by Kells, India
Peering closely at the images, Kingsley could see few similarities between the two brothers. Where Raymond was polished and cold, Sydney’s dad seemed larger than life and outdoorsy. Apart from the same wealth of dark hair, it was easy to differentiate between the two men.
Most of the pictures of Sydney and her father had been taken in the woods or on a farm. One with a young Sydney holding a rifle, another with a fish bigger than her lying in her arms. The little girl was beaming with pride.
As she grew up in front of the camera, the grinning little girl disappeared and in her place was a beautiful young woman. The smile was still there, but it didn’t reach her eyes anymore. Kingsley wondered what had happened to make her lose her joy.
“Found her wallet and phone under the bed. The phone is smashed, but maybe we can salvage something interesting from the sim card or phone memory. We can take them both back to base.” Malco continued to move around the room before picking up a brown handbag, looking through it then dropping it on the chair by the bed when it revealed nothing of interest. They would review what they found back at base, which wasn’t a lot.
Kingsley opened his mouth to speak when his eye zoomed in on a piece of furniture against the wall. It contained a bug that had been well hidden and had probably been exposed during the fight.
Unsure if it were still working, Kingsley continued to act as normal as possible, looking around, and walking in a small circle to stand in front of Malco. Discreetly, he signaled him about the bug, and the former Green Beret understood immediately, his eyes not giving anything away.
“I haven’t found anything else. Have you?”
Kingsley shook his head but spoke for the benefit of whoever was listening. “Nah, nothing here.”
They had to get back to base and work on the electronics now. One way or another, it was all they had so far and could be the lead they needed to trace Sydney.
Once they were in the car, Kingsley made a quick call to Mason and Wolf, instructing them to head over and work on the bug they’d found and search for any others that were hidden. Both Wolf and Mason had extensive experience with those sorts of devices, and if there were something they could trace back, they would find it.
“It was clearly an abduction; nothing staged, nothing of value was taken.”
Malco’s words confirmed he’d come to the same conclusion Kingsley had. “Definitely. Did you see the wall of pictures?”
Malco nodded, taking his eyes off the road for a second. “Yeah, see anything interesting?”
“It’s what wasn’t there that caught my attention. The uncle. There was only one picture, and not a good one. It looked like she had blurred the image and cut him out somehow.”
“They don’t look like a close-knit family, and that matches what Rutherford told us.”
“Nonetheless, they’re family. There were other people in the photos, but none of them had him. The family isn’t big enough for it to be an oversight. And he could have been in older pictures before vanishing in more recent ones.”
The men stayed silent for a moment in the car before Kingsley spoke again. “And there’s the bug. The woman doesn’t have loads of money. Nothing in her home indicates she’s wealthy.”
Malco nodded again. “That leaves influence or information. And that’s even more complicated to track. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what the team digs up from the uncle’s phone. Maybe he has more complex and dangerous enemies than he was willing to let on.”
Kingsley watched the road thoughtfully, his gut tightening. “If the danger isn’t coming from even closer to home.”
* * *
Entering the conference room three days later, he felt a sense of urgency and Kingsley worked to keep his head in the game. Ever since he’d seen that bug, he couldn’t stop the dread in his gut that told him time was running out. The team had been hard at work for the last three days, looking for any clues to what might have happened to Sydney Rutherford. Everything they’d discovered so far pointed to the fact Sydney had been missing for less than a week, not the three weeks Rutherford had told them. Alarm bells were ringing loudly and Kingsley couldn’t figure out what game Rutherford was playing.
Mason and Wolf were at Sydney’s apartment again, combing through it with the dubious task of uncovering any more bugs and doing another pass in case they had missed anything the first go through. They needed to find where they led to after getting nowhere with the first bug in the last couple of days. First and foremost, it was the bug that was important.
Cleo was dispatching coffee and breakfast to the people around the room. He liked Cleo, and while he flirted a little, it meant nothing, it was just his way. Cleo didn’t get him bothered under the collar like the thought of Sydney Rutherford did, which was completely inappropriate.
He grinned at Cleo, flashing his flirtiest smile as he took the food. “Keep some for Wolf and Mason. When they arrive, they’ll need to refuel; you know how those two can eat. Anything new?”
He surveyed the room. Everyone was deep into whatever they were doing on their screens, and Caitlin sighed, blowing her brown bangs away from her face. “Apart from internet connection problems? I had to make sure Mercy didn’t shoot the router when it shut down for the third time. I called the network provider company and tried the sweet way without success, after having an earful from Mercy, they promised to fix it first thing this morning. So far, we’re still connected.”
Kingsley rubbed the back of his neck, hiding a grin. “I was referring to the case.”
Caitlin lifted her head and smirked. “Don’t look so discouraged, Kingsley. We’ve made headway. It takes time to dig through so many layers. James and Alex are going through Rutherford’s phone and bank accounts. The man won’t have a secret left by the time we’ve finished. It’s intense, and they needed quiet after Mercy blew her top yesterday, so they’re working in another room. I’m tracking the money while Cain and Mercy are digging up the dirt, or should I say possible dirt, on Raymond Rutherford.”
