Page 336 of A Matter of Time

“Jory?”

“Caleb,” I said. “Come here. Did they hurt you?”

“No.” His voice cracked, and I could hear how raspy his breathing was. When his hands touched my face, I realized he was untied.

“Ohmygod, you’re loose—why’re you loose?”

“He untied me before I talked to Dane and had me carry in a bucket for us to pee in. It’s gross, but it’s something.”

I was stuck on what he’d said first. “You talked to Dane?”

“Just for a second.”

“And?”

“And it’s a ransom. He wants ten million, Jory. Five million apiece or Dane doesn’t get either of us back ever. He said Dane would have nothing to bury.”

“And?”

“And what? That’s it. I was told that as long as I behaved, he wouldn’t shoot you. If I do something stupid, you get hurt, not me.” I felt his hands cup my face. “I don’t plan to be any trouble, so you’re gonna be just fine.”

“Caleb—”

“No, Jory,” he said flatly. “We are going to do whatever is asked of us. All they want is the money. We’re gonna be perfect, and they’ll get the ransom, and we’ll get to go home.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

“What’d Dane say?”

“Dane said the guy could have the money.”

“Why do you sound weird?”

“Nothing.”

“Caleb, please just say.”

“No, I just… I…I figured Dane would pay for you but…I didn’t think he’d agree to pay for me. I’m nothing to him, Jory. Nothing at all.”

“You’re his brother, you idiot.”

“Yeah, but not like you.”

And I knew what he meant. I knew Dane would do anything to get me back, but the kind of man my brother was, I never doubted that he would put in the same effort for Caleb. He was the only one who was surprised.

“Dane thinks of you as his brother too, Caleb,” I assured him. “But right now I wanna know, did somebody get hurt?”

“When?”

“Before. I think one of the guys got shot.”

“How do you know?”

“I heard it.”

“I dunno, J. I didn’t see anything.”