the threat, even though Mitch couldn’t see him through the phone. “Fucking call me.”
Sarah tensed at the words and grimly eyed the gun. The weapon was the only reason she hadn’t made use of Brett’s self-defense lessons and tried to extricate herself from the kidnapping.
Well, his gun combined with Langley’s presence. If she’d been alone earlier, when he first showed up at the wedding house, she would have tried one of the moves Brett had taught her. Like kicking his balls into his belly, gouging out his eyes, or breaking his nose, or maybe even dislocating his shoulder or his knee. But she couldn’t, not with Langley on hand. Even if she could incapacitate her captor completely with the first attack, Langs wouldn’t be able to run. Certainly not in those five-inch stilettos and that mermaid gown.
So she’d waited and watched for an opportunity to arise, one that would serve her as well as her best friend. Unfortunately, nothing had presented itself and now she was zip tied and defenseless and Langley was off in a separate room.
“Your fiancé is a total bastard. You know that?”
She did, as a matter of fact. Nobody knew that better. But she shrugged and looked away.
“I was there from day one, you asshole. I know everything. What you stole. Who you sold it to—I know where all your bodies are buried. You burn me and I’ll burn you. And I guarantee you’ll burn hotter and longer.” This time he spat the threat into the phone.
Sarah bit her lips, praying that the reference to buried bodies was nothing more than a metaphor. But the comment about selling things niggled at her. Was the guy talking about guns? Ammunition? Black market weapons?
Was he one of Mitch’s gun dealing partners? If so, did he know Sean? Did he know where Sean was?
“Do you know Sean? Sean Gillespie?” The question popped out of Sarah’s mouth without any input from her brain.
The white-rimmed, muddy brown eyes turned toward her. A cold, calculating expression darkened his face. “Why?”
Her intuition whispered that he did know her brother. That he was mixed up in the same ugly enterprise Mitch had dragged Sean into. She went with her instincts and forced aside her fear. If he knew where Sean was, every second of this ordeal would be worth it.
“Because he’s my brother. I know that he’s involved with Mitch in selling stolen military weapons. But I haven’t been able to get ahold of him in several weeks.”
And she’d tried. My God, had she ever tried. She’d all but bankrupted herself with private investigators.
“Yeah, I knew him.” The guy lifted his phone, but rather than calling Mitch again, he just looked at it. “I thought grabbing you would wake him up. Make him listen. Show him I’m fucking serious.”
Knew him?
Sarah’s belly twisted. Her chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. He’d said knew? Past tense.
“What do you mean by knew?” The question shot out of her all sharp and shrill.
He didn’t answer. Didn’t look up. Just ignored her query completely.
Noooo. No. He’d misspoken, that was all.
Now that her abductor had dropped his threatening bluster, he seemed more tired than dangerous. Defeated even. And thinking back, he hadn’t done anything to hurt her or Langley.
Maybe this whole kidnapping business had been a bluff.
“You must know by now that Mitch has no conscience,” Sarah said quietly. “No morals. Mitch’s sole interest is in Mitch.”
He looked across at her and while his white-rimmed eyes looked crazier than ever, his face was haggard and calm. “He’s not calling back, is he? He’s not getting the ransom ready.”
Sarah weighed her options. If she answered truthfully, she might end up receiving the brunt of his frustration and anger. But it might also spark a conversation about her brother. This was the closest she’d gotten to finding Sean in two months.
“I doubt it. Mitch never loved me. The entire engagement and wedding were his revenge against the man who did love me.”
Sandy eyebrows bunched together as he studied her face. “No shit? Then why the hell did you agree to marry him?”
She hesitated before shrugging. All evidence suggested this man was involved in the same black market dealings as Sean. They were probably partners, the three of them—her abductor, Sean, and Mitch. She wouldn’t be telling him anything he didn’t already know.
“I didn’t have a choice. Mitch had video of Sean selling stolen guns. Sean would have been arrested. Tried for treason. Executed.”