by C. J. Felver
Lyza grabs my shoulder. “Hey, girl, we need to regroup.”
How could I let this happen? I’d waved off my father’s fears, promised him we’d fight if it came to that, then left him unprotected while his fears came to life.
“We need a plan,” Lyza says, giving me a shake. I take a deep breath and nod. She’s right. We’ll never find my dad with my mind a mess like this.
“You have your car keys on you?” I ask, knowing I’m in no state to be driving right now. Maybe riding around in the general direction the SUV took off in will give us something. It’s a long shot, I know, but if nothing else at least it’ll help clear my head a bit. And maybe get my heartbeat to stop thundering in my ears.
“Yeah, I got ’em right here,” she says, patting her pocket.
“Awesome, let’s go.” We take off in her Jeep and all I can think about is how badly I messed this up. I just got my dad back. I just broke him out of that horrible place after thinking the worst had happened to him.
For the past four years, I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. He warned me. He knew they would come back for him. I didn’t take him seriously.
“Alright, girl …” Lyza’s stern voice startles me from my thoughts. “I know you’re sitting there beating yourself up over this. Stop. Sometimes shit happens. It’s not. Your. Fault.” She pauses, reaching over to grab my hand. “You can’t blame yourself for the messed-up shit going on. It’s not going to help your dad. Reach inside and pull out that fire from the other night. You can do this. And I have your back the whole way.”
This. This is why I love Lyza.
My best friend may be rough around the edges, but she always tells me how it is, whether I want to hear it or not. I squeeze her hand, and she returns the gesture before pulling her hand from mine to grip the steering wheel. “You’re right, girl. I have been getting into my own head.”
She gives me a wide grin. “I know.”
It’s still partly my fault, but I won’t say it out loud. She’s likely to pull over if I do.
“How are we going to break him out of HSI Labs again? There’s no way we can get in and out of there a second time.”
Lyza's expression turns thoughtful. “What if they didn’t take him back to HSI Labs?”
This is what I’m afraid of. “How will I find him if they have him somewhere else? We need a totally new plan.”
“When you get your dad back this time, you’ll have to get him a beeper or something.”
A beeper?
Wait a minute …
“Oh my gosh, Lyza!” I turn in the passenger seat toward her. “What if they didn’t use your phone’s location tracking to find my dad? What if they have an actual tracker on him?”
Her mouth pops open as if her jaw came unhinged. “For someone who was held captive as long as he had been, I wouldn’t doubt they embedded something like that in him.”
“You don’t think they did that to you, too, do you?” Panic creeps in, sitting heavily on my chest.
“Nah, girl. I wasn't there long enough.”
“What about while you were unconscious?”
Her lips purse as she thinks for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. There aren’t any unusual spots on my body or anything.”
With that cleared up, I think we’re onto something. This could be it. This could help me find my dad. I could also be dead wrong. They could have only found my dad because they have possession of Lyza’s phone.
Not to mention that I have no idea how to utilize this epiphany anyway. Tech isn’t really my thing.
We’re in the rural part of town, now. We cut behind the main strip, taking shortcuts through the rear parking lots. The advantage of living in Lawrence most of our lives is we know our way around town.
Lyza slaps my arm, getting my attention. Her eyes flick up to the rearview mirror. “We’re being followed.”
Sure enough, in the side mirror a blacked-out SUV is reflected back at me. What the hell?
“Can we lose them?”
My question gets an eye roll in return. Without hesitating, she pulls back onto the road, gunning it through a yellow light. The next five minutes are spent weaving through traffic, basically doing whatever she can to evade the asshat following us.
The only problem is, it’s not working.
“Pull over up here,” I tell her, indicating a parking lot behind the alleyway in the gap of two buildings. She looks at me, perplexed.
“You can’t be serious,” she questions.
“Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but we’re obviously not losing this guy. Maybe we can turn the tables to our advantage.”
She releases a heavy sigh, but parks her Jeep anyway. “What are you planning?”
I chew on my lip for a second before answering. “Well …”
“Out with it, girl.”
“It’s a little crazy, but … I think we should try to get information out of whoever is following us.”
“Perfect. Let’s go.” She opens her door, hops out, and waits at the front of her Jeep for me to join her. Together, we head for the alleyway. Just before we duck around the corner, the blacked-out SUV pulls into the parking lot.
Right on time.
“Okay, since you may be emotionally compromised, maybe I should do the talking,” she says in a rushed whisper.
“What?” I mockingly gasp at her, knowing fully well it’s true. “Me? Emotionally compromised? No way. What about you?”
She stares at me, unblinking. “Yeah, okay, you have a point.” Then her eyes glitter with mischief as the sound of approaching footsteps effectively cuts our conversation short. “But still … maybe I should do the talking.”
Lyza steps around the corner first, not giving me a chance to argue with her. “You?” she says in an accusatory tone. The sound of her fist colliding with flesh echoes off the walls, followed by a grunt.
I step out then, eager to see who has her riled up. A man is crouching forward, clutching his nose, but when he straightens, familiar brown eyes meet mine once again.
