No Place to Run

CHAPTER 24

SAM heard Sophie’s gasp behind him. A dull roar began in his ears, and he crossed the room to snatch the phone from Donovan’s hand without any realization that he’d done so.

“Sam Kelly,” he barked.

Tomas Mouton was short and to the point. “I have something you want. You have something I want. If you want your mother back alive, you’ll hand my niece over to me, and you better make damn sure she has what she stole from me.”

Sam’s lips curled into a snarl. “From you? Don’t you mean what she stole from her father? Some would argue it’s hers now. Are you taking over, Tomas? I didn’t think you had the balls to run Alex’s organization.”

A low hiss was all he heard in response, and then he heard a startled cry. Feminine. His mother.

“Sam? Sam is that you?”

His heart fell. His hands and knees shook so bad he had to sit down on the couch.

“Mom, are you all right? Has he hurt you?”

Her voice was tight with anger. “No. I’m fine, son. He wants me to tell you to do what he says or he’ll go after every member of our family.” She broke off and there was a muffled sound as the phone was taken from her again.

Sam lifted his gaze and sought out Sophie, who stood as still as a statue across the room. Everyone else had turned to look at her as well, and she only grew paler.

Then, as if gathering herself, she straightened. Her eyes went flat and no hint of emotion was reflected in the cool blue. She strode to where he sat and extended her hand for the phone.

“Let me speak to him,” she demanded in a low voice.

“Yes, Sam,” Tomas demanded. “Let me speak with my beloved niece.”

Slowly, Sam handed the receiver over to Sophie and watched her expression grow even colder as she put it to her ear.

He rose to stand beside her, but she turned away, and when he touched her shoulder, she flinched and shrugged him off.

“Tomas, this is Sophie. Listen to what I have to say and listen well. I have what you want. I’ll bring you the key.”

Sam lunged for the phone, but Sophie wrenched it from his grasp and backed away as far as the cord would allow. She angrily held up a finger to stop him and glared fiercely, a clear order for him not to interfere.

He stood there seething, his rage growing with each moment.

“If you harm Mrs. Kelly, if you so much as scratch her, I’ll disappear with that key and I’ll destroy it. You’ll never find it. You’ll never have access to my father’s wealth or his dealings.”

She paused for a moment and seemed to listen to something Tomas said. Sam tried to lean closer, but again she twisted away.

“Don’t fuck with me, Tomas,” she said softly. “I have nothing to lose. I’ll come to you, but you get nothing until she’s freed. Do we have a deal?”

She turned back to Sam and slid the phone down to her neck before finally handing it back to him. Sam jerked it away and put it to his ear, only to hear a dial tone.

He exploded. “Sophie, what the fuck?”

He was furious at her for agreeing to trade herself for his mother and furious because he knew nothing of the deal. No location, nothing. He hated the helpless feeling that gripped him, and he hated being dependent on Sophie for information.

“I did what needed to be done,” she said calmly. “If it had been my father, your mother would already be dead.”

The room erupted in various exclamations and curses. Garrett and Donovan pushed up next to Sophie, and both of them looked as furious as Sam felt.

“What the hell was that all about?” Donovan demanded.

Hurt flickered in Sophie’s eyes for a brief second before she steeled herself once again and any emotion was lost as she stared first at Sam and then the others.

“Tomas isn’t as disciplined as my father was. My father would have killed Marlene to send a message. He didn’t negotiate. He didn’t bargain. He demanded, and if his demands weren’t met, he acted. Tomas is weaker. It’s why your mother is alive. All he wants, all he craves, is wealth and power, and with my father gone, he sees it all at his fingertips. Only I am standing in his way. His sights are on me. No one else matters. Not your mother, not you, not anyone else.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that it could have been the weather they were discussing. Sam stared at her incredulously. Did she honestly believe he was going to throw her under the bus?

He stared at his brothers, who were still glaring at Sophie, but now he wasn’t sure whether they were pissed because she’d so readily agreed to the trade or whether they were pissed because she’d taken control out of their hands.

