The Doll by Taylor Stevens Page A

paused and then, as if the idea of Logan bored her, said, “I haven’t the foggiest clue.”
    “But you knew they’d take him?”
    “Oh, please,” she said. “Me? Locked up in here?”
    “Look, Kate,” he said. “I’m not here to prove or disprove anything. I don’t have a recorder on me, I’m not taking notes, I’m not going to quote you, I’m not here to make your life difficult. I just want to find Michael. The men who took Logan have already broken bones, he’s cut and bleeding bad, and I’ve got it on tape. I need to find him before they kill him. Do you know where he is?”
    “I don’t,” she said.
    “Nor do you care.”
    “No, not really.”
    “And you had a hand in this?”
    She shrugged. “Wouldn’t matter either way, would it? I’m already locked up, aren’t I?” She smiled again knowingly, teasingly, and Bradford understood then, ran the numbers, the timing, and it made sense now how it was that those who had taken Munroe had known where to find her. “You pointed the Tisdale family toward me to get to Michael, didn’t you?” Breeden didn’t answer, but her smile widened, as if it pleased her that at least he grasped her brilliance.
    “They’re going to kill her,” Bradford said. “You know that, right?”
    “Maybe,” Breeden said. “And maybe you should have thought about that before you put me in a room with no way out as a way to protect her.”
    “I didn’t put you here.”
    “Well, you made damn sure I wouldn’t get out,” she said, and then let out another long exhalation of imaginary smoke. “Someone always loses, Miles, and this time it won’t be me.”
    “The information isn’t going to go away.”
    She smiled once more, this time witheringly. “That’s the problem with men like you, all tough guy and bang-bang,” she said. “You’re stupid and short-sighted. Honestly, I don’t know what Michael sees in you—you don’t exactly play in her league.” She leaned back, phone placed on the desk, and stared at him a long while before returning to the handset and speaking again. “Do you know why Michael partnered with me?”
    “Yeah, I do,” Bradford said.
    “She didn’t allow me close because I was a lawyer, or even a friend or surrogate mother figure—”
    He cut her off. “I know why she partnered with you, Kate. Does it make you feel good to say it?”
    Breeden continued as if he’d never spoken. “I am as tough and devious as she is, Miles. You’d be wise to remember that.” She paused. Turned her eyes directly to his. “There’s not a thing you can do to me now,” she said. “If that information leaks, they’ll know it didn’t come from me.”
    Bradford leaned toward the glass. “If that’s true, then there’s no harm in telling me where they’ve taken her.”
    She rolled her eyes. “You really aren’t the brightest bulb in the box, are you? You have the information. You’ve always had it. Go be a good little boy and figure it out for yourself.”
    He waited for the sting of frustration to pass and then, calm, emotionless, said, “You’re right, I’m not the smartest man. Perhaps I should ask for help in figuring this thing out—maybe from the media and law enforcement.”
    She laughed once more. “Oh, Miles, darling, such pleasant entertainment you provide today. You already had your shot at trying to destroy me,” she said. “You’re good, but you aren’t that good. I’m free of you now and I do find your myopia pathetically amusing, running here and there, so focused on Logan that you can’t see the bigger picture. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t possibly help someone so hopelessly obtuse.” She paused, nodded knowingly. “Don’t waste what precious little time you have.” And with that she put down the phone, stood, turned, and walked toward the guard on the other side.
    Bradford watched her go, and when she was fully out of sight, he, too, stood. On his way out, he detoured for the additional hassle and