His nostrils flared. “They won’t find her.”
“Why? Are you keeping her captive, too?”
For the first time, she saw his confident mask crack. “Hardly.”
“She’ll be able to testify against the people who used her.” Cassidy’s blood went cold as she realized who else Izzy could bring down: her father.
“Used her?” he asked. “I think you have it backwards, Dr. Kincaid.”
Every fiber of her being tried to resist this bait, but it was too powerful. “Do you have any idea what I pulled her out of?”
A look of distaste passed over his features. “She was trying to get to me.” He gave a dramatic sigh. “I realized it too late.”
“Is she dead?”
Mr. Ford laughed, his full-belly chuckle echoing inside the sunroom walls. “Dr. Kincaid, despite what you might think, I’m not a barbarian.”
“How do I know you’ll release Quinn?”
He made a tsking sound, shaking his head. “So distrustful. You’ve brought that on yourself, you know.”
Cassidy gritted her teeth.
“You will bring the notebook to me.” He made a show of checking his watch. “I have an appointment tonight, so let’s say by eight o’clock.” He returned his gaze to the view. “Then, I will make the call. Quinn will be released, and you two can go on with your lives.”
“You don’t expect me to believe that you’ll just let us go free. We know too much.”
The twinkle in his eye sharpened. “Smart girl,” he said. “And I don’t blame you for being cautious, but I know you’ll keep your word.”
Cassidy eyed him cautiously. “What if I don’t?”
He smiled. “Are you willing to accept the consequences?”
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat.
“I’m guessing they offered you Witness Protection, am I right?”
Cassidy’s face flushed with heat.
Preston Ford’s eyebrow shot up again. “But that would be a disaster for you.”
Feeling the heat travel into the back of her skull, Cassidy closed her eyes.
“You keep this little agreement between us, and you get to keep your life.” He gazed out the window. “But even if you have a change of heart, it will get you nowhere. I have built up a formidable wall of protection for myself. I’m a well-loved public figure, a generous philanthropist, plus I have many loyal friends.”
Cassidy wondered if that included the police. “What about the clinics?”
He shook his head. “What about them? We help thousands of homeless victims every year.”
An image of her father and Mr. Ford smoking cigars in a dark room flashed into her mind. “Only, some of those kids disappear.”
“They’re vagrants, Dr. Kincaid!” he said, sounding exasperated. “They don’t exactly give us a forwarding address.”
Cassidy looked away, realizing the futility of her situation. After a deep breath, she refocused. “So, we’re supposed to forget this ever happened?”
“How could you forget?” He widened his arms. “Remember what I said earlier? The notebook will buy you Quinn’s life, but it’s not the end of this partnership.”
She shook her head so hard the colors of the room swam. “Look, I can get you the notebook.” The understanding that she had no choice but to comply hit her with full force. “But partner with you?” A hot pulse of anger shot through her. “I have a life, Mr. Ford. A career.” She thought of the quiet space that was her very own lab, her office with the broad window overlooking campus, and a lifetime of projects.
“After I hand over the notebook, I’ll walk away from all of this,” she continued as a painful realization ripped at the edges of her tattered heart. To do this, she would have to let go of so many things—finding Pete’s killer, understanding her father’s intentions, even a keeping person she cared about in her life. “I’ll stay away from Bruce.”
His amused expression turned grave. “No, Dr. Kincaid, he’s the reason this works so beautifully.”
“But if he finds out…” Her throat clamped shut.
“You’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t.” He glanced at Officer Nash behind her, who stepped forward, his body only inches from her back. “Meanwhile, you have a job to do.”
On the screen above her, Quinn sat looking beaten.
Her choice was clear.
“Bring me the notebook by eight o’clock tonight. Or you’ll never see your brother again.”
Twenty-Four
Cassidy climbed the stairs to Quinn’s apartment as if in a daze. Inside, everything was just as she’d left it, yet the space and everything in it felt foreign. She drifted past the jumble of Quinn’s running shoes by the door, the couch with his sweatshirt tossed over the side, the breakfast bar with his empty coffee cup.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her. Seeing that it was Bruce, she forced a series of deep breaths into her lungs before answering it.
“Oh, hey,” he said, sounding surprised.
“Hey,” she said, her voice shaky. Act normal, she told herself.
“I was worried there for a minute.” He paused. “I woke up and found out they’d broken you loose.”
Cassidy cringed at the memory of how trusting she had been, letting Officer Nash lead her from the apartment. “Yeah, I…came home and fell asleep.” It sounded so lame, but it was all she had. I’m going to have to get better at this, she realized. “I didn’t sleep last night.” At least that part was true.
“Sorry to hear that.”
His compassion only made this harder. “Quinn’s here,” she lied. “He’s still asleep.”
“That’s good.”
The notebook, she thought with desperation. “So, I’m guessing you need us to come in?” She tried to wipe the hopeful tone from her voice.
“No,” Bruce said. “We’ll bring you guys in tomorrow for a debrief. I’m just calling to make sure you’re okay.”
She tried to make her breaths measured, but they kept getting stuck behind her diaphragm. “I have some new information. I don’t think it can wait till tomorrow.”
“Oh?” Bruce’s voice had that sudden edge to it, and she knew she had taken her first step in her betrayal.
“It’s about Izzy. I…know where she is.”
“Did she contact you?”
Cassidy nodded as the lie grew in her head. “Yes.”
“Oh. Wow,” Bruce replied. “When?”
“Do you want
