by Anne Leigh
Sven said, “I know you won’t, but I’ll give you details on where they’re taking her if you give us five minutes head start.”
No way.
Liam was already alerting Salvatore. I didn’t have to confirm it, but from the way Liam kept looking at his phone, I knew Salvatore’s crew were either here or were already on their way.
“You’re not in the position to give orders but I’ll think about it,” I said, readying my fist to throw another punch in case he thought lying was one of my favorite traits.
Sven was quiet, probably weighing his options then he started talking, “When we arrived here, there were two guys ready to take her. I’m not very good in Spanish, but after the wire transfer was complete, I heard one of the guys say Miami.”
Miami? It would make sense since Felipe loved it there.
Liam inserted, “Why are you guys still here?”
The shorter dude answered, “They jacked up our car. Before those hoodlums left, I think they did something to our car so we’re waiting for one of my friends to pick us up.”
Wasn’t this a comedy? If Athena wasn’t missing, I’d find this hilarious somehow.
But not right now.
“Did you hear anything else?” I inquired. They weren’t involved in the whole El Padre scheme of things, but they were still hired killers and I couldn’t let them loose. “Do you have any connection with them now?”
“No. Everything was a one-time transaction. Through texts.” Sven spouted off his phone number while wiping the side of his face with his shirt. The bleeding had now slowed. “Are we allowed to go?”
“Tony, you got that?” I asked Tony. He’d be tracing those texts and forage any intel from them.
Liam gestured, his fingers circling in the air, Salvatore was here. As much as I wanted to deliver justice for Athena, these men were at the bottom of the totem pole. But they still saw her as an ATM and I couldn’t live with that.
“You can go do your shit in the bathroom,” I said, my mind was already working on how to get to Miami. I doubt that they’re anywhere near Miami right now if they didn’t take a plane. The roads would be our best chance to get her back.
Sven’s head bobbed, “Yeah?”
“After that, you gotta deal with the consquences of all the crimes that you’ve committed. It’s time to pay up,” Liam said, as he finished tying the hands of the shorter guy with a small blanket. The men weren’t going to be able to escape.
The house was surrounded by the FBI.
I hoped Salvatore remembered these high-profile captures we’d done for him because I needed him to be on my side when shit hit the ceiling and splattered the walls of what was morally right and wrong.
For Athena, I would cross over to the side where everything was murky and gray, where it wasn’t a choice to be good or bad.
I’d been raised to do what was right and find the justice in it.
Even when it came to Caterina, I chose what was best for my job and my country even when my heart was left in splinters.
But for Athena…I would break all the rules.
To get to her.
To have her back in my arms.
Because I loved her…that much.
“Sir…” I started, there wasn’t any easy way to do this. I’d rather be sticking my face in mud and not come up for hours than make this call. But it had to be done.
“Hold on, son. I just have to log these results and then we can talk.”
The lead in my chest felt ten times heavier. Joseph sounded so upbeat; he usually did when he was in his lab.
I heard keyboard tapping, a few pings, and then silence. It wasn’t uncommon for Joseph to become lost in his own thoughts so all I could do was wait.
I looked around at my surroundings, the motel we were staying at didn’t have much, but it suited us for the night. Liam had gone out to grab some grub, leaving me time alone to make this call. Tony was hard at work, checking all possible leads. At this point in time, anything would help.
Sven and his compatriot didn’t know shit and as much as I wanted to break their faces, it wasn’t going to do anything to change the situation.
My woman was somewhere out there, in the hands of strangers who wouldn’t even lift a brow to kill her. She was a job to them, and the job security and paycheck that they would get when they handed her to El Padre was the only thing keeping her alive.
I lowered my head, examining the dirty threads of the stained carpet flooring, and letting my mind come up empty for a second.
But my brain wouldn’t let me –
And my heart didn’t allow it –
I wanted to punch the wall with my fists and break every piece of standing furniture in sight.
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and put her kidnappers on a firing squad line and pick at them, make them fucking bleed, and make them question their own sanity.
