Page 75 of All Wrong
“Anyone else?”
She tried to shake her head, but the grip on her hair didn’t allow movement.
“Who did you share your access codes with after you left?”
“No one. My access was revoked.”
A leather-gloved hand wrapped around her neck. It was big enough that his thumb and forefinger could squeeze her jaw.
“Don’t. Lie. To me.”
The hand squeezed tighter, making it difficult for her to breathe, let alone speak.
“Not … lying. Protocol.”
The grip on her hair released, causing her head to loll forward. She was dimly aware of movement nearby. She managed to tilt her head enough to see shadows. Male voices drifted over to her, low and angry.
“She’s telling the truth. Her login was frozen before she walked out the door.”
A low growl of frustration. “If it’s not her, who’s fucking with the accounts?”
“We’ll find out,” said another.
“You’d better.”
“What about her?”
A pause.
“Take care of it.”
“You sure? She’s got some powerful friends.”
“Even people with powerful friends have accidents.”
That was the last thing she heard before a blow to the back of the head sent her back into oblivion.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CORINNE
When Corinne awoke again, it took a while for her brain to come back online and make sense of things. She was bound, with something wrapped around her eyes. A blindfold? Her limbs were scrunched up, as if she’d been crammed into a small space. She was moving—or rather, being moved. The hum of tires and the pounding of rain on metal told her she was in a vehicle. The rough fabric abrading her skin with every bump and swerve supported that theory. The scent of Downy on the blanket covering her suggested she was in the rear storage area of her own SUV.
Her head felt like someone had driven an axe through it, and her stomach roiled. She squeezed her eyes shut even though she was in complete darkness, the motion doing nothing for her nausea.
Bright side: She was still alive. Not-so-bright side: She had no clue what was happening, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
What began as undecipherable murmurs gradually became intelligible words. Male voices, two of them, neither familiar.
She pushed the pain as far into the background as possible and tried to assess the situation. Her SUV was on the small side, and bound as she was, she didn’t have a lot of room to move. Quietly, inch by inch, she reached and stretched as much as she could, finding none of the items she usually stored back there. No jumper cables, no tool bag, no emergency road kit.
She didn’t know who these people were, but she remembered enough of the pre-kidnap conversation to know it had something to do with the bank. Hopefully, the tiny USB-C plug-in Ian had asked her to insert as she logged in to the system had given him the access he needed.
For years, she’d known there was more to the Callaghans. It was impossible to be part of thefamily, even on the outskirts as she was, and believe they were nothing more than small-town businessmen. Then, when Lacie was taken and then Tori, she got a glimpse of the things they were capable of. They’d even found Brian and brought him home after three years of being MIA.
Real special ops stuff.
So, when Nicki had approached her about using her access to get information, Corinne had eagerly agreed to help. Now, however, Corinne couldn’t help but think she’d underestimated the risks. This covert stuff wasn’t as easy as it looked.
