Page 159 of It Runs in the Family

Her eyes widened. “No. He didn’t know about you until today.”

“Then who tried to kidnap me? The guy was lookin’ for you, Selena. Only he didn’t know your name. He only had a photo of you that was taken on Friday night.”

I could see the moment she figured it out. “Oh.”

“When I gave him a fake name for you,” I continued, “he tried to take me in for questioning, like he was in law enforcement. Who was it?”

“I think that was Tommy T’s boss.”

That made sense. When they couldn’t get the information from me, they trashed my apartment the next night.

“You didn’t fall onto Dario’s radar until you were askin’ questions about Rebecca today. And then he found out you’re my cousin…”

“Did you tell him I had no idea what he was lookin’ for?”

Guilt filled her eyes. “He wouldn’t have believed me, Iris. He took my phone around seven, but I didn’t realize it. I had no idea he texted you until you called tonight. Dario had me answer, and I’d just found out they were going to take you. That’s why I told you to run.”

My mind raced through the voicemail I’d left her. If Voss had really taken her phone in the evening, there was a chance he hadn’t heard it.

“You could have told him I had nothing to do with any of this. You didn’t try to protect me,” I said, my heart breaking.

She looked devastated, then anger swept in and replaced it. “We’re not kids anymore, Iris. It’s not my job to protect you.”

Funny how I’d spent the last six days trying to protect her. It felt like the ultimate betrayal.

Selena had sold me out.

Her tone softened. “I won’t let him hurt you. I swear.”

“Really?” I countered. “You just said it wasn’t your job to protect me anymore. Which is it, Selena?”

But she didn’t get a chance to answer. The door burst open, and Dario Voss filled the doorway. The dark, cold look in his eyes chilled me to the bone.

“Okay,” he said, taking a step into the room. “Time to get some answers, and fair warning, Iris, I’m about out of patience.”

The door closed behind him, and a terror like nothing I’d ever felt before washed over me. I didn’t need a vision to know this man would not only kill me, but relish pulling the trigger.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I swallowed hard and waited for Voss to continue. I knew what he wanted to know. The question was how long I could hold out before fear or pain overcame my will and I told him what he wanted to hear.

“You’re an interesting woman, Iris Gardner,” Voss said as he crossed the room to the round table by the counter. He pulled out a chair and took a seat, leaning back and crossing his legs. He studied me for a long moment, then confusion washed over his face. “I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“You came into my convenience store one day last week,” I said. “Around one in the morning.”

He snapped his fingers, and a smile lit up his eyes. “That’s right. I told you that you reminded me of someone.” His gaze shifted to Selena and lingered there. “I can see it. You two could be sisters.”

I kept my mouth shut. Until a few minutes ago, I would have considered Selena like a sister. Now I didn’t know what to call her.

He leaned forward and held my gaze. “Let’s not waste time, okay? I know you’ve been runnin’ around town today lookin’ into Rebecca Threadgill. Why?”

That wasn’t the question I’d expected from him, which left me unsure how to respond.

“It’s not that hard of a question,” Voss said, sitting up. “What made you interested in her?”

I swallowed. “I was worried about Selena. She wasn’t answering my calls or texts, and she usually does. So, when I heard a woman was murdered, I was scared it might be her.”

“Okay,” he said, moving his hand in a go-on gesture. “How does that tie into askin’ questions about Rebecca?”