I wanted…
I wanted…
Just to know where she was at so I could do what I did best…
And bring her home, back to me, back to my arms and never let her go.
“So how’s it going, son? How’s everything with my daughter?” Joseph’s voice came through the phone that I’d placed on top of the reddish/brown or brownish/pink bed sheets that definitely needed two or three cycles in the washing machine. Motels weren’t known for being spic n’ span; they were quick getaways for people like me who needed a few hours of sleep.
I took a deep breath, “Athena’s not with me. She’s ah – “
“My daughter’s pretty well-behaved, Webb. Is she off to some party that you don’t approve of? It’s only 3 there, even for a guy like you, you gotta know that the real parties don’t start til after midnight.”
Oh fucking God, how I wish that was the case. That Athena was at some lame-ass party. Anything other than this.
“No Sir,” I said. There was no other way to deliver the news and I wouldn’t lie to her father about this.
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Joseph.” It was an order, not a question.
“Joseph, something’s happened,” I said, my throat closing in on itself. I’d been in this situation before, the few times I’d had to call family members to let them know that their sons or daughters had been injured, and three times, I’d made a call to let them know that they had passed. Those weren’t easy calls, but I stayed on the line because while I could’ve asked another person to notify them, these people were under my command, and it would be a disservice to the life they’d sacrificed if I couldn’t even tell their loved ones that they didn’t make it.
All those calls were heavy on a man’s soul. They took the last vestiges of energy you had and drained them away.
But nothing –
Nothing could compare to this.
The sound of a father quietly containing his sobs sounded in my ear, “Webb…my daughter.”
And nothing could prepare me for this.
The echo of my heart shattering sounded through my voice. “Athena’s been taken by El Padre’s men.”
The silence on the other line was ear-splintering so I continued, “I was questioned when we arrived here and during the time that I was held in custody, they grabbed her and now, Liam and I, are trying to find out where she is. Her last known location was in Maywood. El Padre paid off two hired men to pick her up from the airport and those men are now in FBI custody. We believe that they’re on their way to Miami with her.”
“Florida?” Joseph questioned, he was probably remembering the last time he was in Florida and why we were in a hurry to extract him.
“Yes. El Padre has a few houses there.” Satan loved humidity and excess. “I wish I could say more, Si—Joseph. But I promise you…on my father and Ryder’s graves…I will bring her back.”
“Bring her back to me, Webb.” His voice was broken but hopeful. “She’s everything to me. Without her…”
“There’s nothing I won’t do to get her back, Joseph. I
promise.” It was liberating to say it because when it came to Athena, there were no moral barriers for me. I’d hunt, gut, and kill willingly. My country had trained me to become one of the best, to fight enemies that threatened the safety of our sovereign. Now I see the difference. When it came to the woman I loved, the lines between right and wrong were so blurred that I couldn’t even make out their shadows.
“I’ll give you three days to find her.” Joseph’s voice was resolute.
“Joseph, I hope it will be sooner than that.” With Tony’s intel, hopefully we can cross Athena and her kidnappers’ paths within a day. The longer they had her, the greater the chances of them hurting her.
“Three days, Webb.” This was no longer the sound of a scientist who owned Nobel Peace Prizes. Nor was it the sound of a man who commanded the CDC.
“And if in three days we don’t have her?” I didn’t even want to think about it.
“If in three days you don’t have my daughter…” No, this was the sound of a father who loved, and was willing to risk it all. “I will broker a deal with El Padre.”
“Joseph, El Padre’s not a man who makes deals,” I warned. “He only takes and takes and he’s going to leave you with nothing if you give him what he wants.”
“He has my everything, Webb,” Joseph said, resigned. “I can live without my career. I can survive without my awards and money’s never been a motive for me. But if he harms my daughter, he might as well take my life.”
Money gave power. Power amassed wealth. But love?
Love transcended them both.
“I’ll bring Athena back,” I vowed. Because she was everything to me, too.
