,” she reminded the other woman.
Chad’s eyes darted between them, confusion evident. “You’re ... paying them off? That wasn’t the plan?—”
“Plans change,” Sarah cut in smoothly. “This way, when the money is discovered missing, all evidence will point to Jade. Kent’s clients can try chasing her down and we walk away without having to watch our backs. Think about it. It’ll be way more fun hanging out on tropical beaches without the stress.”
Chad went rigid, his hand drifting toward his weapon. He clearly hadn’t been consulted about this change in plans, and he didn’t like it.
He gaped at Sarah. “So they’re just walking away? With our money?”
“A tiny bit. It’s nothing, sweetie.” Sarah soothed. “The price of doing business.”
DJ shifted uncomfortably beside Jade. She pressed her shoulder against his, silently urging him to keep quiet, to let her handle things.
Sarah made a pouty face. “Sorry, kids, but I’m gonna need to tie you up while Chad and I finish getting ready. Just in case you change your minds. You get it, right?”
Jade forced her lips to move. “Sure. Whatever. Only makes sense.”
“Smart woman.” Sarah jutted her chin at Chad. “Use the bench over there.”
Chad’s expression hardened, suspicion evident in his eyes. “Fine,” he muttered, grabbing a coil of rope from the open back of the SUV.
Jade maintained her compliant facade as Chad roughly pushed them toward an old workbench against one wall. The wood was weathered, covered in splinters and years of dust.
Every instinct screamed at her to run, but they wouldn’t even make it to the door before someone shot them in the back. They wouldn’t otherwise kill them in here. She still had time.
“Hands behind your backs,” Chad ordered.
As he bound their wrists, Jade immediately noticed his carelessness—the knots were tight enough to hurt, but not as secure as they could be. And when he tied them to the bench, he left their legs free. If they were left alone, they might be able to free each other.
The gritty texture of the rough ropes bit painfully into her wrists. Wood splinters from the ancient bench caught in her jacket as she tested her bonds, carefully, without drawing attention. Beside her, DJ’s breathing had quickened, small, frightened pants that pierced her heart more effectively than any knife.
“It’s okay,” she whispered when Chad stepped away. “We’re going to get out of this.”
Sarah paced impatiently near the SUV, checking her watch repeatedly. “We need to hurry this up.”
Chad glared at her. “I can’t believe you said you’d pay them. And you didn’t even talk to me first.”
“I had to improvise,” she snapped. “Someone’s gotta make the hard decisions, Chad.”
“You never let me?—”
The rest of Chad’s complaint was muffled as he faced away from them, but whatever he said set Sarah off. Jade couldn’t make out words, but the tone was clear. Sarah was furious.
The couple’s attention momentarily diverted, Jade seized the opportunity to study Chad more carefully. The tension between him and Sarah was palpable. They weren’t partners—not really. There was calculation in Sarah’s eyes when she looked at him, not affection.