Killian, who was at her feet, had been yawning a second ago but must have smelled her food because he put his head on his mistress’ lap with watchful eyes as she scratched behind his ears.
“So, what you’re saying is you don’t have anything yet?”
Caitlin bit her lip. “Let’s say we’re getting there. But it’s tricky. Without a computer expert or a hacker, we have to be careful we’re not detected, or worse.”
Kingsley nodded. It was true that no one at Alliance had that particular skill set. “You need reinforcements?”
Caitlin seemed to consider it for a moment. “I think we’re on the verge of cracking it, but if it takes more than an hour, I won’t turn your offer down.”
Malco came into the conference room, carrying a laptop. He let himself fall on a chair, a hand massaging his leg where the prosthetic fit.
“Just saw Alex and James. They’re sending some data through, so far, they’ve been able to trace every call from his phone.”
Kingsley blinked. “Every call? Are you kidding me?”
“The guys are still trying to make sense of what they’ve found, but there weren’t that many calls on that phone… and everything looked too perfect.”
Mercy stopped typing. “What do you mean? Too perfect. how?”
Leaning back, Malco looked at the ceiling as if collecting his thoughts. “There aren’t enough calls from his contact list for such a big businessman. And it’s a small list for someone so successful unless he knows all his contact’s numbers by heart, which I fucking doubt.”
“Where were the calls from?” Kingsley asked.
“They all came from payphones scattered around the city. But the pattern looks too perfect.”
It rang a bell in Kingsley’s mind. “Computer-generated?”
Caitlin chimed in. “Yes. There’s software out there that can be downloaded and programmed to auto-dial specific numbers or one number in this case. Politicians use it all the time
with those robocalls they make. They would’ve had to tweak it to make it dial from different numbers rather than to different numbers.”
“Exactly,” Malco replied.
Cain crossed his arms. “It’s all theory so far. How can we prove it? The man volunteered his phone and came to us for help. We know he lied about how long Sydney’s been gone, but what are we missing? Why involve us if he’s behind it?”
Mercy whooped. “There is a way to find out. We need to hack into any cameras that are pointing at the payphones.”
The four operatives around the table dove back into their computers like maniacs, and Kingsley was about to do the same when his phone rang.
“Hey, King. Thought you would want to know what we found,” Wolf drawled through the line in his familiar twang. “We found more ears and eyes in the apartment and motion detectors at both entrances. And not the cheap stuff. Military-grade quality. It’s lucky for us that the fuckers didn’t know how to install it properly. Otherwise, we would never have found them.”
“Military-grade?”
“Hell yeah. And I mean the kind of stuff used in embassies; not that we ever do that. You could put it in a wall and still hear a fly fart in the next room.”
“How common is that stuff on the black market?”
“Well, I don’t know. But Bentley here said that you need to have serious connections. And even more serious money. The only thing indicating Sydney wasn’t under any kind of official surveillance is the installation, which was done by a blind duck. There’s also nothing in the apartment that gives us any reason to believe she’s a security threat. Either she’s the best operative who ever lived, or she’s an ordinary kind of gal caught up in bad shit.”
Kingsley was convinced the latter was the case. If only he could confirm where the bad shit was—or wasn’t—coming from.
“Want us to remove the bugs, King? They’re inactive, but Bentley needs more tools to remove them.”
“No, leave everything as is and come back here.”
When he disconnected, Cain signaled to him. “I’ve checked two locations, and at the time of the call, there was nobody in sight.”
Mercy, Caitlin, and Malco each confirmed the same thing for the other locations.
“That confirms we’ve been had. Rutherford tossed us a red herring, but again, why?”
Malco seemed to ponder that. “If he did kidnap her, either he doesn’t have her anymore, or he’s trying to deflect suspicion. Both possibilities make him an equally dangerous man.”
“Only if he knows that we know. I haven’t called him yet to give him an update.”
“We need eyes on him. We need to find where he’s going. From what you’ve told us, Raymond Rutherford is a hands-on kind of man. If he indeed kidnapped his niece, he knows where she is and has probably been going to see her.”
Caitlin had a point and Kingsley considered putting a tail on him, but he had to play it safe to make sure he didn’t endanger Sydney any more than she already was. “He probably isn’t working alone. If we follow him, it could tip off anyone that’s with him to our presence.”
“And setting up that type of operation, closing in on a target and figuring out all the players, could take weeks.”
Mercy also had a point. There had to be another way.
It was Caitlin who suggested a solution. “In your opinion, is Rutherford a thorough man, the type to dot all his I’s and cross all his T’s?”
Kingsley frowned, not sure where she was going with that question. “I’d say so, yes.”
“Rich, with access to the latest technology, and lots of expensive toys… I guess if I owned such awesome cars, I’d make sure they were all properly insured and fitted with the latest tech, so if some dumbass tried to steal one, I could track them.”
And then it clicked.