I wanted to tell him that I loved his daughter, but now was not the time. Especially since he was entrusting me with bringing her back, so I slowly added, “Because she means a lot to me as well.”
“Okay,” he said, the weight of my news heavily burdening him. “Call me as soon as you have anything on her.”
“I will.”
“Three days,” he repeated, as if he was already considering it to be his only resort.
“She’ll be safe in less than that,” I assured him because even if I couldn’t guarantee it one hundred percent, there was no way in hell that I was going to put Joseph in a deal-making situation with El Padre.
El Padre wanted Joseph’s formula.
He must have wanted it badly to go to these lengths to get it.
But there’s one more thing that El Padre would be willing to trade for.
One person that he’d want as much as Athena or Joseph.
Me.
“Got something, boss.” My phone chirped twice and before it went to third, I had it up by my ear.
“Go,” I said to Tony. I glanced at the small digital clock with its dim backlight. 1:22 AM.
I forced myself to sleep. I knew I had to have the energy to keep going. I’d need everything my body could give me and more. Physically, mentally, emotionally.
As soon as Liam hit the small bed beside mine, he was snoring. Last time I checked the clock it was 10:15 PM. I could manage on two hours of sleep with no problems. Gotta thank the Navy for that.
“I was checking the highway cameras and the live feeds from interstate highway patrol cam’s and I think I’m on to something.” Tony didn’t sound tired. It must be those high-energy drinks. He probably hadn’t gone to sleep. I’d double his salary if we found Athena, but I’m keeping that to myself for now.
Rubbing my eyes with the back of my left hand, I muttered, “Alright…”
“Not many cars would be driving the I-10 at odd hours of the night, right? I mean, sure, there could be hundreds. Truckers, buses, mini Coopers. I should get myself a Mini,” Tony sounded off, he could talk for hours.
“Tony,” I said, trying to bring his focus back. “Where are they?”
“I think I got this right, boss. I mean, I hope I’m right because if not, jaayzus. I don’t want to be fired from my first legal job you know. Plus, you cover health insurance and even threw in dental. Where would I get that in the real world?” He droned on and there were times when control was an afterthought.
“Tony, where the fuck are they?” My voice got louder which made Liam jump out of his bed and yell, “Where the fuck is the fire?”
I shooed him and said to the phone, “How far are they?”
“If I’m right, boss. I’m saying 71.5 percent right. Ten percent can be deducted for poor camera lighting on the roads. Five percent could be –“
I stood up, grabbed the shirt hanging on the chair and said, “Where. Is. Athena?”
The seriousness in my tone had Liam turning on the lamp by his side.
“They’re about a hundred and twenty miles away, boss.” His voice held hope. And damn if that didn’t re-energize me.
“Are they stopped or moving?” The hundred twenty miles could become two hundred in the blink of an eye if they were still on the go.
Tony paused and then, “Hold on, boss. Gimme a few.”
I took my wallet from the table and tucked it inside my pants, grabbed my car keys and by the time we were out the door, Liam had even managed to brush his teeth. The advantage of working with trained soldiers.
The motel was already paid for so there was no need to visit the front desk.
I handed the keys to Liam when we neared my car.
Tony started talking as we pulled out of the motel. “They’re driving a grey Dodge Journey. From what I can see on the highway cams, there are two men, a driver and a passenger. I don’t see Athena though.”
“She’s in the trunk,” I said, no matter how hard I tried to clear my emotions, all I could see was Athena tied and drugged in the back of the car. “They have to hide her or she’ll raise suspicion if she was in the back seat all drugged out. Especially if they’d gone through toll roads.”
Liam spoke, “So are they parked? Or still moving?”
Tony answered, “They’re parked by a Holiday Inn Express. I’m sending you the address right now.”
I eyed the odometer, 78 mph. Liam was driving as fast as he could without being flagged by a highway patrol officer. Anything above that would trigger radar guns and we couldn’t afford to be stopped right now. Especially not since we have an advantage.
