“So the locater was working. That’s how you found my plane.”

Alex shook his head. “Gotta be in line of sight to pick up its signal. They weren’t able to get any search planes in the air because of the storm and wind. Someone on the ground saw your plane in trouble and called it in. We had to guess where you went down.”

Breathe in and out. Keep it even. His arms started to ache from their elevated position. Brynn’s gaze never dropped from his. She was his lifeline. Focus on her. “What have you got on Whittenhall? Why would he change the flight plan for you?”

One side of Darrin’s mouth twisted up, but he didn’t answer.

Alex could tell the man wanted to answer. Darrin liked to talk. Especially when he thought he held the upper hand. Alex pushed harder. “I knew Whittenhall was dirty, and he pulled Linus into it with him.”

Darrin smirked. “Idiot. Linus couldn’t handle his addiction. Put that lovely family at risk because he was too spineless to handle a little gambling.”

Rage ripped through Alex’s nerves. Don’t think of Linus’s kids. He loosened his locked knees.

“What happened to Linus?”

Darrin shrugged. “He was dead when I woke up.”

“The pilots weren’t.”

“One pilot was. The other was on his way.”

Brynn struggled at Darrin’s words, her eyes narrowing.

“You could have done something,” Alex shot back.

Darrin’s eyes widened. “Like what? Hold his hand? He called me an asshole. I was more than happy to let him watch the blood slowly drain from his body. I didn’t owe him anything.” His eyes darted about as he snorted.

“What did Whittenhall owe you? What was big enough to make him set up a chance for you to walk away, disappear?”

Darrin tilted his head as if debating an answer. “He’s my cousin.”

Alex blinked. “Family ties? He’s breaking you out of prison because you’re related? I don’t believe it.” That can’t be all. If Darrin were his cousin, he’d put as much distance between them as possible.

Darrin shook his head, a grin splitting his face. “No. It’s much more than that. Cousin Paul and I were very close while growing up. Even if he was ten years older.”

“So you were close. How close?” Alex gave a smirk and raised a brow. He’d learned early on that Darrin got agitated if Alex hinted he thought Darrin had homosexual tendencies. It was one of the ways he could get Darrin to talk more, spill more secrets. Anger seemed to loosen the filter between Darrin’s mouth and brain.

“Fuck you!” Darrin’s knuckles whitened on the gun. “I’m not a faggot! It wasn’t like that!”

“Then what are you talking about? You’re not making sense. You’re just talking in circles.”

“He was there! He was there for my first!”

“Your first faggot blow job?”

“My first kill! He was there! He watched and did nothing to help her!” Darrin’s grip tightened on Brynn’s neck again. She shuffled with her bound feet, fighting to keep her balance.

“Who? Brenda?” Brenda Jeal had been Darrin’s first victim twenty years ago. Her lovely face flashed through Alex’s mind, followed by a dozen others.

Darrin laughed, anger evaporating, and waved a dismissing hand. “God no, way before that. Shit. We were still kids.”

Fury bubbled up Alex’s spine. Kids? He’d killed as a child? And Whittenhall had been there? “Kids?”

“Paul’s younger sister.” Darrin said the words like they tasted like the finest chocolate. Rich and delicious.

“What?” Bile curdled in his stomach. Darrin was lying. No one would…

“She drowned and we watched.”

“You couldn’t get to her?” Please, God.

“No, we were there in the pool with her. She couldn’t swim. We watched.” He gave a slow smile.

Pool. Drowning. Samuel. Alex physically deflated, his arms dropping. A wave of Darrin’s gun had him lifting them back in the icy air.

Darrin laughed. “Oh, sorry. Remind you of someone?”

Alex blinked to get Samuel’s innocent face out of his mind. He mentally steeled his determination.

“I’m not armed. Let’s see you try to take me down. You’ve always said you could kick my ass if you weren’t sitting in a jail cell. Here’s your chance to prove it.”

Darrin rolled his eyes, but Alex saw the interest flicker. “Yeah, right. I’m the one with a gun. Try to talk me into putting it down.” He turned the gun on Alex. “I’ve thought a lot about how I would kill you if I had the chance. I’ve had lots of time to think. A bullet in the brain would end things too quickly. I wouldn’t like that. I’ve heard kneecaps are nice and painful, but I don’t trust my aim to be accurate enough to hit your skinny legs.”

Alex closed his eyes. Better the gun on me than Brynn.

“Open your eyes!” Darrin shrieked.

Alex obeyed. Darrin looked overstimulated, crazed, like a kid who’d been sucking down sugar and caffeine all day.

“Gut shot. I should be able to do that. You don’t die right away unless I rip your aorta or something. I’ve heard people can suffer for days after being shot in the stomach. You’ll be begging me to shoot you in the head.”

Darrin’s eyes lit up, and his gun lowered slightly to line up with Alex’s stomach. Brynn thrashed in his grip. “No! Don’t!”