Anger fills me and I lunge forward, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him into the wall. It does nothing to ebb the hot rage running through my limbs though. If anything, it only fuels it, making it worse.
His eyes widen and his eyebrows shoot almost to his hairline. He puts his hands up in surrender.
“Who are you?” I demand, my tone guttural and unyielding.
“Wren,” he chokes out in surprise, then clears his throat and schools his features. “My name is Wren.”
His face continues to transform. Jaw muscles tick, his eyes harden. I study him for a moment, trying to decide what to ask next. There’s so much I can learn from him.
“Where is my dad? What did you do with him?”
Wren stays silent, his face—admittedly handsome—callous and calculating as his eyes sweep over my face, then over my shoulder to Lyza. I doubt he’ll let me continue to hold him against the wall like this, our bodies flush together, for long.
I tighten my fists around his collar, wishing I had thought to wear my altered hoodie today. Though, expanding my senses, I know there is a source close by, but … I can’t decide if it’s worth causing a scene. Who knows who could be watching?
“He’s with my team. He’s not at HSI Labs,” he finally answers, confirming my fears. He almost looks apologetic, but whatever I saw flickers away in an instant.
“What do you mean he’s with your team? Where—”
“Look, Cleo,” he interrupts. I haven't the slightest idea how he knows my name. “I don’t have time to play twenty questions with you. I came to tell you something. Don’t go home.” He spits the words at me as if they are poison, then he breaks the hold I have on his collar, causing me to take a step away from him. “They’ll be waiting for you.” His tone is softer this time, leaving me confused and reminding me of how he let us go last night.
“Why are you doing this?” I need to know. Nothing about this man seems to make
any sense.
He doesn’t answer me. He just stares at me while he grabs the radio attached to his shoulder.
“I have eyes on both targets. Suspects are fleeing location on foot. I’m in pursuit.” Reaching into his vest pocket, he pulls out Lyza’s phone and tosses it to her. “Don’t worry, it’s not bugged,” he says. He then turns and jogs back to his vehicle, driving in the direction of our apartment.
“What an asshole,” Lyza mutters.
“You’re not kidding,” I answer back under my breath. “Well, let’s get out of here. We need to find where the heck they have my dad before Wren—” I sneer his name “—leads his team back to us.”
“So, we need to figure out why those people are so damn fixated on him.”
“That’s what has me confused. Why is he so important to them? They’ve had him for the last four years, we bust him out and they come back for him the very next day. There’s definitely a reason, but I have no idea what.”
Back inside Lyza’s Jeep, she starts up the engine. “Alright. Here’s what we know: AGAS has it out for your dad, he isn’t at HSI Labs, and we can’t go home …” She counts off on her fingers as she makes her list. “Oh, and we have no idea how to find him.”
Thanks for that.
“Luckily for us, I have an idea,” Lyza says. “This guy I’ve been seeing has some extra space. I doubt he’d mind us crashing there. And he’s good with tech stuff. He might be able to help with Frank.”
I knew she’s been seeing someone. “What’s this guy’s name?”
“Zander Mallum.”
Discussions
Lyza parks in front of an old Victorian style house. “So how long have you been seeing this guy?”
She shrugs, making a thoughtful sound as she knocks on the door. “Not very long. It’s nothing serious, just a fun time a few nights a week.”
My reply is cut off by the door opening. Zander—I’m assuming—is only a little taller than Lyza’s five feet seven inches, and muscular, with his blond hair up in a bun. His bright green eyes land on Lyza first and a flicker of lust crosses his face. “Hey,” he says, his gaze trailing over to me, brows creasing in confusion. He rubs the back of his neck, eyes darting between me and Lyza. “I didn’t know you were coming over today. I haven’t heard from you in a few days.”
“I know. A lot has happened, and I’m sorry to just show up like this, but I—we,” she amends, gesturing to me, “need your help.
“Sure, anything you need,” he says, pulling the door open and stepping aside, allowing us to enter. “Uh, Cleo … right?” I nod, completely surprised that he knows of me since I know nothing about him.
Lyza leads me to a family room where a plush gray couch and matching armchairs wait, looking cozy and inviting. The two of us sit on the couch and Zander sits across from us on one of the armchairs.
“What’s going on, Lyza,” he asks.
She looks down at her fingers intertwined in her lap, after a moment, she lifts her head and tells him about the rally, her and my dad’s abductions, finishing with how she lost her phone in the process, only getting it back, completely dead, just before getting here.
For a minute, Zander sits there motionless, then he leans back against his chair. His cheeks puff out and he lets out a huffy breath. “Holy shit. Are you alright? Do you need a place to stay?”
“You wouldn’t mind? Our place isn’t safe.”
“If it keeps you safe, it’s fine by me,” he says before looking at me. “I have an extra room for you too, Cleo.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, not really sure how I feel about staying in a stranger’s house. At this point, what other choice do I have? And Lyza trusts him, so that’ll have to be enough for me. “Lyza mentioned you being good with tech related stuff …” I hedge, silently hoping she’s right.
He lets out a chuckle, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees, eyes briefly darting to Lyza. “Yeah, I’m good with tech. Do you need computer help, or something?” he asks, his expression quizzical.
