The Grandmaster laughed, and his carefree attitude about the whole situation was getting rather annoying. This was a kidnapping and a negotiation. He could at least take it seriously. He snapped his fingers and Moose brought in two chairs.
Katy never dropped eye contact with him and circled beside the other chair, getting ready to sit. But he held his gun up at her, this time in a frightening way, and she paused. “Sorry, that chair is reserved for our future guest. If I had known to expect more people, we would’ve ordered more furniture.”
“Obviously,” Katy said, choosing instead to lean up against the chair rather than sit on it. “So your plan includes two chairs and Imogen’s mother, but what for?”
The Grandmaster lifted his shoulder a fraction. “I hate to tell you, but you’re overthinking it. Simple plans are the best of plans. I used Imogen’s mother to lure one of the Kensington twins to this location. I then sent out a message to Bernard that I had Corbin already. He wants to make a deal, and this way I have the upper hand. Bernard has been bad and deserves punishment.”
“So a plan to use the hacker to lure your enemy out into the open. Classic,” Katy nodded at the man as if she appreciated the idea.
The Grandmaster, I really needed to ask his actual name because calling him Grandmaster had become a bit ridiculous, smirked back. He obviously enjoyed the praise. “Exactly. I told them we could do the handoff tomorrow night at 10 p.m., so expect him to arrive any minute. Bernard never could handle the anticipation.”
No. No. No. We couldn’t be caught in this warehouse between the Grandmaster and Bernard when they faced off for the first time.
A gunshot rang off somewhere outside the warehouse and all of us froze. Vonnie screeched. My eyes were so wide they dried out with the fishy air and I clutched my mother’s hands, not sure which door to run to. Katy’s gaze met mine, and she looked worried, too. Shit. If she was worried, I needed to be petrified.
The man in the chair only chuckled. “Ah, that sounds like my errant underling now.”
CHAPTER 24
CYRUS
Ridge readjusted the focus on his device. I glanced at the surrounding area. A boat, what looked to be like an old-school fisherman’s vessel, bobbed on the water a hundred yards from us. Being able to see what was happening on the screen but not make out what they were saying drove me insane, and I let my focus wander to the boat. Corbin and I usually spent a few months each year sailing in various locations, but right then, I didn’t think I’d ever go near a boat again.
Ridge fiddled with the controls on his phone and moved the spy device further into the room, landing it on the edge of a partially open window. That gave us a better view and sound, but considering he still had one bud shoved in his ear, I couldn’t hear what was being said.
The waiting game sucked. I’d never been great with patience and being on this side of the building and not next to Imogen, where she needed me, hurt. My leg twitched, wanting to get moving, and I tapped my fingers soundlessly against it.
A car, which Drake tracked, pulled into the industrial lot and drove right to the abandoned warehouse, parking close to a side door. Night had fallen in the lot beside the warehouse, and only a few lights illuminated the space. I leaned forward to get a better look because the car casting shadows resembled the one that trailed Imogen and me throughout the southern section of the United States. New dread filled my stomach.
Two men exited the car and one turned back, pulling a long shotgun from the backseat. More evidence they were the same men from Florida and Georgia.
Ridge stood and tapped Drake on the shoulder. His gaze met mine, and he nodded. “It’s go time.”
We slipped around the edge of the building when a gunshot rang out into the night. A scream came from inside the warehouse. A shriek so loud it sounded as if it happened right next to us shattered the evening. We ran as one, headed for the back on the opposite side the men from the vehicle used.
Drake and Ridge placed themselves on either side of a metal door, and I fell into a spot next to Drake. The sound of metal being kicked in rumbled through the night and then another gunshot, but no more screams followed.
“If I asked you to stay here for safety, would you?” Ridge asked, leaning over the doorway so he didn’t have to shout.
I shook my head. Was he crazy? “Fuck no.”
His lips fell into a straight line and he stepped in front of the closed-door. “That’s what I was afraid of,” he said in one breath. Then the next with the next his foot hit the door right underneath the handle, and it flung open.
Ridge slipped into the space like a ghost, and Drake followed. Sadly, my entrance was not as stealthy, but I did my best to tag along. The room we entered was dark and held nothing more than a desk and two filing cabinets. The light was off, but residual beams of light streamed in from a large window that allowed the room to look out at the warehouse section of the building.
It was a good vantage point to begin our mission, but still too far from Imogen. I couldn’t even see where they were from this location.
“Papa, I’m home,” a voice yelled from somewhere in the warehouse.
The response was almost instantaneous. “In here, wayward son.” The words came from somewhere to our left and Ridge nodded in that direction, letting us know to turn that way as the three of us snuck out of the back room.
The second section of the building contained a hall space with a long walkway to stretch the entire building. We moved slowly with our backs up against the wall, making our way toward the opening at the very end.
Noise came from behind us, but we didn’t even try to be quiet. The person who had broken into the building, which I had to assume was Bernard, made so much noise as he prowled his way through the warehouse that he covered our sounds.
The wood floor groaned as Ridge took his first step, and he froze, holding his arm out to stop us. Then with quick precision, he made his way down a few alone without creating more noise. I followed next and the two of us hovered at the end, waiting for Drake to join us.
Now only one room separated me from Imogen, but it still felt a million miles away. The empty building allowed the voices to echo and the three of us hovered in the back wall, listening to the conversation.