Malco smiled. “Lady, I love how your brain works. It’s usually a coded tracking system, but far from unbreakable. I know how it works. I used one on an op in South America, worked like a charm in the jungle as it was linked to a satellite. Any of you have access to Rutherford’s insurance account? I’m sure he was greedy enough to ask for a rebate if he had something like that installed.”
In a matter of minutes, not only had Malco confirmed Rutherford had installed a tracker on three of his luxury cars, but Mercy, Cain, and Caitlin had tracked their routes over the last 72 hours. One caught their attention. The vehicle had gone to the same location three times and was currently there as they spoke.
Kingsley knew in his gut it was the next step. “I think we need a bit of fresh air. And confirm we aren’t working for a crook. Anyone fancy a ride?”
Chapter Five
It had been three days since Sydney had discovered Raymond was responsible for her father’s death. She had spent her days doing sit-ups or crunches, anything to keep her body and mind from staying still and allowing the boredom, fear, and anger that mixed in her gut like poison to take hold.
During the night she had come up with a plan. Raymond had visited her for three days straight. He never stayed long, just long enough to taunt and bully her. He had tried to touch her on that first visit, and she had gone after him with such a feral viciousness he had retreated and hadn’t attempted to touch her again.
The man was a coward and a bully so the minute she’d stood up to him he had backed down. He probably preferred young girls who were too terrified to speak out than a grown woman who would say no.
Now, as she heard the car pull up again, she mentally readied herself for what she was about to do. It may not work, but she had to try. She couldn’t wait around for them to kill her.
The door opened, and Troy strolled in with a smirk on his arrogant face. Sydney glared at him, hate filling every vein as he walked toward her. Her eyes moved to Raymond in his impeccable four-thousand-dollar suit, not a hair out of place on his sleazy head. His eyes were on her, his gaze wandering over her body lazily, and she fought the desire to fidget as she swallowed nausea.
His cold eyes moved to hers, and he tipped his head, the challenge clear. Sydney crossed her arms in reflex, and she knew it was a mistake. She’d let him see he was getting to her.
Voice clipped and cultured, almost bored sounding; he greeted her. “Sydney. Are you prepared to give me the information I need? All I need is to check some of your dad’s papers. That shouldn’t be too painful for you. We’ve looked in your apartment and other places, but I believe you’ve hidden them somewhere else. Aren’t you a clever girl?” Raymond walked closer until he was standing in front of her. His cologne assailed her, and she locked her knees to keep from stepping back. The strong scent took her to a time and place she had fought to forget.
Bile filled her throat. She breathed through her mouth so as not to pull the smell of his aftershave into her nose. Images came to her of Raymond stroking her hair, telling her how pretty she was, how he had always loved her. She shook them off and concentrated on the hatred she felt and the plan that had formed in her head. “I may have the documents you want, but they’re somewhere safe where only I have access.”
“Where are they?” he bit out as he grabbed her arm in a cruel grip, almost making her wince but she bit back the sound.
“Get your fucking hands off me before I turn you into a eunuch,” she demanded her hatred for him like a living breathing thing.
He held her eyes, and she could see he believed her because the coward let go. “Stop playing games, Sydney, and tell me where they are.” He looked at his immaculately manicured fingernails with faked disinterest on his face.
“They’re at West City Savings in a safety deposit box,” she lied. She did have a safety deposit box, but certainly not there. She wasn’t a fool.
“The key?”
“There is no key. It’s a fingerprint and retinal scan box.” Sydney paced away from him, praying the bluff worked. Anything to give her a chance to escape.
Raymond turned to Troy. “Take her to the car; we’re going to the bank.”
He turned back to her and glared. “Don’t try anything foolish or you’ll pay in ways that will make you sorry you were ever born from that lying whore’s cunt.”
There was so much malice and hate in his tone toward her mother, it made Sydney want to step back, but pride stopped her from showing any weakness to this man. “I’m not an idiot.”
Raymond tilted his head, his penetrating eyes assessing her. “No, you’re not.”
Troy grabbed her arm, and with a painful grip and a nasty smile, led her from the room. The bright sunshine hit her as she was directed to the car. Raymond’s driver got out of the Lincoln town car and opened the door for him as Troy pushed her roughly toward the back door, causing her to trip and drop to her knees.
“Get up, bitch. I don’t have time for your theatrics.” Troy roughly hauled her to her feet.
Sydney glared at Troy. “I’m going to stab you in the heart, you motherfucker.”
He laughed. “I can’t wait to fuck the sass out of your little whore’s mouth.” He shoved her in the car beside Raymond before climbing in.
Sydney sat quietly, biding her time and praying for an escape route to show itself.
* * *
“Motherfucker.” Kingsley hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand.
“He sure is ballsy.” Malco nodded as they watched from across the road as Raymond Rutherford walked to his town car with another man. From their research, they knew the man frog-marching Sydney Rutherford toward the vehicle was Troy Pickford, head of Rutherford’s security. Kingsley bit back a snarl, his muscles tensing as the young woman was pushed and fell to her knees before being dragged back to her feet again.