“That was a goddamn stupid thing to do,” Garrett all but roared at her.

She did flinch this time and took a step back. Garrett ignored it and stepped forward until he stared down at her from his full height.

“Do you honestly think any of us would just hand you and our niece or nephew over to that bastard? Are you out of your mind?”

Now she looked panicked, and her gaze jerked to Sam in a plea for help, only he didn’t feel particularly helpful at the moment. He was too goddamn pissed.

Even Donovan, who from the beginning had treated her much more gently than Garrett, advanced on her with a deep scowl on his face.

“You may not realize it yet, but you’re part of this family,” Donovan all but snarled. “We’ll find a way to take down that bastard and rescue our mother, but it won’t be because we handed you over like a bunch of fucking pansies.”

Sophie’s eyes widened and tears shimmered there, turning the blue to liquid. Sam wasn’t ready to rescue her yet. She needed to hear this, needed to understand what he himself hadn’t been able to say yet. Maybe he hadn’t realized it himself.

Steele stepped forward, and soon the remaining members of KGI formed a circle around her. She was trapped. Nowhere to run. No place she could deny her value.

“KGI doesn’t hide behind a woman. Even one as courageous as yourself,” Steele said in his quiet, stern voice.

Rio glanced at Steele in amusement before adding his own statement to the mix.

“And I rarely agree with anything Steele has to say, but in this I do. You may have never had anyone you could count on in the past, but you do now. And we’re not going to let you do something foolish like walk into a certain death.”

All the color leeched out of Sophie’s cheeks. She looked stunned. She glanced frantically from face to face and then finally came back to Sam. She looked at him, her eyes pleading. For what? Confirmation? Understanding?

His heart turned over in his chest. Did she really not think she had any value except as a bargaining tool? His breath caught and held. Of course, she wouldn’t. He hadn’t given her any reason to believe differently. Things had gone so crazily fast in the days since he’d pulled her from the lake that he hadn’t really given her presence in his life any thought beyond the immediacy of the here and now. He didn’t even know if she wanted a place in his life. He hadn’t offered her one. Hadn’t made her believe in her value.

“Sophie, what did Tomas say?” Sam asked gently. “What else did he say? About the exchange. Where are we supposed to make it?”

Some of the light left her eyes, but damn it, he couldn’t tell her everything he wanted to tell her in front of all his men, and their first priority had to be the information.

Her voice was scratchy, and she wiped at her cheek with the back of her sleeve as she spoke.

“He’s here. In the U.S.”

“Where?” Garrett bit out.

“My father owned a large estate in West Texas. It’s isolated and I’m sure the local law enforcement is on his payroll. He moved into places and took over. That’s how he operated. Tomas took your mother there. He wants to make the exchange. We have forty-eight hours.”

She looked up at Sam. “He wants you and me to go alone.”

“Fuck that,” Donovan muttered.

Sam turned to Donovan. “Do we have intel on a holding in Texas?”

“There were two to my knowledge,” Donovan said.

Sam glanced back at Sophie. “Where, Sophie? Where are we going?”

“Rock Springs. Not far from Del Rio and the border.”

Sam faced his men. “Okay, I want all the intel we can gather on this place. Sat imagery, the local climate, topo maps, the works. I want to know who takes a piss and when, and I want it yesterday. The clock is ticking. Garrett, you and Donovan need to get with Sean and see what kind of local cooperation we can have to keep this hospital locked down and provide protection for Rusty and Dad.”

He sighed as the weight of their mission settled over his shoulders. The mother of his child—and his child—for the life of his mother? It didn’t even bear thinking about. If he had anything to do with it, it would never come to that.

“Garrett,” he said as his brother started to leave with the others.

Garrett stopped and glanced back at Sam.

“Get on the horn with Resnick.”

Sophie stiffened and turned away.

“Yeah, and?” Garrett said.

“Tell him to stay the fuck out of our way.”