CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Esme reappeared with two men that had been tending to Amelia.
She wasn’t sure how many days had passed since Esme left—definitely one, possibly two.
Her captors had kept the motel room in a timeless, dayless state.
She couldn’t tell whether they brought food in that morning or at night.
But since Esme was there, she had questions.
“In the mood to chat?” Esme laid a long bag on the vanity where Amelia’s food was always set.
“Maybe.”
“Have you given any thought to what I had to say before?”
She had—more than she would admit to.
Amelia’s mind was starting to play tricks as though her brain had mapped out a conspiracy theory with red strings tied to random thoughts and random words.
It didn’t exactly make sense.
She was grasping at straws or maybe decoding secret meanings.
More likely, she was losing her grip on reality.
“And what do you think?” Esme extracted a long, slender rod from the bag.
She thought about food.
Who paired a banana and chicken?
And the non sequitur about the lighting?
And was she a half-hearted fool?
The words weren’t in the same order.
They weren’t even the correct words, not exactly.
“You told me to trust you.”
Esme cackled and asked the men, “Has she told you anything?”
They shook their heads.
“Amelia, this is your last chance before this gets ugly. What did Jonathan and Hailey tell you?”
Nothing other than stupid words that would bring help.
Banana. Light bulb. Chicken.
Heart. “Nothing.”
Esme sighed.
“Tie her hands behind her back.”
Amelia jerked away.
“No—”
They manhandled her arms and twisted her wrists.
“Easy,” Esme snapped.
“The only one who gets to make her cry is me.”
The men snorted and laughed and zip-tied her wrists behind a chair.
Esme strode straight over and tipped Amelia’s head back.
“Eyes on me.”
Tears leaked down Amelia’s cheeks.
Esme wouldn’t look away.
“Think, you stupid girl. What did Jonathan and Hailey tell you?”
Government secrets and covert instructions?
None of that. They’d only given her four words that were supposed to save her.
Amelia mouthed banana .
Esme gave an imperceptible acknowledgment that she’d seen her lips move and maybe understood.
She pinched her face.
Esme’s nails pricked against her skin.
“Did you say something?” Her lips curled with sinister anticipation.
“Try that again.”
“Light bulb, chicken, heart.” Her whisper wasn’t audible.
She was essentially saying gibberish.
Esme smacked her face away in disgust. “I’ll have the room now.”
The men snickered as they left.
Then they were alone, and Amelia whispered hoarsely, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t talk to you until you figured me out. Otherwise, you might go screaming your head off.” Esme laid the rod on the bed and returned to her bag.
“There’s a lot happening, and we’ll both be dead if either of us messes up.”
“My sister?”
Esme paused and turned her full attention to Amelia.
“She didn’t mess up.” She blinked back tears.
“I’m sorry.”
“She really is dead.”
Esme nodded.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before.”
“Why?”
“A list of Russian sleeper agents disappeared. They had a good idea they’d fallen into American hands but hadn’t been able to pinpoint who.”
“How do you know that?” Amelia asked.
“I work for them too.”
She jerked back.
Esme was a double agent?
“The only person in the CIA who knew that is dead. So I’m fucked.” Esme lips flattened.
“Absolutely fucked unless I get myself out of this.”
Triple agent?
So Esme was one of the good guys?
Amelia tried to understand.
“Beth doesn’t know?”
Esme shook her head but pointed at the implements from her bag.
“Which is why we’re going to get to all this.”
Amelia didn’t understand.
Tears burned the back of her eyes and throat.
Hailey was dead. She couldn’t be rescued and brought back.
“Do you know where Hailey is?”
“I have guesses. Later, once we’re out of this mess, I’ll help bring her home.”
Amelia nodded.
So many tears had been shed since the first night, and it still hurt to think.
“Why do you trust me now? Because of those words?”
Esme tilted her head to the side as though thinking through what she might say.
“Hailey gave them to you. That’s one reason, and the second is Titan Group. In theory, I trust them. In reality, there’s Camden. He believes in you.”
That caught Amelia off guard.
“He might even love you,” Esme offered.
“If I’m going to put my life on the line, I might as well do it with his woman.”
Amelia’s heartbeat jumped.
“I don’t… It’s not like that.”
“It is.” Esme’s lips quirked.
“I thought I could see it on the first day. He thinks you can handle anything. But then I saw him today.” She studied Amelia.
“That man will find you, and I’m tying my horse to that wagon. Between the two of you, it will clear my name.”
