"Gray Posten." He knew something was off about the man. He squinted and peered closer at the photo. There was another shadow in the car. "He's not alone."
"This is where it gets good." Cory manipulated the program until the other occupant came into focus.
"Son of a bitch."
Cory smiled widely. "I got the feeling these two didn't like each other. Wonder what they were doing together on the same night two people were killed in a deliberately-set fire?"
"Let's talk to Posten first. He won't hold up under questioning. Maybe he'll give us something we can use to arrest Vivian Mathison."
#
Dorian's phone buzzed but he didn't recognize the number. He considered letting it go to voice mail but decided to answer. "Demarchis."
"May I speak with Ms. Buckley?" The voice sounded mechanical with a slight echo. Anyone could buy a device to alter their voice on Amazon for ten bucks.
"Who is this?"
"That's strictly on a need-to-know basis and I'm afraid you don't need to know just yet, Mr. Demarchis…or would you prefer I call you Dorian?"
He ignored the question. This was obviously the killer. He'd recognized him at Stefani's apartment. But how did he get this number? COBRA numbers weren't listed. "Why do you need to speak with Ms. Buckley?" Kendall's head snapped around.
"That, Dorian, would be none of your business." The man laughed. "Actually, it is your business, but I will only discuss it with Ms. Buckley."
Kendall had padded over to stand next to him. "Fine. Here she is." He activated the speakerphone.
"Hello?"
"Ah, Ms. Buckley. So nice to finally speak with you."
"Who is this?"
A deep sigh. "I see I must repeat myself. Who I am is on a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know. What you do need to do is meet me and hand over what you found at the blond bitch's apartment."
"You won't tell me who you are, yet you believe I would meet with you? I think not."
"You sure about that? How about we make a deal? You hand over what you found and I hand over Demarchis' little sister."
Dorian's heart stopped until he remembered Daphne was safe in Greece with Hillary.
"She's safely away from here," Kendall argued.
"You sure about that?"
The line disconnected.
Dorian was about to contact Hillary when his cell rang again. Thinking it might be the killer calling back, he snapped, "Demarchis."
"Dorian, Daphne's been kidnapped," his mom wailed. Dorian's knees gave out and he sat down hard. "They stuffed her in a car and took off and we do not know where she is. Oh, Dorian, I'm so scared."
"Let me speak to Hillary," he demanded.
"She is bad, Dorian. So bad. She fought so hard. They shot her and shot her and shot her. I don't know how she held out as long as she did. She took down one of the men and tried so hard to save Daphne. But Daphne was taking a picture of us and she was too far away."
"Is Hillary…" he couldn't bring himself to say the word.
"Not yet, but the doctors, they are not optimistic. We are at the hospital and they are rushing her to surgery. But she is grave."
"Listen to me, Mama. Are you with the police now?"
"Yes. Helen is here, too. Her husband is coming right over."
"Stay with them. I'll make some calls. The best thing you can do right now is remain calm. I have every reason to believe Daphne is being brought back to the US. But I want you to stay there with Aunt Helen."
"No, I must—"
"Listen to me, Mama. I need to be able to focus on finding Daphne and I don't want to have to worry about you, too."
She sighed deeply and sniffed. "Yes, okay, I will do that," she agreed. "But Dorian, please find her."
"I will."
#
Daphne's head was pounding and she could tell she was strapped down in some kind of moving vehicle. Images assailed her. Hillary. Oh God, she's been shot so many times. So much blood. She couldn't be dead. She'd taken those bullets protecting her. And Mama! She had to be okay. Daphne prayed they didn't take her, too.
When the man grabbed her, the first thing she thought of was the S.I.N.G. method of self-defense: solarplex, instep, nose, groin. She'd learned that from Sandra Bullock on Miss Congeniality, a movie she'd watched dozens of times. Everyone encouraged her to be a photographer, but she wanted to be a kick-ass FBI agent and then after a few years, work for COBRA with Dorian. Sadly, her first attempt to SING and she was completely off-key.
