“Then why are you here now? Alone? Why did they let you leave? And why come back here at all? Better yet, why not go to the authorities for help? Hell, most people would’ve just run.”
“Payton. The answer to everything you just asked is Payton.”
That drew Jace up short. He should’ve realized that was the answer. “That explains why you didn’t run or go to the authorities. But tell me why you’re in Clearview.”
“Ben thought he was smarter than the people who took us. He ignored my warnings, and it cost him his life.”
“Jesus,” Jace said as he got to his feet and ran a hand down his face. He walked a few paces before turning to look at her. “And your father?”
“Killed within months of us being taken because he stole—again. Though it was money that time.”
Jace closed his eyes and put his hands on his hips as he shook his head. Fuck. Had the two people who should’ve been protecting Taryn and Payton really been killed? Sadly, he could believe it. Phil and Ben had only ever thought of themselves. After a moment, Jace looked at Taryn. “Are you telling me it’s just you and Payton now?”
“Yes.”
He returned to his seat but leaned forward and put his forearms on his thighs. “Why didn’t these people kill your father immediately? You said he stole ‘again,’ so I assume that’s what he did to get into trouble in the first place.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that. Dad began trying to deal. He thought he could earn more money that way. Which he did. At first. The problem was there was too much product around, and he started using it himself.”
Jace was getting angrier on Taryn’s behalf by the second. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Dad and Ben kept it from me. They thought they could fix the problem because they knew if they kept doing the same things, I would leave.”
Jace was taken aback. Not once had she said anything like that to him.
Taryn’s lips twisted. “Yeah. I really did tell them that. Because I knew you were right. I couldn’t continue to bail them out. I needed to start my life, which I intended to do with you.”
“What happened?” Jace asked.
“The night we were taken, both Dad and Ben were high from the last of the cocaine. I came home to find Payton trying to wake them up.”
Jace fisted his hands. “You’re telling me it was just you and Payton when they came for y’all?”
“Yes. I was getting ready to call 911—and then you—when they were suddenly in the house with guns trained on us. There was nothing I could do.”
“Had you fought them, they probably would’ve killed you.”
She lowered her gaze to the floor. “The only reason they didn’t kill us is because I offered to work for them to make up the money that was owed.”
“You did what!?” Jace shouted.
Taryn threw out her hands as she looked at him. “What else was I supposed to do? We were all about to die!”
Jace tried to get himself under control. “And when Phil and Ben came to?”
“I’d never seen Dad so scared. He sobered up real quick. Same for Ben. We had people with us at all times as they sent us out onto the streets to sell.” She shuddered. “We had thirty thousand dollars of what Dad and Ben snorted to repay.”
Jace frowned. “Even Payton worked for these people?”
“I kept her out of it. I promised I’d make twice as much if they didn’t send her out with us.”
Of course, she did. Taryn always came through for her family. It was part of why he loved her. “And when you paid off the money?”
“I don’t know. Things were going smoothly, and I was actually proud of Dad and Ben. I thought we might survive.”
Jace shook his head. “You were in their organization. You knew faces, names. They weren’t going to let you leave.”
“I came to that conclusion pretty quickly. I didn’t say anything to Dad or Ben, but we never got to find out. Dad hid a little money when his handler wasn’t looking. It was just one time. He told me it was his way of making sure that we had funds when we got out.”
“He never was a bright man,” Jace said.
Taryn’s lips twisted. “He was different when Mom was alive.” She was silent for a moment, and then she sighed slowly. “Of course, they discovered the missing money. They knew it was Dad. They brought us all into a room, hands tied behind our backs as they shoved us to our knees. I was between Ben and Dad. When the head guy showed up, Dad apologized and said he’d pay back what he had stolen. They put a bullet in his head before the last word left his mouth.”
“I’m sorry.” Jace wanted to reach out to her, to cover her hand with his, but he didn’t.
Her gaze went distant. “I thought we were all going to die. Payton was crying. Ben was in shock. Then they took Payton away, and we were put back to work. That was the last time I saw my sister face-to-face.”
“You’ve not seen her?”
“Only through a window if they’re feeling generous. I’ve not spoken to her.”
“So, you don’t know if they’re mistreating her.”
Taryn shook her head, weariness crossing her features.
Jace rubbed a hand across his jaw again. The full picture was coming into view, and he didn’t like what he saw. “How did your brother die?”
“He got sober, but instead of it making him smarter, it made him more stupid. He thought he could actually free us. He devised an elaborate plan to escape and get to the authorities so Payton and I could be rescued. With the way they always watched us, I told him it was stupid. But he was always coming up with crazy ideas after Dad was killed. I thought this one would be forgotten like all the others.”
“It wasn’t.”
She shook her head. “They caught him trying to break out. They shot him right there. I didn’t know then that he had broken into one of the offices where they stored the money and took some. That’s part of what I have to repay now.”
“But they got their money back. They caught Ben before he left.”
Taryn’s lips flattened as she nodded. “I know.”
“How much are we talking about?”
“I have to bring half a million dollars.”
Jace jerked back. “There’s no way Ben took that much.”
“He had about twenty grand on him. I’m the one who came up with the figure. It encompasses everything my father and Ben stole and did, with more added in for my and Payton’s freedom.”
Something about this didn’t sit right with Jace. What kind of criminals allowed someone like Taryn to leave? “And they just let you leave to get this money on your own?”
“If I don’t return in two days, they’re going to kill Payton.”
“How do you know they haven’t already?”
“I don’t. I only have their word.”
Jace slowly sat back. “Why didn’t you come to me before? You knew I would help.”
“I didn’t want you involved. I told them that you and I fought that night. That I was breaking up with you. That’s why they let me send that last text.”