His expression was pained. “We sent someone in to look for it, but they couldn’t find it. We heard, however, that she’ll know where her grandfather hid it.”
“Says who?”
“We have our sources.”
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t miss the bureaucratic bullshit that came along with the military. “Why not just fly her there yourself?”
“Unfortunately, this entire situation has become a bit too hot for those above me. We can’t have any record of this. That means no legal borders, no passports—no trace back to us.”
It took me a few moments to process the magnitude of what he was suggesting. “You need me to smuggle her into some Asian country so she can steal something off one of her grandfather’s ships for you?”
“Basically.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then I make a phone call, and your friends suffer.”
I turned and looked back at Blaire. This was how the game was played. I had pulled the exact same tactics on her to get her away from her home. I’d threatened the people she loved so she would comply with my demands. And for my efforts, she would probably be killed too. Guilt washed over me as she glared at me through the windshield. “If we do this for you, will you help her grandfather?”
He sounded amused. “Oh shit, is that fucking empathy?”
I had no idea why I was even bargaining for her grandfather’s life, but I lied. “I need her motivated.”
“Tell her whatever the fuck you want. I don’t care.”
“Where is he?”
“That’s the sad part of this story. We can’t save ol’ granddad.”
“You don’t know who’s got him.”
His tone hardened. “We’re working on it.”
I rubbed one hand down my face. This night had become one ugly, steaming mess. “What exactly are you asking me to retrieve?”
“That’s above your pay grade.”
“If I bring this back to you, I want to know who took the old man and where he’s at.”
He looked perplexed. “Why the fuck do you care? You know I can’t tell you that.”
I switched gears. “Who was on the mountain tonight? Was that one of yours?”
“No one was up there.”
I stepped so close to him he had to tilt his head back to look at me. Six men emerged from the shadows with their weapons pointed at me. I didn’t give a shit. “Someone was up there with me. Who was it?”
He swallowed. “If someone was up there, that would mean a third party is involved. But that’s unconfirmed.”
“You’re full of shit.”
“And here I thought I was being generous with my information.”
“Who is it?”
“Our intel has been a bit patchy. We think one of the parties has paid for a mercenary—but we aren’t sure why.”
Wow, tonight just keeps getting better and better. I glanced back at Blaire, but her head was down as she examined the door and probably her handcuffs. She was looking for a way out. I was too. In an attempt to increase our odds of surviving, I stepped back. “Do what you want with my business partner. I’m done here.”
Shock crossed Drake’s face. “You’d sacrifice your friends?”
“When no one wants to talk about who the bad guys are, it’s always a suicide mission. That means my friends are as good as dead. They don’t need to factor into my decision.”
He looked impressed. “That’s cold.”
“I’m being realistic.” I motioned my head toward my truck. “Where do you want her?”
Drake spoke quickly, too quickly, revealing his desperation. “I’ll tell you who took her grandfather, but only if you succeed in bringing back what I want.”
I worked to hide my own desperation to save Andrusha and Olivia. I pretended to debate my options. “Where is this cargo ship?”
“It’s due to arrive in Singapore in seventy-two hours. They won’t hurt him until this little situation is settled.”
“Last chance. What are we retrieving?”
He sighed heavily. “It’s a USB drive.”
“What’s on it?”
“None of your concern.”
I knew the advantage was mine, but it wouldn’t last long. “You need to stop tracking me.”
“That’s our protocol.”
“If you can track us, that means someone else can, too. I’m not going unless we can go dark.”
Drake didn’t like letting go of his control over the universe. “You’ll need to call in regularly.”
“Bribes cost money. Who’s financing this?”
He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out an envelope, and wrote a number on the back. “Here is a secure number and thirty thousand dollars cash. Only use a secure line.”
“If I find out that any of your men are tracking me, then as soon as I retrieve what you want, I will dispose of her and keep whatever is on that drive. If that happens, be prepared to bid high.”
His pupils dilated. “No need to make threats.”
“Those aren’t threats—those are just my terms.”
He looked sour. “Any other terms I should know about?”
Yeah. One day, when this is over, I will come looking for you. “I’ll keep you posted.”
He flushed, knowing I had the upper hand. “The ship docks in Singapore on Friday morning—make sure you’re there. And I want you to call that number and check in every twenty-four hours.”
I reached for the envelope. “No promises.”
He held onto the money. “You always this much of a fuck?”
“This is me being cordial.” I ripped the envelope from his grasp and moved toward my truck.
I could hear him speak to one of the men. “Tell everyone to stand down. Now.”
CHAPTER FOUR
A few moments earlier
BLAIRE
I sat in the truck and watched my captor and another man talk. I strained my eyes, not quite able to see the other man’s features beneath the shadows. I had no idea what was happening or why I was here, but I was so scared my entire body shook.
My monster stepped closer to the other man. I gasped as a group of men with huge guns emerged from various dark corners, all pointing their weapons at him. I held my breath, but no shots were fired. In a few moments, he would give me to the shadowy man who had ordered my kidnapping. As terrifying as my monster was, I knew in my gut that my life would get a lot worse when that happened.
This was bad.
This was really bad.
I needed to escape. I shifted the handcuffs along the door of the truck. I pulled on the cuffs until my wrists ached, but I was attached securely and there was no way I was getting free unless I had a key.
As my captor stalked back toward the truck, he threw something across the parking lot. I realized it was a cell phone that broke into pieces. Now, in exchange for his friends, he would hand me over. From behind him, even more men with big guns emerged from the shadows, but they only stood and watched.
My monster looked pissed. I tried to think of something, anything, to appeal to his humanity. If that didn’t work, I could perhaps bribe him to call the police after his friends were safe and tell them who took me.