Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 110273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Matt and I shared a look.
Should we? But then the elevator suddenly stopped. The doors opened, and it wasn’t the right floor, but Fitz and Scott were both there. Both were glaring. Both stepped inside. The doors closed again, and yeah.
We were in trouble.
TWENTY-NINE
Kash
“They’re there right now?”
Scott was giving me the latest report on Team Batt. It wasn’t good.
He sounded frustrated. “I’m sorry. This is not professional of me, but Bailey and Matt are insane. They’re out of control. We have no idea how they got their hands on it, but they got Quinn’s phone and Bailey hacked it. Somehow that led them to this hotel, and we’re sitting there, assuming they’re doing the same thing they did at Octavo—letting loose in an establishment you don’t own—until Quinn’s sister swoops in. Matt takes off after her. Bailey darts after them, stops, and Matt yells at her. She jumps in the elevator with them and up they zoom. We’re currently holed up in a hallway below where Quinn’s sister was going to meet Quinn, and Bailey and Matt are huddling over some listening device. Every time we step close, they move away. We can’t force them anywhere, but they’re not letting us get close enough to overhear. I repeat,” he said, extremely frustrated, “Bailey and her brother are out of control.” He took a breath. “What’s next? Getting arrested so we can protect them inside jail? I would not be surprised if somehow Quinn gets word what they did and sends patrol units to the Chesapeake.”
I needed a minute to process all of that.
Processing done. I’d be shooting Matt in the ass at some point in the future.
“I’m coming back. Again.”
Josh whirled back to me. He’d been stretching. “What?”
Scott got quiet on his end.
“I’ll return with Drake. The rest will stay”—I was half speaking to Josh now—“and will take the meet with Harden, because he finally reached out.”
Josh cursed, shaking his head. “He’s going to be pissed you aren’t there.”
“Tough.”
“Huh?” Scott asked.
“Not you. I’ll do an international flight to the States. Get one of the jets up and going. Have it meet me in San Antonio.”
“The last I heard, you were in North Carolina.”
“That was two days ago. We’re in Colombia now.”
Scott fell silent again.
“You can coordinate from there,” I commanded, before I hung up and put the phone in my pocket.
“We just landed. Ten minutes ago,” Josh said.
“Drake!” I motioned to him. “Grab your bag.”
He bent, grabbing his duffel. I was going through my own, because flying on normal planes meant stricter rules.
“Boss.” Josh stepped to me, his boots on the ground next to my bag. “Kash.”
I looked up, my hand going into my duffel. “What?”
“Harden specifically asked for an in-person meet. This has to do with your grandfather. If he is isolated, you can just finish him tonight. We can have this all done tonight. We can all be flying back. Give it twenty-four hours.”
I shook my head. “You heard Scott. I’ve given you guys strict orders not to force any of your charges to do something against their will. I am firm on that line, so that means someone has to talk sense into both of them. We’re not just dealing with Bailey here. This is Matt. I love the guy, but Scott’s not wrong. Matt will get her arrested if they’re as out of control as he’s saying. I don’t want my woman behind bars.”
Drake was looking between us.
I motioned to him. “We’re flying back commercial.”
“Commercial?”
I nodded. He knew what that meant, and right then and there, both of us pulled out our guns, our knives, and any other weapons we had. All were handed over to Josh, who was glaring at first. A second later, he relented with a grumble. “This is stupid.” But he took the weapons, finding room in his duffel for each one.
We handed the chambers over next.
Same thing. They were put inside his duffel bag, too.
Drake and I went through our bags one more time to ensure we wouldn’t get pulled over or questioned in customs.
I looked over. “Passport?”
Drake froze, then expelled a deep pocket of air. He patted his top breast pocket. “I almost thought I hadn’t brought it.” He pulled it out. “All good to go.”
Mine was in my inside pocket.
“Okay.” I nodded to Josh. “You’re in charge. Keep in contact. I want to know what’s happening on this end.”
Drake lifted two fingers in a salute.
Josh flicked his middle finger at us. “I hate this.”
“Boss, what about Victoria?” Josh asked.
“Her deprogramming?”
“They said it’s as good as they’ll get her. We do more and we run the risk of that gray area.”
I didn’t feel right holding anyone captive, unless they shared my blood.
I made my decision, knowing I’d probably regret it. “Let her go.”
THIRTY
Bailey
Despite the glaring, Fitz and Scott didn’t say a word. Scott had to walk away for a bit, and during that time, we concocted a plan. It was more like blackmail, but the ends justified the means. We had Payton make a video in which she confessed to everything she’d told us in the elevator. The deal was simple. She went in that hotel room, taped her conversation while also having Matt’s phone open in her pocket. It was put on silent so anything incoming wouldn’t make a noise.