The Escape (US Marshals #1) - Lisa Harris Page 0,92

without being noticed are pretty high.”

“So what are you thinking?” Jonas asked.

“We have to find a way to get him to come out of hiding.” She turned and caught Jonas’s gaze as a last-ditch plan began to form. “What’s the one thing we know Barrick cares about?”

“The money in Bianca’s account.”

“Exactly. And while he might assume we have Bianca, he can’t be certain. So what if she calls him and says we had nothing to hold her on and had to let her go. But she’s terrified and needs to meet him. That she still wants to go with him.”

Jonas shook his head. “He’ll never buy it. He’ll just think it’s another trap.”

“That’s possible, yes, but if he thinks there’s even a remote chance he can get his hands on that money, I think he’ll risk it.”

“I’m still not convinced it would work. We’d also have to convince Bianca.”

Madison knew it was a long shot, but as far as she was concerned, it was their only chance. And at this point, she was willing to try anything. “All we need is for him to take the bait.”

When they arrived back at the airport, Bianca was still sitting in the room where they’d left her. She had her hands folded in front of her, but her face was streaked with tears. Someone had brought her a sandwich and a drink, but she hadn’t touched either one.

Jonas and Madison entered the room and sat down in the seats across from Bianca. They looked at each other since she wouldn’t meet their gaze.

“We don’t have a lot of time.” Jonas slid his phone toward her. A photo of Tyler’s dead body lit up the screen. “If you didn’t completely believe that Barrick was lying to you before, maybe this will convince you.”

Bianca’s eyes widened. “Who’s that?”

“Your driver. Barrick’s plan was never to meet you. Instead he arranged for you to disappear. This was going to be your ride out of here.”

“He attacked me,” Madison said. “Said the real plan was for me to disappear so Barrick could escape without two marshals on his tail.”

Bianca shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

“See these bruises on my neck? What if you had been there instead of me? Do you think you could have fought him off?”

“No, but—”

Madison leaned forward. “He would have killed you and left you in some shallow grave.”

“Damon wouldn’t have set that up.”

Jonas looked directly into her eyes. “Then how do you explain what this man did to my partner when he thought it was you.”

Bianca let out a sharp breath. She turned toward the wall and stared straight ahead. The emotions that had previously been etched on her face so clearly were gone now. “What do you want me to do?”

“We need you to call him,” Jonas said. “We think he’s still in the airport. You’ll tell him that we had to let you go because we had nothing to hold you on. That you didn’t know we were sending someone in your place and that you’re terrified and still want to go with him.”

Bianca nodded. “And he’ll agree because of the money. Not me.”

Jonas felt a sliver of pity for the woman. “I’m sorry.”

“I guess that’s the price I pay for being a foolish old woman. I never should have believed he wanted me for more than my money.”

“Not every man is like that,” Madison said. “Barrick is very good at what he does.”

Bianca shook her head. “He won’t believe me.”

“Then you’re going to have to make sure you sound convincing.”

Five minutes later, Madison and Jonas were settled in front of screens at the airport’s communication center, where they could watch Bianca on the security cameras. Bianca had made the call to Barrick, and he’d agreed to meet her. Now they just had to wait for him to show up.

Madison watched the screen. Over a hundred thousand passengers traveled through this airport every day, but they only needed to find one. One who had been aggravatingly elusive over the past few days. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Another few minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Barrick. Frustration mounted as the seconds ticked by.

“What if he figured out this is a trap?” she said finally.

“Let’s give it a few more minutes. We’ll find him,” Jonas said. “Whatever it takes.”

Whatever it takes.

She blew out a huff of air. For all they knew, he was reclining in some business class seat, well on his way to