My ass is getting sore from having sat on this stupid folding chair for so long. Chad has a point; he needs to redecorate.

That’s the least of my problems right now, though.

“You know, Caine is not the real deal,” Todd says as he finishes tying the rope around my right ankle.

“What do you mean?” I don’t know what he wants, but it’s probably a good idea to engage him in conversation and show some sympathy to whatever his cause may be.

I try to move, but both my ankles are tied to the legs of the chair, while another length of rope is wrapped around my body and the back of the chair. My wrists are tied together behind me, bending my shoulders awkwardly.

“I mean it should be me in his position. It should be my dad who heads the family.” Todd stands up and sits on the desk, right in front of me.

“Why is that?”

It’s just the two of us now in this small back office crammed full of shit.

When Todd came into the room, he told Chad to leave right away. Apparently, working together doesn’t mean they like each other. I don’t blame Todd; Chad is just an unpleasant character all around.

“Why? Because the family business should be ours, by right. We have more claim to it than they do.”

“I see. So Caine stole everything from you,” I say. I hope that doesn’t come out sounding fake. It totally is, but I need him to think I’m on his side. Maybe then he’ll let me go.

“That’s right,” he says with a big grin on his face. “The Fosters aren’t handling the business very well either. They’ve cut out the most profitable parts of it, which is just stupid.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Because they’re self-righteous people who think cleaning up is the way to go. Well, we disagree. And now we’re taking the business back. All of it. There will be changes.”

“How did he take it from you?”

“It wasn’t him as much as it was his father. He’s just collateral, really. These things, they go back generations, you know? We have a long history together.”

“Okay, how did his father take it from you?”

“I have to hand it to him, really. It was genius.” Todd looks down right at me and shakes his head. “My dad didn’t see it coming and it hit him by surprise.”

“Sounds pretty devious.”

“You don’t know the half of it. Robert Foster would do anything for power, including destroying an innocent woman’s life.” He pauses to watch me for a reaction and smiles with satisfaction when I pretend to be shocked. He continues, “My dad and Robert Foster were working for the same man, then Robert married his daughter just to gain his wealth and power.”

“How did you find out?”

“He obviously didn’t love his wife. He cheated on her and even had a baby with another woman,” he says. “You know who that baby is?”

I shake my head. I’m almost sure he’s talking about Bertha and Caine, but I don’t want to ruin Todd’s moment. He seems to really enjoy telling me all about what horrible people the Fosters are.

“Caine Foster,” he says, just as I expected.

“No.”

“Oh, yes. He’s not even supposed to be part of the family. But look at him now; he’s taking over now that Robert is old, and he’s slowly pushing my dad and me out of the business.

“We were going to wait to make our move, but the timing is just perfect now. Robert is sick, the cops are closing in. We have to be quick. We’re not going to let the Fosters fool us this time.

“And then there’s you. The wild card. You’re a big help to us, do you know that?”

“I think you’re mistaken about me. Caine doesn’t care about me,” I say. If Todd expects Caine to come running and save me, he’ll be disappointed. Caine told me himself that he wanted me to leave and never see him again.

“Ah, well, the evidence says different. You’re living in his apartment, visiting his father… Anyone can see he’s fond of you, at least.”

I can see how he’d come to that conclusion. I was starting to think Caine really liked me, too.

But I was wrong. It was never anything more than a temporary arrangement to him. It was just money for sex, like we’d agreed. I admit I was starting to want more from him, but it was never going to happen with him.

“I’m just a passing fancy to him. He’s engaged. You know that, don’t you?”

“Sure, he’s engaged, but he never sees his fiancée. Poor girl. She’s just another stepping stone for another Foster man. Caine is just going to use her for her family’s wealth and connections. He doesn’t care about her. You, though…” Todd stares at me and gives me a creepy smile. “You’re different.”

I can tell I’m not going to change his mind about the relationship between Caine and me. There’s no use arguing with him about that.

It’s probably better for me to maintain my curiosity, keep asking questions, and hopefully get him to release me somehow.

“Has Chad always worked for you, from the beginning?”

“Well, yeah. You think that guy, with his shitty office and his shitty bar, has money to lend out?”

“You’ve been providing him with the cash.”

“Yes. Not me, really. My dad is the one who works closely with this lot. Sometimes he even goes with Chad on his rounds,” Todd says.

All of a sudden, I remember where I’ve seen Todd’s father before. That night in front of my apartment, when I caught a glimpse of an older man inside Todd’s car. That must’ve been him.

“Did you plan the whole thing? My debt to Chad, my relationship with Caine…”

“Oh, no.” Todd laughs. “We’re good, but we’re not that good. I’m glad you think that highly of us, though. I’m flattered.

“To tell you the truth, we couldn’t have planned it better ourselves. That’s why I said this is perfect timing,” Todd says.

“Perfect timing for what?”

“For our big takeover plan. We’re going to take back the business that has always rightfully belonged to us.”

“How?”

“Easy. That’s another reason why this is great timing. Now that Robert’s ill, Caine’s signature carries more authority. He will sign away everything to us.”

“How are you going to make him do that?”

“We’ll tell him we’ll kill you if he doesn’t.”

A chill runs down my spine. Todd doesn’t look like he’s joking. He really means to kill me.

And Caine’s not going to stop him. He wouldn’t sign away everything he has just for me.

I may not ever leave this cramped office. The cops will come and find my body limp and lifeless on the dirty floor, my blood pooling around me.

Or he’ll get rid of my body somehow—throw me into the bay, maybe—and they’ll never even find me. I’ll just never come home again. I’ll never see Jack again, or Katie. They won’t even know I’m dead, or how I died.

“You’re not going to get away with this.” I try to be brave, but my whole body is shaking with fear. My voice comes out squeaky and unconvincing.

“We will. And you know it, too. That’s why you’re so scared now,” Todd says. “You think I’d tell you everything if I was going to let you out of here alive?

“I’m not as dumb as you think. You think I don’t know you’ve just been trying to buy time, keeping me talking? I just happen to have some time to kill, too.” Todd chuckles smugly at his own joke.

“People are going to look for me.”

“Who? Your little brother? Your roommate? What are they going to do?” Todd laughs cruelly.

He’s right. Katie and Jack are nobodies. People aren’t going to care what they say. I’ll just be another missing person. Maybe my face will end up on milk cartons, but that will be the end of it.

“Caine might look for me.” I don’t think he will, considering he won’t be expecting to hear from me or see me at all after he yelled at me in his apartment, but Todd doesn’t know that.

Todd leans forward until his face is only inches from me. Shadows cover his features, making him look sinister.

“A dead man can’t do anything,” he says.

“Both Caine and Robert will go missing, if you know what I mean. Cole, the other brother, will come here looking for them, and we’ll get him, too. Then there will be no one else left to ask questions.

“We’ll say they took some illegal earnings and ran away, left the country before the cops could get to them. It’s a believable story, don’t you think?”

I swallow, hard.

He’s right. People would have no problem believing that the Fosters would deliberately disappear with their ill-earned money.