Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Chapter Seventeen
Damion
Walker’s monitoring my calls, so I’m not surprised when Adam’s phone rings and he announces, “Blake,” before answering the line on speaker. I’m expecting him to have plenty to say about the ransom, but that’s not where he starts. “There’s an out-of-use basement in the building,” he announces. “It’s not included in the architectural designs and can only be reached by a service elevator that’s been broken for six months. We’re guessing it’s been repaired and used to hide Alana. That elevator is the only entry or exit to that space, which makes the odds of Alana being down there really fucking good.”
Hope flares inside me, and I don’t ask how he knows any of this. I just want Alana back, and unfortunately, that call I just ended is part of the equation. “The kidnapper called, asking for a ransom, and I have no doubt that’s at my father’s direction. He’s hiding behind the façade of a kidnapping while forcing me to pay the assholes who did it for him.”
Blake must have already known about the exchange because his answer is not only instant but calculated. “Grab the money, and then let Adam do the drop. He’s a master of disguise. He can make them think he’s you.”
Adam’s a big guy, and I cast him a skeptical look, not sure how anyone his size disappears. “I could make you think I’m a little old lady if I wanted to,” he explains. “A scrunched over, six-foot old lady,” he adds, “but an old lady.”
Ignoring our exchange, Blake adds, “We need you to be here for Alana if we pull her out, Damion. Which is why our actions and Adam’s actions must operate in unison. Savage is with me in case Alana needs medical attention when we pull her out of the basement.”
In case Alana needs medical attention…This statement punches me in the chest and then reaches inside me and rips my heart out.
“One of our men is nearby,” Blake continues, not allowing me time to linger on the implications of Alana’s captivity and potential injuries. “He’ll pick you up after you do the handoff with Adam. Be careful, both of you. We have to assume they’ll be watching. Go now.” He disconnects without my approval of the plan, but he has it. Blake was right from the beginning. Alana never left the building, and my gut instinct otherwise was both right and wrong. My father would never approve any action that was obvious.
That basement was off the grid.
It’s not at all obvious.
“What’s our plan?” I ask, with Adam already cranking the engine.
“As Blake said, you’re being watched. You drive to the bank on your own. Withdraw the money. I’ll be in the bathroom. We’ll switch clothes and do the money exchange.” He, too, doesn’t give me time to answer. He exits the vehicle, and I follow.
By the time I’ve rounded the SUV to claim the driver’s seat, he’s gone.
***
Fifteen long as fuck minutes later, I’m finally in possession of a leather bag filled with cash when I enter the men’s room at the rear of the bank lobby. As promised, Adam is there waiting on me, and wordlessly, we exchange clothes—him changing into my suit and me into his jeans and a T-shirt, as well as a baseball cap—before I hand him my keys and the bag of money. “Wait five minutes before you exit,” he instructs. “You must give them time to follow me. One of our men, Casey—he’s an ex-black ops agent and damn good at what he’s doing—is waiting on you. He’s in a black SUV, one block down, in front of Starbucks.”
“And Alana?”
“Blake’s going in as soon as I tell him I’m in your vehicle. Casey will park two blocks from the building and wait for Blake to call.”
There will be no waiting, but I keep that to myself.
As if he reads my mind, his jaw clenches, and he points at me. “Listen to me, asshole, and wait five minutes. Do not cross me on this. We can’t risk anyone watching to figure out I’m not you. Wait,” he repeats, and then he heads to the door and exits.
Fuck.
I have to wait.
I grind my teeth and glance at my watch, hitting the timer button for five minutes before I start pacing. Five minutes that feel like an eternity to me right now. I can only imagine what it must be like for Alana. Every second ticks by with excruciating pain until the buzzer goes off, and I’m already at the door when it does. It’s all I can do to pace myself as I walk through the bank lobby and exit to the street. Once there, I weave in with the bustle of the crowded walkway, and it’s not long until I’m inside the black SUV with Casey introducing himself and offering me confirmation of who I’m with. He’s a big guy with dark hair, and a deadly enough stare for me to find his involvement acceptable.