She tried opening her eyes to survey her surroundings but they wouldn't cooperate. Her ears popped and she realized she was on an airplane. Where were they taking her? She'd read a story online about girls being kidnapped and sold into sex slavery. A sob lodged in her throat. She would rather die than be a sex slave for some middle-aged, overweight drug lord. What if they drugged her and she couldn't get away? She could become hooked on the drugs and then she wouldn't care if they used her body. The sob tore free. She prayed for God to take care of Hillary and her mom, and for him to lead Dorian to her. She had no doubt her brother would search to the ends of the earth to find her. She just hoped she held on long enough.
Before she could do anything else, the drugs they pumped into her kicked in again and she fell fast asleep.
#
Dorian disconnected his cell and ran a hand down his face. He'd just filled Logan in on the details of Hillary's shooting and Daphne's abduction. Logan promised to find out Hillary's condition and arrange for her transport back to the States as soon as she could travel. They both refused to talk about the alternative. Dante was on his cell, speaking with his contacts in Greece to arrange around-the-clock police guards for his mom and aunt. Dorian was pretty sure they would be safe since the perps had Daphne, but then, he thought they would all be safe if he sent them away.
He'd been wrong.
"Is it safe to leave your phone on?" Kendall asked. "Now that they know who we are, they could trace it."
"COBRA phones are untraceable, but you should turn yours off, just in case."
She strode over to her purse and removed the battery, and then walked back to him. "How did they find Daphne?"
She'd been so distressed when she heard about Daph and Hillary. It was the closest he'd seen to a breakdown from her. During their time together, he'd discovered it took quite a lot to make her lose it. She was the strongest woman he'd ever met. But this almost pushed her over the edge…would have if he hadn't been there to talk her off the ledge. He grabbed her hand and tugged her to sit on his lap. Her breath hitched and she buried her face in his neck. He rubbed a hand down her back. "The guy in the apartment yesterday recognized you," he said, answering her question. "And he obviously recognized me, too. If he's a cop, he might've seen me at the hospital with Alex. Then it was a matter of a little research."
"But your number isn't listed."
"It's not, but they could've dug through Alex's things and found it that way."
"How did they locate Daphne so quickly in Greece? I thought they'd be safe a world away."
"Me, too," he sighed. A thought struck and Dorian grabbed his phone. He pulled up Daphne's Facebook page. Sure enough, her status proudly proclaimed she was in Greece, and she'd even posted pictures of the restaurant they ate at before she was abducted.
"Dammit." He turned the screen around so Kendall could see it.
"She led them to her," she murmured.
"I specifically told her not to tell people where she was going," he growled. "So what does she do, she broadcasts it to the entire freaking world."
"She's a teenager," Kendall reminded him.
He exhaled deeply. "And now she's missing,"
#
Ron rapped on Gray Posten's door while Cory stood off to the side, one hand on his firearm. Someone called out "just a minute" as steps sounded. The door swung open and Posten stared at them with a startled look on his face. "Special agents, what can I do for you?"
"We have so
me questions, Mr. Posten. Mind if we come in?"
Posten didn't budge from blocking the door. "Do I need a lawyer?"
"You aren't under arrest," Ron assured him. "We just need you to clear up a few things. Gray studied him for a second and then nodded, ushering them inside. His apartment was sparsely furnished but neat. He guided them to the couch and he sat in a recliner.
"What can I do for you?"
"Can you tell me your whereabouts on the evening of Friday, September seventeenth?"
"I'd have to check my schedule."
"You can't remember where you were a little over a week ago?" Cory's tone was disbelieving.
"I'm a busy man, agents."
"Would a date with Vivian Mathison jog your memory?"
A look of horror crossed his face. "What? I would never go on a date with that gold-digger. What gave you that idea?"
Cory displayed a print of the still taken from the traffic cam. He'd blown up the shot so that Posten and Vivian were both clearly visible.
