He guided her to the ladder on the dock and grasped the rungs. For a moment, he breathed in and out. Finally, he asked. “Do you still have the knife?”
She held out a slim, bejeweled knife. “A girl can never have too many accessories,” she said and climbed up the ladder.
With the knife, Simon bent and sliced through the zip tie around his ankles, then climbed up to the dock. “Did they say where they were taking her?”
Lissette shook her head. “No.”
“Do you have a cell phone?”
“In my pirogue,” she said. “I’ll get it.” She went over the side of the dock, dropping down into the small boat tied to the piling. She found the phone and handed it up to him before climbing back onto the deck.
Simon called Remy.
“Simon, you made it back?”
“We were ambushed,” Simon said. “They took Holly. I figure they’ll call the office of the Brotherhood Protectors to make their demands.”
“I have Shelby with me at the boat factory. Got an incoming call as we speak with no caller ID.” Remy said. “Putting you on hold.”
Simon put the phone on speaker and paced as he waited for Remy to come back.
“What’s going on?” Lissette came to stand beside him.
“Hopefully, Remy’s getting the call from Holly’s kidnappers to give their demands.”
“Let’s get into some dry clothes.” Simon placed the phone on speaker and hurried into the houseboat. “Holly’s clothes are upstairs.”
Lissette ran up the steps.
Simon shucked his jeans and pulled on his last clean pair from his go-bag. Then he yanked his wet T-shirt over his head and dragged a dry one on, the fabric sticking to his still damp body.
Lissette descended the stairs wearing loose-fitting jeans and a faded T-shirt. She carried a pair of sneakers. “Everything’s a little big on me, but still better than wet.”
Simon was tying his spare running shoes when Remy came back. “They want Holly’s parents to come to the BioEnergen facility in one hour—by themselves, or they’ll kill Holly. If they bring the cops, they’ll kill her. If they bring our Brotherhood Protectors...”
“They’ll kill her,” Simon said. “I get the picture. So, what’s the plan?”
“We get the sheriff involved, bring our entire team and get Holly back.”
“You said they’ll kill her if her parents don’t show up alone. You can’t go in guns blazing. Her parents have to show up.”
“We can’t let them have Holly’s parents. If the Russians get the formula, they’ll weaponize the energy and use it against our country and others. They’re already causing enough problems without adding additional weapons to their arsenal.”
“To save Holly, we have to send in her parents,” Simon insisted. And he had to figure out how to navigate the bayou even with the GPS location.
Lissette placed a hand on his arm. “They’re expecting a man and a woman. It’ll be dark. They won’t know they have the wrong couple at first. Maybe we’ll have long enough to make the trade for Holly and get all the backup we need in place.”
Simon stared at Lissette, her proposal blossoming in his head. “I can go in for Mr. Gautier.”
“And for Mrs. Gautier?” Remy asked. “Shelby wants to go in her place.”
“Shelby’s blond,” Lissette pointed out. “Holly’s mom has darker hair. You need someone with dark hair. I’ll go in as Evangeline.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Simon said.
“I don’t care,” Lissette said. “If it gets us inside and Holly out, that’s what matters. I want to do this. Let me help my cousin.” She held Simon’s gaze in the starlight. “You can trust me to do this. I promise, I might not always say or do the right thing, but I love my cousin and my aunt and uncle.”
“We don’t have much time,” Remy said.
