As the two men amble out of the store, I personally don’t care where they wait now that I have a phone. I will deal with them later. My finger hovers over the touchscreen as I consider my options. Madison comes to mind. Lila will have her number but calling her directly is impossible as she would never answer an unknown number. Any business call would only be held up by an assistant or some other gatekeeper. Then, I think of a new tactic. If I can’t get ahold of one billionaire, perhaps I can another. I open an internet application, go to a search engine and type in the words: Georgia DeLane. Hundreds of thousands of hits. Then I enter Lila’s real name. Another incredible list. Then my name, which comes back with much more than I like. After a moment, I include the word TROUBLE, which brings back random answers. I turn to the shop’s owner.
“What’s the name of your store?” I ask. He gives it to me, and I enter it as yet another search term. And then we wait, hoping indeed big brother, or this case big sister, is watching. It takes three minutes for the store’s phone to ring.
The owner answers it, pauses, and then looks at me. “Are you Jael? It’s Kris.”
24
When the small convoy of jet-black SUVs descend upon the curb outside the electronics’ store, it is no surprise that Jay and his friend wisely evacuate at a run. The cavalry has arrived, and as we exit the store, Madison leaps from the lead vehicle to rush across the sidewalk to Lila. “Are you hurt?” she asks putting her hands on her shoulders, taking a quick visual appraisal of her.
Lila shakes her head, taking Madison’s hands in hers and squeezing. “I’m fine,” she says. “Thanks to Jael’s quick thinking.”
“I'm fine too,” I add with a smirk, and Madison gives me a cool glance.
“I can see that.” The moment holds as we stare at each other, tension thick in the air. Clearly, Madison blames me for what happened. Before I can explain, Lila steps between us.
“Please you two, don’t start,” she says putting a hand on my chest while still holding onto Madison’s hand. “Not now. Chloe is in trouble. Georgia DeLane has her, and with every second is getting further away.”
Madison's eyes widen. “What?” She pulls Lila toward the lead SUV. “Get in, and I'll make a call to Zena. Then, you can tell us the details.”
Lila shakes her head. “Wait, she took my purse. My phone with our app is in it. We need to be careful, just in case.”
“Fuck,” Madison growls as she climbs into the front passenger seat, and we jump into the backseat of the vehicle. I watch her take out her own phone and consider the screen. She clenches her jaw as she appraises the risk of making any calls from it. After another moment of deliberation, she picks a number. It connects immediately, and I imagine all her resources are on red alert. “Phones are compromised.” Then she disconnects and drops the phone into the center console. “Okay, that will be routed to Kris immediately. She will need to nuke the current phones. We’ve always known this could happen and prepared for it. New ones will be delivered by private couriers within the hour.”
“Smart,” I say with a nod, impressed once again at the resourcefulness of the billionaires. Yet, even when they think things are safe… “We need to have a conference immediately.”
Madison glances at me, and I think she might not like my use of the word 'we' but lets it go. As Lila said before, now is not the time. “Let’s move,” she tells the driver, and I hold up my hand to make her pause.
“Wait. The store’s owner. He needs to be compensated for his help. Saved us from what could have been real trouble.”
Madison doesn’t hesitate. “Lend me your phone,” she asks her driver, and he hands it over immediately. In thirty seconds, Madison has an assistant on the phone. “Send someone down here to reward the guy who owns the store.” She pauses to listen for a moment, then answers. “Make it life-changing.” She disconnects without another word and hands the phone back before looking at me. “We good now?”
I nod, impressed at her generosity. For as much as the woman irritates me, I sense she is good at the core. No doubt one of the things Claire sees in her. “Yes,” I answer. “Let’s go. There’s no more time to waste.”
The SUV pulls away with a screech of tires, and we are in the complex Los Angeles freeway system in seconds. No one speaks, each deep in our own thoughts about the situation, while the vehicle races along. I take Lila's hand, and she turns to me, sighing. Sadness and regret fill her eyes. She clearly feels entirely responsible for Chloe's predicament, and I want to unbuckle my seatbelt and slide closer to comfort her, but that will have to come later. Right now, we need to focus on the situation at hand. Georgia DeLane has kidnapped one of the billionaires. Something she tried to do before at the Hollywood Gala but was thwarted. I have no doubt the evil woman is gleeful to have accomplished it this time.
Madison’s estate, in the Pacific Palisades, is across the city, and traffic does not cooperate. “I should have sent for one of my fucking helicopters,” Madison curses. Thankfully, the driver is experienced and uses side streets to get us past the snarls. We soon race through an elaborate wrought-iron gate flanked by two brick columns. The winding driveway down the hill leads to a majestic home that I wish I had more time to appreciate. Perhaps someday I’ll ask Claire for a tour. For now, the SUV pulls up to the main steps, and Madison has her door open before the vehicle completely stops moving.
“Welcome to my humble home,” Madison says while Lila and I climb out to catch up with her. She leads us inside, and Claire meets us at the door. Her blue eyes are full of worry, but her bearing is calm and elegant, as always. Madison greets her with a quick kiss on the lips as we step into a foyer bigger than my first apartment.
“What’s happened?” Claire asks us.
“Georgia has Chloe,” Madison says with a growl.
Claire puts a hand to her mouth. “Oh my God,” she murmurs. “What does that woman want this time?”
“To go to your wedding,” I answer seeing no reason to mince words.
Claire and Madison both look at me, eyes wide. “What?” they say in unison.
“Does she think all the members of the club will be Claire’s bridesmaids or something?” Madison continues. “Ridiculous.”
“Not necessarily so ridiculous,” Lila explains. “I don’t think she expects all the club members to be there. She’s doing it more to show the world she fits in with us. I’ll explain more what I’m thinking when we get our phones and can call the others.”
An hour later, from the privacy of Madison’s study, Lila does precisely that as well as fill in Zena, Kris, Val, and a few of the others on the conference call. Everyone is shocked at the audacity of the woman to intercept us at the airport. Madison looks furious when she realizes her request for a driver to pick us up was the weak spot Georgia used to gain access to Chloe, Lila, and me. Something so routine. It only makes me realize just how much Georgia has been watching them.
“So, let me see if I understand this?” Val asks, her Eastern Bloc accent dripping with sarcasm. “She thinks she can become a celebrity? Be protected by popular opinion?” She snorts a laugh, but there is no humor in it. “What is it with you Americans?”