LITMIR.BIZ

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was amazed at how well his mother-in-law was holding up under this. He knew how much she loved David and Derrick, yet she had a quiet strength about her that he envied. Thank God she was here for Becky since his wife didn’t seem to want any comfort or reassurance from him.

      “I could fly under the radar,” Zach answered, “but we’ve got to agree on what we’re doing here.”

      “I say pay him off, get the boys back and then we hunt the bastard down,” Matt said.

      “I’d like to see the FBI brought in,” Langston countered. “I have connections. I can make a call right now and have someone come out here from the agency. But Nick and Becky are the ones with the deciding votes. I know I’d make the decisions if it was Gina or little Randy here.” He kissed the top of his son’s head.

      “Where is Gina now?” Jaclyn asked. “Does she know about the abduction?”

      “Not yet,” Trish said. “She’s spending the night in Houston with a girlfriend from her high school who’s hosting a Christmas party tonight.”

      “With a protection service secretly watching her and the house she’s in,” Langston said. “I’m taking no chances until this crazed abductor is apprehended.”

      “I curse myself a hundred times an hour for not thinking to do that,” Nick said.

      Jaime walked over and placed a hand on Nick’s arm. “Don’t blame yourself for this. How could you possibly have foreseen something so bizarre?”

      Jaime was Zach’s twin sister. She was the party girl, but Nick had always suspected she had a lot more depth to her than she let on.

      “Would you all just stop talking?” Becky said. Her voice broke, and her whole body began to shake. “My boys are missing, and I want them back. I want them home and in their beds. I want…” Her ranting and shudders dissolved into sobs.

      Nick could stand it no longer. He crossed the room and dropped to the sofa beside her. He wound an arm around her shoulders, hoping she wouldn’t push him away.

      Her head fell to his chest. “Get them back, Nick. Just get them back.”

      “I will.” It was a promise he’d keep or die trying.

      Lenora got up from her seat on the other side of Becky. “I think we should give Nick and Becky some time alone.”

      “Sure,” Zach said, “but remember that every second counts in a kidnapping.”

      Nick had never been more aware of anything in his life.

      BECKY FELT as if she were suspended in time, stuck in the horrifying moment when Nick had first told her the boys had been abducted. She pulled away from Nick and tried desperately to regain a semblance of control as the others filed from the room. “I can’t stand doing nothing, Nick. I need to know that someone is out there looking for David and Derrick.”

      “The abductor was adamant that we not go to the police.”

      “And in the meantime, what about my sons? What’s happening to them?”

      “The kidnapper wants money, Becky. He’s made that clear almost from the second he took them. There’s no reason for him to hurt them as long as we cooperate.”

      “Since when do you know so much about kidnappers? Since when do you know about anything except football?”

      “Please don’t do this, Becky. It won’t help us to tear each other down.”

      His gaze sought out hers, and she turned away, unable to deal with his pain when hers was so intense.

      “I know I’m not all that good with reading people,” he said, “but I’m convinced this was a spur-of-the-moment decision with the kidnapper. My guess is he’s desperate for money. And desperate men commit irrational acts when pushed against the wall. That’s why I don’t want to push. I just want to give him the money and bring the boys home.”

      “And you really think you can pull this off without David and Derrick getting hurt?”

      “I think working without the cops is our best chance of doing that.”

      Nick’s face was drawn into hard lines that made him look much older than his thirty-two years. It was odd that she’d never thought of him as aging, though she was keenly aware of it in herself. He was constantly in training, keeping up his speed, agility and strength with the rigorous exercise routine that had kept him at the top of his game.

      His boyish good looks and charm had come to him naturally and required nothing but his presence to make them work. But even those were lost tonight in the torment that haunted his eyes.

      “If he puts the boys on the phone, I want to talk to them,” she said.

      “I don’t know how much time he’ll give us with them.”

      “Then put the phone on speaker.”

      “He’ll be able to tell and will probably think I have a cop listening in.”

      She knew he was right, and yet the frustration started swelling in her chest again until it felt like her heart might burst from the pressure. “Are you certain you don’t know the abductor, Nick, or at least have some idea who he is?”

      “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

      Actually, she had no idea where that idea had come from, but now that she’d voiced it, it wasn’t all that farfetched. The man had contacted Nick on his cell phone. He’d had to get that number from somewhere.

      And he’d known where the boys went to school. She was certain the morning newscast hadn’t mentioned that and was pretty sure that none of the others would have given out that type of information.

      “Was the voice disguised?”

      “I don’t think so.”

      “Did you get any feel for the man’s age?”

      “No. He’s not a kid, but beyond that, it’s impossible to say. He tries to sound tough, but his tone wavers at times. So does the timbre, as if he’s getting overly excited or nervous and doesn’t want me to know it. That’s another reason I think he really just wants to get the money and get out. If we convince him we’ll cooperate with him fully, I think this could be over in a matter of hours.”

      She ached to believe he was right. “Okay, Nick. I’ll agree to holding off on calling the police or the FBI until he calls again. But if we don’t talk to the boys, or if he’s hurt them in any way, the deal is off.”

      “That’s all I’m asking, Becky.”

      His cell phone rang again. She tensed, and the quick intake of breath was choking. He shook his head, a signal that it wasn’t the kidnapper. The disappointment laid a crushing weight on her chest.

      “I can’t talk now. I’ll have to call you back later.”

      Probably Brianna. Becky dropped to the sofa and lowered her head, cradling it in her hands as a new wave of vertigo left her too off balance to stand.

      Just keep David and Derrick safe, she prayed silently. If she was granted that, she’d never complain about anything again.

      DAVID SUCKED the ketchup from a greasy French fry before stuffing it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. Momma didn’t like for him to talk with his mouth full. “I don’t think you really are my daddy’s friend,” he said, as he dipped the next fry.

      “See, that’s where you’re wrong. I talked to your daddy when I was outside unloading the two-by-fours from the top of my car. He’s real eager to see you boys.”

      Derrick wiped a dab of mayonnaise from his chin and sat his half-eaten cheeseburger in the middle of the paper wrapper he’d spread out in front of him. “Then how come you didn’t take us to Uncle Langston like you said you were going to

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