Once a Rebel by Sheri WhiteFeather

Author:Sheri WhiteFeather
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2005-10-07T04:00:00+00:00

The day had gone from mild to gloomy, creating an overcast hue in Ryan and Lily’s bedroom.

Susan joined her cousin in the sitting area, taking the spot next to him on the sofa. He’d returned from Fortune-Rockwell with the ransom in tow. For now it was in a floor safe, waiting for Jason’s next instructions to arrive.

“The FBI doesn’t think he’s going to contact me again until tomorrow,” Ryan said. “Or maybe even the day after.”

She looked at his disheveled appearance, the way he’d ransacked his hair and skewed his shirt. Making the Fortune patriarch agonize over his wife was part of the kidnapper’s ploy. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“He didn’t even let me hear her voice. Am I supposed to trust him that she’s still alive?”

“Yes, you are.” Susan leaned her head against his shoulder, giving him the comfort of human contact, of family. “You have to stay strong for Lily. We all do.”

“I’m trying. I swear I am.” He put his arms around her, holding on to her like a lifeline.

They stayed like that, silent, connected, giving each other hope. She thought about the amulet, praying that Ethan’s attempt to help protect Lily was working.

Finally Ryan let go, his chest heaving with a labored breath. She could see how exhausted he was. In between bouts of tears and the ever-constant fear, he was still fighting a brain tumor.

“The FBI is analyzing the tape at their forensic audio lab,” Ryan said. “Trying to identify background noises, trying to figure out where Jason was when he recorded it. In a house, in a car, outside somewhere.” He paused, his voice cracking. “They’re searching for signs of Lily on the tape, too.”

“If she was breathing in the background?”

He cleared his throat. “Yes.”

Susan looked at the fireplace and noticed a picture of Lily on the mantel. An unframed photograph that depicted her when she was a teenager, a snapshot Ryan had removed from one of Lily’s photo albums and placed there.

“What about the envelope the tape arrived in?” she asked. “The FBI must be analyzing that, too.”

“They are, and they know that Jason used a courier service in Houston and that he was in disguise. But he won’t go back to the same city next time or use the same disguise.”

“What about Lily’s truck?”

“They think he’s been changing the plates, doing whatever he can to camouflage it. But for the most part he’s been lying low, hiding out somewhere.” Ryan shifted on the couch, grabbing the decorative pillow on the other side of him. “He insisted on hundred-dollar bills.”

“What?” The change of topic jarred her.

“That’s the ransom. Two million in hundred-dollar bills. The FBI says he chose larger bills because the money weighs less that way.”

“Light enough for him to carry?”

Ryan nodded. “He wants the cash divided into two duffel bags. All those damn demands. No consecutive serial numbers, no marked bills, no new bills, no tracking devices.” His voice cracked again. “All I care about is getting my wife back.”

“I know. Me, too.

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