How could Esme possibly think Camden had fallen in love with her?
Then again, if one ignored their circumstances and the fact he was leaving and just looked at them as a couple—she loved him.
That was why her heart had hurt at the thought of witness protection while he went home to Abu Dhabi.
“We’re running short on time,” Esme said.
“This is going to have to be believable.”
“What is?”
She’d returned to the bag she’d brought in.
“I’ll do what I can to make it look the part. But you’re going to have to handle a lot.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Esme gave her a look that kicked her stomach to the floor.
“What do you think I’m supposed to be doing here?”
Her heartbeat picked up with nervous worry.
“Um… getting me to talk.”
“Yes. How do you think that normally happens?” She removed a small case from her bag and held two small dark-red pills.
“Crush these between your molars. It will taste horrible. You’ll want to gag. That’s what we need, a bloody mouth leaking. Have you ever acted in a play?”
Amelia shook her head.
“You’re gonna start tonight. Just pretend you’re going for an Oscar and an Emmy.” Esme popped the pills into Amelia’s mouth.
“Bite.”
Amelia crushed the gel tabs and gagged.
They were just as foul as Esme had warned.
“A little bit louder for the cheap seats.”
Amelia tried not to retch.
Esme petted the side of her head.
“This is going to get worse before it gets better, but you can do it. I will be with you the entire time.”
Amelia choked.
She had too much saliva in her mouth.
She wouldn’t swallow the rancid taste.
“Free my—” She gagged.
“Hands?”
“I can’t.” Esme frowned.
“We need welts on your wrists.” She tugged Amelia’s hair lightly.
“Tip your head back.”
“No.” Panicked, she shook her head.
She would drown with that crap in her mouth.
“Can’t.” She tipped her head forward instead, and blood red drool dripped onto her legs.
Her breathing hitched.
She choked and gagged again.
“Okay. Spit it on the floor.” Esme stepped back and waited for her to finish nearly dry heaving.
“Now head back.” She held a small bottle the size of her pinky filled with a clear liquid and uncapped it.
Fear gripped Amelia.
“Why?”
“It will swell your eyes up.” Esme cupped her cheek.
“It’ll burn. But it’s nothing permanent.”
“ No .”
“The other option is to give you black eyes the old-fashioned way.”
“No.” She bucked against the chair.
The zip ties cut into her wrists.
“I don’t like this. I don’t want to—”
“I’m doing it one way or another.” Esme lips flattened.
“We have to stay alive, kid. Think of everything you love. Think of your man.”
The drops went in.
Amelia cried out.
“Little louder for the boys outside the door.”
God, she hated this lady.
“You’re doing a good job, Amelia.” Esme stroked the back of her head.
“Just like that. Make sure they hear you.”
Amelia didn’t have to pretend.
Her face burned. She couldn’t see through the stream of tears as her eyelids swelled.
Esme stepped away and returned.
She cut off Amelia’s sleeves and rubbed a lotion over her arms. “This will make your skin look horrible after impact.”
“Impact?” Amelia blinked through the burning tears at the rod in her hand.
It was skinny, like a chopstick, but as long as her arm.
“We need bruises,” Esme warned.
“This one will sting, but lean into the pain. On three: one, two, three.” The skinny rod smacked Amelia’s arm.
Esme frowned. “I can make it hurt more if you need the incentive to cry out.”
“Fuck you.”
“That’s the spirit. On three again. Here we go. One, two, three…”
Hours seemed to pass, though it could have been minutes.
Esme worked Amelia over, yet she didn’t.
Amelia was in pain, but it was nothing compared to how bad it could have been.
“Last indignity.” Esme took out a small digital camera and snapped photos of her face, neck, and arms. “All done, my dear.”
“Can I see what I look like?”
Esme pursed her lips then decided, holding up the camera for Amelia to see.
She looked beaten to within an inch of her life.
“I have to leave. The men from earlier will untie you and leave you food. Don’t get out of bed for at least an hour. Don’t eat all the food at once. Remember how you look, and act that injured.” She cupped Amelia’s face.
“You are just as strong as your sister.”
Tears fell down Amelia’s cheeks.
“Did she suffer?”
“I wasn’t there, but from what I’ve been told, no. It was quick, and her spirit remained until the end.”
Amelia dropped her chin and let the tears fall.
Hailey was gone. Amelia hadn’t been able to find or save her, but she’d died protecting what she believed in.