His eyes shifted around the room. He finally shrugged. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you his name. James Cunningham.”
I narrowed my eyes and peered over at Brutus who gave me a quizzical look. I knew the name but I wasn’t about to inform the captain of that. I eyed the captain carefully. His department was in over their heads. This was a set-up. Townsend Industries had experienced two break-ins that day. One at the condo where Kay had been, while the other was at one of my luxury developments, outside of this department’s jurisdiction. And the name he’d just given me was that of an employee I’d fired a few months prior.
I talked with the captain some more but knew I needed to go over his head.
“We need to head to the office,” I told Brutus as soon as we stepped out of the police station, after he assured me that Kay was home safe and being watched by one of his best on staff. While I wanted nothing more than to get back to her, I needed to be all over this situation first. Whoever was behind this had not only fucked with my company and family name, but they’d endangered her life and that wasn’t something I could easily walk away from.
****
“How the hell did this happen?” I was pissed as I glared at the screen of the robbery that’d taken place the evening before at one of my sales offices. It’d been hours since I’d left the police station. It’d taken that long to get the camera footage from the robberies. Myself, Aaron, and Brutus, stood in Brutus’ office on the bottom floor of Townsend Industries, watching the footage.
The night before, while the break-in where Kay was, was taking place, another robbery occurred. As the sales agent who was on duty was getting ready to close up the model homes, two masked gunman bum rushed the door, knocking her down and tying her up. They raided the model home, breaking furniture and stealing some of the art pieces they could carry.
“This was supposed to be a robbery?” I questioned Brutus but kept staring at the screen.
“Supposed to. She said they kept asking her where they kept the money.”
“She?” I turned to Brutus, squinting. “The sales agent in that office’s name is Jackson. Last time I fucking checked, Jackson was the name for ahenot ashe.”
“He’s on vacation.”
“How convenient,” Aaron interjected, reading my mind as well.
“Who’s the she on the video?”
“Temp worker we got through the agency we work with.”
I glanced between Aaron and our head of security, turning my attention back to the screen. “Play it again.”
I watched with folded arms as the temp worker prepped to leave for the evening, shutting down her laptop and gathering her belongings. She turned out the lights and opened the door just as a man appeared, his face and head covered, pushing the door open forcefully, causing her to stumble back before falling. Soon enough, a second man appeared, shutting the door behind him and locking it. The first man lunged for the woman, pulling her up by her hair and pulling out what looked like some sort of twine from his back pocket. He dragged her into one of the smaller offices. That’s where the camera cut out since there were no cameras in the smaller, inner offices.
“Was she injured?” My tone was clipped.
“Some rope burns on her wrist but nothing beyond that.”
I squinted as I glared at the frozen screen.
“Shit!” Aaron growled, pulling his phone from his pocket. “Mark, what is it?” He was silent for a minute as he listened to his assistant’s response. “I’m on my way.”
“What’s going on?”
“A meeting I already had scheduled. You need to handle this shit.” He narrowed his gaze on me, pointing his phone in my direction.
I turned back to the screen. “I’m all over it.” I turned back to Brutus after the door slammed shut behind Aaron. “Where is she now?”
Brutus, who towered above me by five inches, turned. “Where do you think?”
I nodded and followed behind Brutus out his door, across the hallway, through a set of heavy double doors that led to another closed door. He opened and I entered behind him to see the woman from the video sitting on the side of a long table, looking up at me, bewildered.
“Ms. …” I waited.
“Alyssa Hawkins.”
“Is it all right if I call you Alyssa?”
She nodded.
“Good. Do you know who I am?” My voice was a smooth as silk.
