Page 20 of Deadly Sins: Envy

“It is now.”

“It doesn’t need to be like this, you know.”

“Like what?”

“Complicated,” Coop said. “Take the money, tell me where Willow is, and then go.”

“You think I’m a fool. Put the cuffs on like I asked.”

“And if I don’t?”

“In my hand, I have a phone. If I give the word that you didn’t follow my instructions, Willow dies. Right here. Right now. This very second. I guess the question you need to ask yourself is—do you want her back or don’t you?”

This was it.

The moment it would all go sideways.

Would the kidnapper honor the arrangement, or would it fall apart?

And where the hell were the police?

I inched toward the sound of the man’s voice while keeping a close eye on Coop. Coop lifted the cuffs off the railing and secured them around his wrists. He was vulnerable, and “vulnerable” in a situation like this wasn’t good.

“Cuffs are on,” Coop said.

“Good,” the man said. “I’m guessing you’re aware of the cemetery’s layout?”

“I have a general idea.”

“The magic number is 605. I’ll give you a ten-second head start to get to Willow beforeIget to you.”

Coop shouted Willow’s name and took off running.

The man began counting down.

“One ... two ... ten,” he said.

And the sound of a gun firing ripped through the air.

CHAPTER 8

Wherever Willow was, I no longer believed it was here. Coop yelped in pain. At the same time, I heard movement outside the cemetery walls. The cavalry was coming.

I crept toward the satchel, bent down to snatch it, and felt the prickle of hot breath on my neck. I whipped around and pulled the trigger on the canister of pepper spray I held in my hand. He hadn’t expected it. He stumbled backward, his hands clawing at his eyes like he could undo the damage.

Murphy came into view, followed by a handful of others, all of them suited up to take the man down.

“Hands in the air,” Murphy shouted.

My thoughts turned to Coop. I started in his direction, but Blunt grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“Let go!” I said. “Coop’s been shot.”

“Youweren’t supposed to be here tonight,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter right now,” I said. “I need to get to Coop.”

“You’renot going anywhere. We’ll take it from here.”