Page 46 of Vicious Deception

“Where the hell is my son?” Meredith demands. She comes to a stop in front of me, and I’m struck by how similar her and Oliver look. He has her eyes, although at the moment, Meredith’s are void of the warmth I’m so used to.

“I . . .” My words catch in my throat.God, I miss him.

“You were cryptic enough on the phone,” she snaps. “Tell me where Oliver is, and tell menow.”

“He’s gone,” I whisper. It’s the best I can manage for the moment. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotions that come with the way I keep seeing Oliver in every move she makes.

At the tears in my eyes, Meredith’s hard glare fades. She opens her mouth, an apology written on her face, but then she shakes her head. “What do you mean, he’s gone?” Her voice isn’t as harsh now. “I need more details.”

Just take a couple deep breaths. It’ll be okay.On some level, I understand that her impatience is due to fear, not hate. She’s worried for her son, just like I am.

“He was . . . taken,” I say, trying to gather my thoughts. I planned what I was going to tell her down to the word, but now my thoughts are so scattered.

“And the others?” she asks, her voice rising with alarm. “Where are Elliot and Rhett?”

“They were taken, too.” Digging my fingernails into my palms, I blink back my tears, trying to calm my nerves. “We’ve been trying to get them back.”

“We?” Meredith asks.

“Me and Finn.”

She narrows her eyes. “Is he the cause of all this? I knew he couldn’t be trusted. Iknew—”

“It’s my fault,” I blurt. “They were taken because of me.”

Shit, shit, shit.I really shouldn’t’ve started off with that. Now she’s gonna want to kill me.

But Meredith just stares at me in shock.“Yourfault? What did you do?”

I swallow. “I think . . . I think I should start from the beginning.”

“By all means.” She crosses her arms, watching me through narrowed eyes.

“When Sammy was killed, the guys couldn’t let it go. Rhett . . . Rhett especially.”

Meredith’s face falls, but she stays silent.

“It took them a long time to find the man who shot her—a man named Ludo Holloway.”

“They found him?” she asks, her voice weighed down with years of grief.

“Yes. They’ve been working to get closer to him for some time now, and they’ve been planning his downfall for years.”

Meredith scoffs. “With what time? They’re so busy with work that they—” She pauses, realization crossing her features. “They’re not investment bankers, are they?”

I shake my head. “It was their cover. They didn’t want to lie to you, I promise, but they didn’t want to worry you.”

“And now?”

“They got caught,” I say, “and Holloway captured them.”

Despair bleeds onto Meredith’s features. Sammy wasn’t her daughter by blood, but it sounds like they were close. This probably feels like losing another child. “Who is he? What’ll he do to them?”

“He’s a mob boss—a powerful one. He hasn’t killed them yet, but that’s his eventual plan.”

“And this is all your faulthow?”she asks.

“Because I’m the reason they got caught. And now—and now they’re the ones paying for it instead of me.”