“What did he ask for?” I ask.
“Ten million in used notes. Stupid fuck. It’ll take a while to get that together, assuming we’re going to pay…”
He looks thoughtful, and I see red. “Ifwe’re going to pay? What thefuckNathan? You don’t think she’s worth it? How would you feel if that was Mel out there?”
He puts his hands on my shoulders. “Of course we’ll pay if we have to, Mad. That’s not what I meant. I meant I’m hoping we can find him before. Track him down. If we need to pay, we’ll absolutely pay. We’ll do anything to get her back. But while he’s out there, she’ll always be in danger. This has to end. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Of course I fucking do, and I’m happy to end it. To end him. How could I think that Nathan didn’t care enough to pay the ransom? He’s always had my back, and he always will. I suck in a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just…well, you know.”
He nods. “I know.”
King has set up a work station on the table with several laptop screens open at once. He’s tracking the phone that was used to send the ransom demand and has facial recognition software running, searching for Ellie and Fallon. It taps into CCTV, traffic cameras, that kind of thing. I’m guessing it’s not entirely legal, but who gives a fuck?
“So,” he says. “The phone was used in New Jersey, but I think he’s trying to throw us off the scent. I just got a hit on Ellie at a blini place in Red Hook. Cameras get patchy, but she was with him, and they headed down to the docks.”
He swivels the screen, and my heart fucking breaks at what I see. It’s only a brief clip, and it’s grainy, but it’s definitely her. My girl. My Goddess. My whole fucking life. She says something to Fallon, and he laughs. Grabs her, pushes her. Lays hands on her perfect body. My blood boils, and I feel the urge to smash something.
Mason takes one look at me and tells me to breathe. “Or go chop down a fucking tree with an ax, Mad, whatever you need. But don’t go nuclear right now.”
He’s right. I need my monster to go back to sleep for a while.
“Has he set a time, a place?” I ask, sounding way calmer than I am.
King nods. “A park in Jersey. He wants you to take the cash in a bag and leave it under a rock by the swing set.”
I imagine this creep near a playground and snarl. “He says once he sees you’re alone, and sees the money is there, he’ll send us details of where she is and how to get her back safely. But…fuck, man…”
My heart rate spikes. “What? What is it?”
He runs his hands through his hair, bites his lips hard.
“Spit it out,” I snap.
He nods. “Okay. Well, he’s sent a photo as proof of life. I’m not showing it to you, Maddox, so don’t even ask. She’s alive, and that’s all that counts. But we think she’s in Red Hook, and the picture he sent told me more than he probably thought it would. It means that he probably has no intention of handing her over at the money exchange in Jersey. I can tell from the shape of the walls that she’s in something made of corrugated iron.”
I ponder it, refusing to think of what that picture might show. She needs me at my best now. Not on my knees. “Like a shipping container?”
King nods. “Yeah. That was my thought. There’s no serial numbers or anything like that, at least not obvious ones, but I have a guy who specializes in photo analysis. I’ll get him to take a look, magnify it, go over it with a fine-tooth comb. In the meantime, Fallon is in New Jersey. At least his phone was when that message was sent. There are too many fucking variables, and I don’t trust this guy even a little bit. He’s just the kind of snake who’d take the money and not hand her over.”
Silence. Everyone waits for me to explode, but I don’t. That won’t be happening. I won’t lose her. If I lose her, I lose everything.
We all take a beat, turning it over in our minds. “Can we get Lorenzo to contact him, posing as his buddy from Chicago?” I ask. “See if he answers, and if the phone is actually in Jersey? And in the meantime, we work the Red Hook angle?”
Nathan raises his eyebrows, and King nods. “It’s a good idea.” Mason slaps me on the back. “Nice work, Mad.”
Drake speaks with Lorenzo, and King monitors the exchange on his screens. ‘Carvel’ asks Fallon how long everything is going to take, says he’s getting nervous. The reply comes, telling him to “chill the fuck out.” It goes on to say the money should be theirs within three hours, but if not, then they go with plan B, which is to try and extort money some other way—mainly via the limited information they have about Milton Travers’s murder. We all stay grimly silent at that. My Dad looks fit to bust at the thought of them needing a plan B.
“Okay,” King says once it’s done. “Yeah. He is in Jersey, not far from the park where he wants the drop off. There’s still something niggling at me about this set up, though.”
“You still think he’s in Red Hook?” I ask. King has worked as a PI for years, and he’s damn good at his job. I trust his instincts.
He nods. “I do. Maybe he’s planning on collecting the cash, then sending us her location. But what if he doesn’t? I think we need to be in two places at once.”
“That’s okay,” I reply. “We can do both if we need to. There are all of us, plus Keres, Ace and Romeo. Can you track his phone now you have the number?”
King shakes his head. “He’s already destroyed the SIM. Probably has a stack of burners. But…hang on. If he has, then he’ll want to stay in touch with Carvel, won’t he?” He turns and stares at one of his screens. It beeps, and he punches the air. “Got him, and his new fucking phone. He just messaged Carvel. So yeah, in answer to that question, we can now track him. Thedrop is set for three p.m. It’s, what, less than an hour from there to Red Hook?”
Drake checks on his phone. Nods. “Okay. Let’s see what direction he heads in then…”
