“Hallene clearly made it out of the place in South America where she found you then came to get me to help her in a second attempt.” No reason to mention how Hallene had convinced him to join her.
“Why you?”
“Just lucky I guess.” He tried to smile.
Phoebe was not impressed. She continued to drill holes through him with angry eyes similar to the shape of Hallene’s.
Sam thought about how much to tell her, but the girl was up to her neck in a mess that was not of her own doing. “I was with a team inserting into the mansion where you were held. I—”
“Why?”
Just his luck to get a teenager who questioned every word. Come to think of it, his sister had been like that as a teen.
“We are hunting a different kidnapped person.” Damn, he might get usable intel from this girl. “Did you see a man who has also been captured?”
“No. They’ve kept me alone in a bedroom everywhere I’ve been moved to before ’ere. Alone except for the creep guardin’ me in that mansion. That’s who smacked Hallene when she found me.” She looked down at Hallene and brushed hair behind her ear. Her harsh tone softened. “Soon as I realized was me ’alf-sister walkin’ into me bedroom, I tried to warn ’er but ...” She sniffled. “The buggah knocked ’er out and dragged ’er away. I knew if she died, I would too. I lost it and threw a wobbly. They taped me mouth shut to plug me screams.”
Hallene had made it sound as if she and Phoebe were estranged, but maybe Phoebe didn’t feel that way. Or maybe realizing her half-sister had tried to rescue her softened Phoebe’s side of the relationship. Being a teenager, she probably kept her feelings to herself, but seeing Hallene back again to find her might have touched a place no one else had been able to reach.
Sam said, “When I found Hallene in the basement of that mansion, everyone was gone except her and three guards. My team would have rescued you had we found you there.”
Phoebe gave him a thousand-yard stare. “Wot were the bloody guards doin’ to Hallene?”
He didn’t want to freak Phoebe out more, but he also didn’t want her to not trust him because of lying to her. He needed her to listen to him for any hope of escaping. “A guard was torturing her when I walked in.”
Phoebe’s face crumpled. A tear slid down her cheek.
Sam quickly added, “But I freed her before he could do more.”
The girl sniffled and swallowed. “Wot about the bloody fucker who ’urt ’er?”
“He’s dead.”
She nodded. “Yeh.”
Sam could understand that blood-thirsty feeling after what Phoebe had been through. He felt she needed to appreciate her half-sister’s skills. “To be honest, Hallene had neutralized him before I reached her. She’s one heck of a badass.”
Surprise lit Phoebe’s face.
She didn’t know much about Hallene, huh?
He didn’t know why he felt the need to help those two be closer when he’d never figured out how to bond with his own sister, but he didn’t want Hallene to ever regret missed opportunities the way he had.
Said badass moaned and moved her head.
Phoebe murmured, “Hallene? You awake?”
Mumbling something that made no sense, Hallene lifted her hand to her cheek where a bruise was forming.
Sam felt a renewed blood-thirsty lusting seeing Hallene hurt.
Eyes blinking, Hallene looked up at Phoebe. “We found you!”
The thrill in her voice made Phoebe happy. She smiled through tears. “You are one determined bird.”
“Sam?” Hallene called out.
“Here.” He jumped up and moved closer to Phoebe, hoping the girl now realized he was not the enemy. He and Phoebe helped Hallene sit up.