“No, I—” Jeez, how do I begin? Anything I say is probably going to make me sound like a lunatic. I decide to come right out with it—better to be straightforward. “How familiar are you with tracking devices?”
This seems to take him by surprise. His mouth pops open the slightest bit and his eyebrows almost disappear into his hairline, before smashing together as concern crosses his face.
“Uh, pretty familiar. What kind of tracking devices are we talking about here? Like a vehicle tracker, or something else?”
“Uh,” Lyza and I share a look, “something else.”
“What’s with the look? Does this have to do with the AGAS shit you were just talking about?” His perceptive eyes rove over each of us as he speaks.
“Yes, and we think they have some sort of tracker on my dad, Frank, and I’m hoping you can somehow hack the location from it and help me get him back.”
Zander blows out a breath. He leans back in his chair, dragging his hand across his face. The suspense is practically killing me. He purses his lips for a moment before speaking. “Yeah, I think I can help. But AGAS is some heavy shit.”
“You’re right. And I totally understand if you don’t want to get involved.”
“No, no …” A wicked grin spreads across his face. “I’d love a chance to stick it to AGAS.”
I heave a relieved sigh. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful I am.”
He chuckles. “Don’t worry about it. It’s no problem.”
“Well, still. Thank you. And, uh, how much do you want for something like this? Helping me track down my dad, and removing whatever device they have on him?”
At this point, I don’t even care how much it costs. I’ll do whatever—pay whatever to get my dad back safely.
“I’m not worried about that,” he says, waving his hand dismissively. “There’s no way, in good conscience, I could ask for money to help out Lyza’s best friend.”
“Seriously?” I squeak. Oh my gosh. The pitch of my voice is pretty embarrassing. Lyza snorts a laugh beside me, catching Zander’s gaze. He looks over her thoughtfully before returning to me.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” He glances at his watch. “When do you want to get started on this? I have time now if you’re good with that.”
I look to Lyza. She gives me a look as if to say Why are you asking me? Do what you want. “Yep. Definitely. We have time right now. The sooner the better,” I tell him, nodding enthusiastically.
“Okay. Follow me, then,” he says. Getting up from the couch, we follow as he leads us down the hall to a room absolutely buzzing with energy. Computer monitors line the entire surface of a desk. Towers and wires are all over the place, the room looking like something you would only expect to see in a movie or on a TV show.
Sitting in a huge rolling chair, Zander gestures to a few other chairs in the room. Lyza and I each pull one over and sit across from him.
Turning around to face his mega computer, he starts typing. For a few minutes, all we hear is the echo of tapping keys and mouse clicks, with the occasional grunt of frustration from Zander. I try to follow what he’s doing, but his screen is filled with a series of codes and maps that I couldn’t hope to read.
The clicking stops as Zander turns to face me, asking me questions, like my dad’s name, when he went missing, where he was when he went missing. I give him the answer to any question he asks, hoping that anything will help. The map on his screen moves, zooming out and shifting areas. Numbers scroll across, shuffling in sequences before refreshing and changing areas, beginning the whole process over again. It’s mesmerizing to watch.
A little blinking spot shows up the next time the map changes. Zander zooms in on the area, enlarging the location over and over. “Got him,” he says.
“Are you sure this is where my dad is?” I ask, skeptical.
He nods. “The location is stationary, so we were in luck. It looks like he’s being held about fiftee
n minutes away. At some sort of corporate warehouse. I’ll plug it into my GPS and we can take my car.”
We follow closely behind Zander. Am I really going to get my dad back today?
As we walk through the door into the garage, which is much bigger than I expected to see, I’m shocked by what’s inside.
There are half a dozen high-end cars sitting in here. Never being a car buff myself, I have no idea what any of them are called, but looking at the sleek bodies tells me they were all made for speed: AKA, extremely expensive. The exception is one utility van and a silver SUV. They both look super out of place here. What the hell does a tech dude need a utility van for?
Zander leads us to a silver two-door car. After opening the door, Lyza pulls the passenger seat forward and I crawl into the back seat—perks of being short. My bestie sits in the front seat after pushing it back into place. Holy freaking lap of luxury. This car, whatever it is, is definitely way out of my price range. The leather seats practically wrap themselves around me. The engine starts with a purr, sounding like it’s begging him to press the gas pedal to the floor.
Why we’re taking a two-door coupe, I have no idea. It doesn’t seem ideal for three people heading to rescue another. For speed in case we need to make a quick getaway? I’m not going to question him, especially since he’s going out of his way to help me. For free, I might add.
As soon as all of the doors are shut, he takes off like a bat out of hell. “I’ll drop you off a few blocks away so we don’t alert anyone.”
“Drop us off?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he replies. “If you want me to go with you, I will. But I’m more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Lyza says. “I think Cleo and I can handle getting Frank out of there on our own. Right, girl?”
“Yep. It’s probably better that way, anyway. No offense.”
“None taken,” Zander says. “When you’re done, meet me at the corner of Platt and Third, then I’ll help you get the tracker off your dad and destroy it.”