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Everything went black.

“I don’t ask for much out of life, do I?” a familiar voice said.

“Well, actually you do.” It was the clown speaking. She recognized his voice.

Jenny coughed. The cigarette smell was making her nauseous. But at least she wasn’t in a car anymore. Where was she?

“Each time I ask for something, you ask for more money, and I pay you, and you fuck up. This is not a good return on my investment.”

“Yeah, well, I’m the only guy you know to take care of these kinds of problems, so you’re stuck with my lousy ROI. I did get rid of that namby-pamby idiot you were fucking. Made it look like he was a druggie.”

“So, you’re one out of three. I do hope when she wakes up you can better your score.”

“Or what? You’re going to hire someone to take me out?” The clown laughed. More cigarette smoke blew her way, and Jenny rolled over and threw up. The vomit got all in her hair and on the side of her face. The only reason she cared was that the puke messed up her vision in the eye that wasn’t swollen shut. Now she was basically blind.

“Put out that cigarette,” the man who wasn’t the clown yelled.

“Where’s Tina? What did you do to Tina?” Jenny choked out the question.

The clown laughed. “Nothing. She’s safe and sound in Colorado. Just had her husband knocked out for a couple of hours so she thought we had him. Told her to make that call or we’d kill him. Worked like a charm. They’re probably canoodling by the fire right now, not giving one fucking thought about you.”

Jenny blew out a long breath, so thankful that her friend was safe.

“Tell us what we want to know.”

“Mr. Lynch?” Jenny asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re going to let him kill me, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I’d like him to do it so it’s painless. I told him to get a vial of narcotics so you would just fade away. But you’ll only receive that kind of death if you cooperate.”

She wanted to see his face. Here he was, a man who had everything, stooping down to murder. And for what?

“I’ll tell you where Fiona is, if you tell me why you’re doing this. I respected you. I don’t understand, and before I die, I want to understand.”

“Good girl, keep him talking,” Brax whispered.

His hands were so sweaty, he was afraid he was going to drop his phone. He kept staring down at it, making sure the mute button was on. It was. Waiting for her to wake up took years off his life. He hadn’t prayed this much since CiCi had been in the hospital, hell, he was probably praying more.

“Where are they?” Gideon asked.

Brax looked down at the tracking app. “They’ve stopped at a place on Westminster Avenue near Grandy Village.”

“Give me the address, I’ll plug it into the navigation system,” Mateo said from the backseat.

Brax gave him the info, desperately waiting for someone to talk.

“Edgar was such a disappointment,” Ronald said. “I should have had him prosecuted the minute I found out about the embezzlement, but by the time I did, I was in too deep. I’d already given him a promotion and brought him to the States. And Edgar was more than happy to point that out.”

“He blackmailed you?”

“I was about to turn the tables on him, when Jeffrey here told me about the untimely death of Angela Polk. When I confronted Edgar, he admitted to her murder. I was fucked. A month later you were kidnapped. Finally, fortune was smiling down on me. Until Jeffrey screwed the pooch.”

Brax looked over at Gideon. “Just the two of them.”

“Sounds like,” Gideon agreed.