I patched the address that Tony sent on my phone to my car’s GPS.
“How long have they been there?” Liam voiced out, like me, he was trying to determine what the assholes had been up to.
“From the time they got on the 10, they’ve stopped twice. Once at Indio Boulevard and Jefferson and then a gas station near the Sacaton rest area. The men are both wearing caps so it’s hard to see their faces in the video feeds. I was able to zoom in on what’s inside the SUV though. It looked like they had McDonald’s and Burger King takeout,” Tony supplied the information. He was really good. There was no way we could glean on this intel without a guy like him. In the warzone, you’re confined to a concentrated area. You know what lines to cross and boundaries to avoid. Out here in the civilian world, everywhere was a mine of information. It was great, but it could also be a hindrance. The men who had Athena got the advantage because like us, they had the technology and the cameras to track everything that she was doing. There wasn’t really a space safe from technology anymore.
“Did they check into the hotel?” I asked, because maybe Athena wasn’t in the car anymore. Maybe she was inside a hotel room.
“One man did. But the other man stayed behind,” Tony responded.
Liam said, “The driver’s resting up for the next 2000 miles.”
Exactly.
“Hey boss, I gotta go drain the dragon and is it cool if I catch up on a snooze for a few hours?” Tony’s query made Liam snort loudly.
I said, with a laugh, “Yeah, go ahead, Tony. We’ll call you if we need anything else.”
“Okay boss.” He agreed, and said, “Goodnight and good morning.”
“Thanks for doing a great job, Tony.” My prais
e wasn’t empty. It was filled with respect for the man who spent almost twenty hours looking for leads. Tony was an integral asset to my team. “We couldn’t do this without you.”
Liam countered, “We could…but it would take five times longer.”
“Aight, no problem, big guys. Holler at me if you need me. I’ll leave my phone at its loudest vibrating volume so I’ll wake up ASAP,” Tony replied before letting out a big yawn.
“Bye,” I said and watched the well-lit roads that we were traversing. With our current speed, we’d reach Athena in under an hour and thirty minutes.
Ninety minutes Athena. Wait for me, lovely. I’m coming to get you.
“What the fuck is a loud vibrating volume?” Liam uttered.
“What?” I turned my head to the left, wondering what Liam was talking about.
“Tony. He said his phone is set to a loud vibrating volume.” Bewilderment was present in his voice.
“I dunno.” I shrugged, “It probably exists. Only Tony can make his phone vibrate loudly.”
Liam laughed, “Yeah yeah. He could.”
“He’s a good kid,” I said, stretching my legs in the space in front of me. I heard my knee pop into place. Sometimes I forgot the injuries I’d sustained. Then there were times like these – times when I was stuck in a car for a long time or if I didn’t move a particular way, my body reminded me of how messed up it was.
Liam agreed, “He’s done a lot in such a short time. He’s gotten us this far. Don’t let him go, bro.”
“Yeah, hopefully he’ll stay on with me. He might leave if a bigger fish asks him though,” I said, knowing fully well that without Tony, I’d be grasping at weak links right now. I knew all the ins and outs of security and protection, but I didn’t know computer codes and tech security like Tony did.
“He won’t leave you.” Liam shook his head. “He thinks you’re the younger version of Jethro Gibbs and he’s the real live version of Dinozzo. Just on those grounds, he won’t look for another boss.”
I chuckled because as outrageous as it sounded, Liam was right. Tony often mentioned that he liked working for me because it made him feel special, that we had chemistry that those characters in NCIS had. While I didn’t believe it one bit, if it was the reason that Tony stayed with my budding company, then so be it. I paid him good, but there wasn’t a lick of doubt that he could get three times the amount I’m paying him at a private tech firm. But then again, no one would hire him on the spot because of his previous red marks against the law. His hacking skills were legendary. And as revered as he was in the hacking world, it was also what made him blacklisted in the eyes of employers. No one wanted a rogue hacker on their payroll. It would create a huge liability for the company.