Posten grabbed the photo. "Where did you get this?"
"Are you denying it's you?"
"No, it's obviously me," he admitted, "and Vivian, but it wasn't a date. She called me and asked me to pick her up. She had car trouble."
"You and Ms. Mathison are such good friends, then? She rings you when she needs assistance?"
Posten scoffed. "We're not even frenemies."
"Then why would she call you when she had car trouble?" Ron questioned. "Surely she has other people she could depend on…the senator, the auto club, maybe?"
Pure hatred crossed Posten's face. "Because she thinks I'm her lackey since I work for the senator. Now that Pamela's dead, she acts like she's his wife, calls me when she needs something. If I refuse to do it, she threatens to run and tattle to Aaron."
"What does the senator think about you doing her bidding?"
"I don’t think he even knows. He's been pretty much numb since Pamela disappeared. I didn't want to upset him, so I've gone along with what she wanted…for now."
Cory looked up from the notebook he was scribbling in. "How far would you go to help Ms. Mathison?"
"Not far, that's for damn sure."
Ron picked up Cory's opening. "So if she wanted you to help her with something say, nefarious, you wouldn't assist?"
"Hell, no. Listen, agents, Aaron is a good friend. We've known each other for years. But I wouldn't break any laws for him or anyone else. I certainly wouldn't help the wicked witch of Chicago."
"The night you picked Ms. Mathison up, did she tell you what kind of car trouble?"
"Not really. She just said her engine overheated and it was smoking so much, she was afraid it was going to blow up. She reeked of smoke."
Ron and Cory exchanged a knowing look.
"Did she seem uptight? Nervous?"
"To be honest with you, I didn't pay much attention. I was pissed that I had to get out so late so I ignored her. I dropped her off at her house and then went home."
Cory flipped his notebook closed and Ron stood. "That's all the questions we have for now."
"Sorry I wasn't more help."
"Actually, Mr. Posten, you were a big help."
Ron waited until they were driving away before he spoke. "Car trouble my ass. She was covering for arson and murder."
Cory pulled out his cell. "I'll have someone contact all of the local towing companies to see if anyone picked up Ms. Mathison's car either Friday night or Saturday." Cory left instructions with another agent and hung up. "Do we pay her a visit now?"
Ron shook his head. "Let's get all of our ducks in a row. We'll find out if her car was towed and I'd like to hear back from CyberCrimes to see if they've traced the payment to Cora Nelson. I'll light a fire under them when we get back to the office."
#
Kendall was a little nervous that the killers knew who she was now, but they were using Alex's cabin as a base of operations. No one in his department knew about it, so it was the perfect safe house. Alex hadn't even told his partner about it, who had called Dorian twice. He let the call go to voice mail. He didn't want to deal with anything until they knew more about Daphne.
"The kidnappers should call back any time now," Kendall said, pacing anxiously. It was hours later and still no word on Daphne or on Hillary's condition. Dante had Peter Dennis, COBRA's tech genius, on standby to trace the call. Right on cue, it rang. The display read blocked number. They decided it would be best if she answered since the killer said he would only deal with her. She took a deep breath. She needed to keep him on the line long enough to initiate the trace.
"Hello?"
"Good evening, Ms. Buckley. Are you ready to make a trade?"
Her hands shook but she felt Dorian's steady presence at her side.
"Let me speak to Daphne or this phone call is over."
There was a rustling noise and some low murmuring. Then Daphne's voice came on the line. "Dorian?"
"It's Kendall. Daphne, are you okay? Have they hurt you?"
"Don't do it," she blurted. "Don't meet them. It's a trap—" There was a loud smack and Daphne cried out.
"Don't you hurt her, you son of a bitch," Kendall screamed. "If you want my cooperation, you'll keep your hands off of her."
