Into the Whirlwind by Kat Martin Read Free Book Online

yet.”
    Dirk went on to tell Sadie about Edwin O’Brien and Burton-Reasoner Industries. He told her about Solar-Renew and how the company had failed, told her about the layoffs and disgruntled employees, including the names of the two men O’Brien’s assistant had said made threatening remarks.
    â€œI’m also interested in Marcus Dunham and Bob Algreen. They had big jobs, Sadie, a lot to lose. See if either or both have been rehired someplace else.”
    â€œI’m on it,” Sadie said and hung up the phone.
    Dirk looked over at Meg. Her face was pale, the stress beginning to take its toll. It wasn’t supposed to bother him, not anymore. But he had known from the moment he had spotted her walking toward him at his house that what happened to her was going to take a toll on him, too.

Chapter Five
    Meg glanced at the clock. It was after one in the morning. The coffeepot was empty again. She needed to brew another pot. She glanced at the sienna granite countertop in her all-stainless kitchen. A shiny black coffeemaker, a top-of-the-line Krups, sat on the counter above the dishwasher, but she couldn’t find the energy to move in that direction.
    Meg raked back her hair, stylishly cut into layers that usually floated around her face. At the moment the long, red strands hung as limp and lifeless as the rest of her felt.
    She didn’t need more caffeine. She was already shaky and exhausted to the bone. At the same time restless energy poured through her. Worry and fear for her son numbed her mind yet kept her nerves strung to the breaking point.
    Her head jerked up at the sound of a cell phone ringing. She realized it was her dad’s, saw him stand up from the breakfast table where he sat and pull it out of the pocket of his slacks. He said something she couldn’t hear, hung up, and walked toward her across the kitchen.
    â€œWho was it?” Meg asked, terrified the kidnappers had finally made a ransom call to her father.
    â€œIt was your mother. I called her before I left the office, told her I had a meeting that might run late in the evening. She figured I should have been home by now. She was worried something had happened to me on the freeway.”
    â€œYou need to go home, Dad. Either that or you have to tell Mom what’s going on.”
    Her father shook his head. “I won’t do that. Once Charlie’s safe, I’ll tell her everything that’s happened. Not now. Not when I know the awful distress it will cause her.”
    In a way he was right. When the pressure of Edwin O’Brien’s job as president of Burton-Reasoner had become too much for his wife to handle, Patsy O’Brien had come close to a nervous breakdown.
    Her father had been frantic. He had stepped down immediately and her mother had recovered, but her dad had never forgotten the lesson. Since then, for him, family came first. That hadn’t changed.
    â€œMeg’s right,” Dirk said as he strode into the kitchen. “If you’re worried about your wife, you need to go to her, make sure she’s okay. You know, there’s always a chance these guys may try to contact you directly. It’s not likely they’ll call in the middle of the night, but we can’t be completely sure.”
    Tension seeped into her dad’s thick shoulders. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
    â€œYou need to be home if that happens. I’ll be here with Meg, and so will Mrs. Wills. I’ll be working on the computer, doing more digging. In the morning, if it looks clear, I’ll talk to the neighbors, see if they noticed anything out of the ordinary in the last couple of days. I’ll stay on this, Mr. O’Brien. I won’t let up until Charlie comes home.”
    Her dad released a slow breath. “All right. I’ll go home. I’ll make sure your mother is okay and be there in case these men call.” He looked over at Dirk. “But I expect you