“Why would I do that when you’ve done the work for me?”
Cyrus pulled the trigger. Alex screamed as a deafening blast rang through the stale air. Blood and brain matter sprayed the white leather seats beside Gordan as the bullet struck.
His legs crumpled beneath him, his lifeless body landing in the middle of the aisle with a dull thud.
She stared in horror at the gruesome scene as crimson blood oozed into a puddle beneath Gordan’s head.
“W-why?” Tears she didn’t even notice fell from her eyes as she looked up at the man holding the gun. “Why did you k-kill him?”
Cyrus turned the weapon her way. “He stole millions from me when he shut down that auction. You won’t bring in as much as the woman we’d planned to sell, but someone out there will still pay a pretty penny for a woman who looks like you. And who knows? Maybe they’ll love art as much as this poor bastard.” He kicked the bottom of Gordan’s designer shoe. “Either way, I won’t walk away totally empty-handed.” A sinister grin lifted one side of his mouth. “Buckle up, sweetheart. The plane’s about to take off. Oh, and in case there was any question, I’m now the one in charge. So do as I say, or you’ll wind up just like him.” He motioned to Gordan’s body.
“You kill me, you’ll get nothing.”
“Maybe.” Cyrus shrugged. “Or maybe I’ll find someone with a thing for dead bodies.”
With a wink that sent bile rushing into the base of her throat, Alex watched with terror as he re-entered the cockpit. A moment later, the jet began to roll its way down the runway.
Please find me, Colt. Please bring me back home to you and Avery.
Her stomach dropped as the plane’s wheels left theground and the nose lifted high into the air. Lines of tears fell freely down Alex’s cheeks.
She didn’t know where they were going, or what was going to happen to her once they got there. All she knew was that she’d just been taken away from everyone she’d ever loved.
“We’re going to find her,” Garrett rumbled low.
Coulter looked over at his brother as they stood in the middle of Alex’s gallery. In a cluster surrounding them were the other members of Garrett’s team.
“He’s right,” Apollo nodded, the man’s dark eyes as serious as ever. “This isn’t our first rodeo, yeah?”
“I know.” Coulter sighed. “If anyone can get to her in time . . .” He let his words trail.
If he tried finishing that statement, his voice would almost certainly crack. As it was, he was doing everything he could to keep it together.
Not an easy task, given he’d never been so scared in his life or filled with such murderous rage. He could barely breathe for the fear coursing through every vein in his body.
“I can’t lose her,” he mumbled to no one in particular.
“You’re not going to.” Bones sounded so sure.
He spared the Tac-Ops medic an appreciative glance. “From your lips to God’s ears.”
“There’s no obvious sign of a struggle,” Digger chimed in next. “But I overheard your boss say her guys found Alex’s phone in the dumpster out back?”
Coulter nodded, grateful that no one on the team was wasting time with questions about his job with the CIA. “There was a full cup of coffee sitting on the counter in the back room.” He brought them all up to speed. “The working theory is Alex made a fresh cup and was either grabbed in there and forced out back, or she was already in the alley when they took her.”
“I’ve got something!” Shadow hollered from where she’d set up shop at Alex’s desk.
He and the others rushed that way. Hovering behind her, Coulter and the men of Tac-Ops did their best to see the woman’s screen.
“What did you find?” he asked, knowing he sounded as desperate as he felt.
“I was able to access the building’s exterior security feed. It was definitely Crawford and Vas who took her.”
They all watched in horror as Alex walked alone to the dumpster a few yards from the gallery’s back door.
“There he is.” Coulter pointed to Cyrus Vas as his muscular form came into view from the lower left of the screen. “Bastard must have parked up aways and then waited for his chance to grab her.”
“That’s why Agent Price’s guys didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary,” Shadow explained. “They were so busy watching the front of the gallery?—”
