A look of fury passed through his eyes. “That wasn’t our agreement.”
“I know,” she said, too quickly. Slow down. “You’ll get what you want, I promise.”
He raised a steely eyebrow. “Oh, of that I’m certain.”
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.
“Where is the notebook?” he asked, taking a step closer.
She knew there was nowhere to run, but she glanced behind her anyway. “In a safe place.”
“How can I trust you? Who’s to say you have it at all?”
“I do,” she said, picturing the worn cover and the notes crawling into the margins.
Preston Ford’s clenched expression calmed, and his eyes glowed. “You’re going to pay for this little detour.”
Cassidy jumped back, but Preston Ford seized her arm and dragged her into the living room, barking an order at Officer Nash, who appeared out of the darkness.
“Show Dr. Kincaid how we operate,” he said.
Officer Nash spoke into his radio, and moments later a voice answered. Then, Officer Nash clicked on the television.
Quinn sat in the same chair, in the same position, but his eyelids drooped, his expression slack.
A guard appeared, startling Quinn. Cassidy watched in horror as the guard drove a punch into Quinn’s middle.
“No!” Cassidy cried, lunging for the screen.
The guard repeated the punch, and this time Quinn jerked forward hard enough to tip his chair over. Cassidy watched him crash sideways, slamming his head on the floor. His nostrils flared with his rapid breaths. Cassidy could see his jaw harden and his eyes glare straight ahead in defiance.
“Stop,” Cassidy said, tears streaming down her face. “Please.” She couldn’t do this much longer. Where was Bruce? What had happened to their plan?
Preston Ford barked an order to Officer Nash, who spoke into his radio, his fist clenched tightly around it.
“The raid last night,” Preston Ford said slowly. “That was no routine traffic stop, was it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone leaked that shipment.”
Cassidy tried to put the pieces together based on what she knew, but there were too many holes. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He exhaled a frustrated sigh. “If we’re going to partner in this, Dr. Kincaid, you’re going to have to do better than that.”
“I only know something big happened.”
“Who tipped them off?”
Cassidy realized the link: Bo. Preston Ford must have seen something shift in her eyes because his lips stretched into a cold smile.
Cassidy closed her eyes. “If I tell you, you’ll kill him, won’t you?”
“A sacrifice will have to be made, yes. You understand, don’t you?”
“No,” Cassidy said, grimacing as he tightened his hold on her arm. “I don’t understand how you can use people like that!”
“The name,” Preston Ford said. “Or the next blow won’t be so gentle. My lieutenants wear steel-toed boots, Dr. Kincaid. Would you like to see the damage they can do to a person’s skull?”
The image of Quinn in a hospital bed, his face a swollen mess made the words come before she could stop them. “Bo Min,” she gasped.
Preston Ford’s eyes flashed. He nodded at Officer Nash, who spoke into the radio.
The guard on the screen reached down and righted Quinn’s chair. His glaring eyes filled with terror as he saw the silver knife in the guard’s hand.
“Now, the location of the notebook,” Preston Ford said.
Cassidy realized that Bruce wasn’t coming. That their plan had failed. She gazed desperately at the screen, knowing she had to play her only card.
“It’s in Quinn’s car. In the trunk. I parked it at the strip mall on 15th and Geary.” She dug out Quinn’s keys and dropped them in Mr. Ford’s palm.
Preston Ford’s face shone with satisfaction as his fist clenched around the keys. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He glanced at Officer Nash. “Show Dr. Kincaid out.”
Cassidy stepped back but he grabbed hold of her biceps. “Hey!” she shouted, resisting. “What about Quinn?” she asked. “You promised to let him go.”
“I will,” Preston Ford said. “Eventually.”
Cassidy cried out in anguish as Officer Nash dragged her away. She writhed, managing to shove her knee into his thigh but it didn’t lessen his steely grip. “I gave you what you wanted. Now it’s your turn!” Cold terror rushed into her bloodstream. “If he’s harmed, I won’t help you.”
“You’ve both served your purpose, Dr. Kincaid,” he said, his eyes sparkling in the darkness. “Goodbye.”
Twenty-Seven
A bullet shattered the night. Next to her, Officer Nash grunted, then fell, taking her with him. Cassidy toppled to the ground. More bullets fired. Glass exploded and she rolled away, covering her face with her hands. She realized that Officer Nash had drawn his gun. He limped in the direction of whoever had entered the house.
“FBI! Drop your weapon!”
More shots, more glass shattering. A cry from across the house, then Cassidy saw the second guard slump to the ground.
Cassidy screamed. A cold gust of air blasted into the room, carrying the roar of the surf. She tried to crawl away, the broken glass crunching beneath her palms, when a pair of hands grabbed her. She reached for something, anything, to hold onto, but there was only broken glass.
More shots, so loud now that her head felt like it would explode. Kicking and flailing, she landed on her feet and a set of arms bear hugged from behind.
The cold barrel of a gun pressed into her forehead.
Cassidy sucked in a gasp.
“Drop your weapon,” Bruce’s voice called out as he emerged from the darkness, his gun pointed at them.
“One more step and she dies,” Preston Ford said behind her, his arm tightening around her middle.
Bruce’s gaze landed on her for an instant. She tried to show him that she wasn’t afraid but knew her eyes would give her away. “You know I’ll shoot the second you pull the trigger. How is that going to work for you?”
Her left hand was burning, and something felt slippery. With a start, she realized what she was holding.
Preston Ford made that same tsking sound with his tongue that made her