"Funny you think you have the upper hand. Tell you what, you just go ahead and believe whatever you want, sweet cheeks. But we both know I'm in charge here." He gave her the name of a local park. "Ten in the morning. Just you. We're doing this in the daylight so I can make sure you stick to the arrangement. No bodyguards, no cops. I see either, I kill her."
"Do you honestly think I'd come alone?"
There was a deep sigh. "Fine. Bring Demarchis. But he comes unarmed. That's it. I see a gun or anyone else, I will not hesitate to shoot this pretty little thing. Do not doubt that."
She didn't.
"I'll flash my lights three times. That will be the signal to get out of the vehicle and make the trade. Don't be late."
He disconnected. All the air left her body and she sagged against Dorian.
Dante had his cell to his ear. He shook his head. "Burner phone. Untraceable and the signal bounced all over so he couldn't triangulate a position."
Dorian checked his watch. "It's eleven now. Let's go over a plan of action for the morning.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Monday, September 27
Kendall wasn't normally a coffee drinker, but after a long night of planning and little sleep, she needed it to stay sharp. She added a dollop of milk and took a sip. She wasn't a fan of the flavor, but she needed the punch the caffeine would give to her sluggish system. Dorian and Dante were sitting at the table, nursing their own mugs. Breakfast consisted of an assortment of pastries and bagels Dante picked up at a nearby shop. Kendall tried to force down a few bites of a cinnamon raisin bagel, but her stomach was in knots worrying about Daphne.
Dorian glanced at his watch. "It'll take about thirty minutes to get to the meet site. I want to get there early and scope the place out. Let's gear up."
Dorian had downloaded a satellite map of the area. They would be dropping Dante off nearby and he would make his way to the meeting spot for an added measure of security.
"What are we going to use as a trade?" Kendall asked. "I lost the real flash drive." They hadn't had a chance to go back and look for it after Daphne's kidnapping. Once they had her safe—and Kendall refused to consider any other scenario—they would go back to Stefani's apartment to search.
Dante pulled a package from his bag and opened it. He tossed the blank flash drive to Dorian. "Might fool them enough to grab Daphne and get her to safety."
They all donned their Kevlar vests and comm devices and ran through mic checks. Kendall checked the chamber of the gun Dorian had given her to use. Making sure the safety was on, she stuck it in the back waistband of her jeans.
"We're Oscar Mike," Dante said, as he headed outside to the vehicle.
Kendall shot Dorian a questioning look as s
he started to follow. "Oscar Mike?"
"On the move," he translated, then grabbed her hand. "We'll be right out," he called to Dante, who waved over his shoulder in acknowledgement.
Kendall raised her brows in question. Dorian pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth in a deep, heated kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life. He ended the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. "Please be careful," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you."
"Ditto," she said, running her thumb over his lips that were remarkably soft for such a big, tough guy. He sucked her thumb into his mouth and she gasped, feeling the tug all the way to her toes. She tried to think clearly, which was difficult to do when her body wanted to press against his harder one and never let go. "Daphne," was all she said.
Dorian released her thumb and brushed one last kiss across her lips. "Let's go rescue my little sister."
They headed out to the truck and he helped her inside before rounding the hood and settling into the driver's seat. Dante was disconnecting a call. "Hillary's critical, but she pulled through surgery."
Dorian breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."
"Also, the new guy Peter hired is a hacker extraordinaire. He's trying to crack into NASA's satellite program and pull up real-time images of the meeting spot."
"It's broad daylight in a public park. You don't think the killer will try anything dangerous, do you?" Kendall asked.
"There's no telling what goes through the mind of a psychopath." Dorian shifted the truck in gear and navigated the rutted driveway to the road. It took twenty-five minutes to reach the park. Dorian pulled into an alley behind a building close to the entrance. Dante jumped out and promptly disappeared. The extra precautions were in case someone was watching for their arrival. Dorian drove around the building and headed for the park. He grabbed Kendall's hand and laced their fingers together as he neared the entrance gates.
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