Page 158 of Jay Bird

Before Derek could answer, Tink turned back toward him as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Can you be ready in fifteen minutes?” Tink said.

“What?” Jay Bird asked.

“That was contact up in Accomack. They got a visual on one of Chen’s men. Apparently, he went into a local convenience store. When the clerk was shown a picture, he picked out the guy and said he was there about an hour ago.”

“I can be ready in five minutes,” Jay Bird said.

A faint smile touched Derek’s mouth. “I figured you’d say that.”

Jay Bird reached for the go bag he had left near the chair, but before picking it up, he stopped and looked back at Lily.

He couldn’t leave her alone.

Derek seemed to understand immediately. “Juliette and a few of the other girls should be here in about ten minutes. Riley included. Lily won’t be alone for a second.”

Jay Bird nodded slowly.

He walked back to the bed and leaned over, brushing his knuckles gently across Lily’s cheek.

“I’ve gotta go find Momma, peanut.” His voice caught slightly on the last word, but he didn’t care who heard it. “Juliette, Riley, and a few of the others are coming to hang out with you, so don’t give them too much trouble when you wake up.”

Jay Bird kissed her forehead again and lingered there for another second before straightening.

He picked up his bag and looked at Derek and Tink. The fear hadn’t disappeared, and neither had the rage, but both had settled beneath the part of him that knew how to function when everything was on the line.

“Let’s go get my girl.”

Derek opened the door. “That’s the plan.”

Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN

Chen stood at the window of the master bedroom, slowly turning the glass of scotch in his hand as he looked over the dark property surrounding the rental house. There wasn’t much to see beyond the faint outline of trees and the occasional glow of headlights moving along the distant road, which was precisely why they had chosen the place. They were roughly an hour and forty minutes outside Virginia Beach, far enough away from the chaos surrounding the port and the massive search underway for Willow that Chen could finally allow himself to relax.

His plan had worked.

A satisfied smile tugged at his mouth as he lifted the glass and took a slow drink.

He had known about the tracker hidden inside that ridiculous stuffed elephant before they had ever reached Norfolk. One of his men had discovered it while checking Lily after they had left the rescue center, and Chen had immediately recognized the opportunity it presented. Destroying the device would have told anyone monitoring it that something was wrong. Leaving it active had been far more useful.

Let them follow it. Let them believe they had found Willow.

Better yet, let them waste hours trying to figure out how to safely open a shipping container wired with explosives while Chen quietly disappeared with the only person he had actually come to Virginia for.

Lily had never mattered. The child might carry his blood, but that meant nothing to him. From the moment she had been born, she had been nothing more than a distraction for Willow, something that consumed her attention and made controlling her increasingly difficult. If anything, the girl had been responsible for giving Willow the courage to run.

His contact near the port had kept Liu updated throughout the afternoon, and the reports had been almost amusing. Police, federal agents, bomb technicians and military personnel had descended on the area while explosives specialists spent hours working through the devices attached to the container. By the time they had finally opened the doors and recovered Lily, Chen and Willow were already long gone.

The only disappointing part was that the container hadn't exploded.

Chen had no particular interest in killing the child, but if it had happened, he wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it. Besides, the destruction and confusion would have bought him even more time.

He checked his watch. They still had about an hour before they would move.

The private jet was waiting at a smaller airport under paperwork that wouldn’t immediately connect it to him. The aircraft belonged to one of his business associates through a legitimate company, and according to the latest information Liu had received, nothing had been flagged. The flight plan was in place, the crew was prepared, and they would soon leave the rental property and drive to the airport. After that, they were going to Italy.

Chen had already arranged everything they would need at his coastal estate. Security would be increased, Willow’s access to the property would be severely restricted and, at least initially, she would be confined to a room with twenty-four-seven security. He had made the mistake of giving her too much freedom because he had believed she had finally accepted what her life was.