“Sorry to interfere, but do you know anyone called Kelli Brice?”
From the way she jerked toward Devin, Sam had a bad feeling. “What about Kelli?”
“Well, I was just checking your phone…”
“You’re checking my phone?”
“Not the point, lady, but do you have any idea why she’d call you eight times in the last hour?”
Devin pulled up Orla’s phone on the main screen, and Kelli Brice’s name was displayed.
“Who is she?” Sam’s gaze never left Orla’s face. He watched as flashes of worry, fear, and anger raced across her features.
“A friend. My friend. She works in the financial section.”
When she pulled her phone out, Devin shook his head. “That won’t work here. No signal. I can link you via the computer. Just a sec.”
Orla was tense as a bow, and her hand played with her blond hair in a clear sign of her anguish. Sam immediately inched closer to her, in a silent show of support. He didn’t want to touch her, even if his instincts shouted at him to take her in his arms. To his surprise, Orla mimicked his move and touched her hip to his while her blue eyes remained focused on the screen, waiting for Devin to make contact. His gloved hand naturally settled in the small of her back as she leaned into him.
When the ring sounded through the speaker, Sam’s gut tightened. Any monster in its right mind, especially a cornered one, would try to find some kind of leverage. They didn’t know him, so they turned to the one they could identify. From her file, he knew she didn’t have any family, so friends and close acquaintances were the second-best choices.
There were two more rings, and as he expected, the voice that answered was definitely not female.
“Ms. Karlsen, how kind of you to return my call. But out of all of us, I think your friend will be most happy to hear your voice.”
Before anyone could utter a word, a whimper sounded in the background.
“Who are you?” Orla’s voice was hard as steel, but Sam felt her body tremble.
“I think the more important question to ask is, what are you willing to do to keep your dear friend Kelli alive and well? You have something I want. Something that prevents me from doing the worst to her, and I want it. Now.”
Devin signaled that whoever was on the line was trying to trace the call. Sam wasn’t worried about being traced but was more interested in what his hacker friend could find. Sam leaned into Orla’s ear and told her to be careful with what she said, and not to reveal they didn’t have whatever had been in the black briefcase.
In answer, she took his hand and squeezed. For the first time, he truly yearned to have skin contact with her, hell, that he could be there as himself for her. Not as a nameless vigilante.
“What guarantee do I have you won’t hurt her?”
“None. Remember that you’re not the one in control.”
A gun fired on the other end of the line, and Orla screamed.
Devin shook his head at them, a clear sign he hadn’t been able to trace the location of the caller yet. In the still silence, it took a few seconds for their ears to stop ringing, and a woman could be heard weeping in the background.
“Ms. Karlsen, you’re lucky my aim was poor. This time. Bring me the briefcase. I’m texting you the location now. Be there in thirty minutes. And come alone.”
Devin shot the address on the screen as the line went dead.
Sam cursed. “The deadline is tight if we want to reach it before the thirty minutes is up. We have to leave now.”
Orla wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. “But we don’t have what they want. You want to take them an empty briefcase?”
Devin went to the briefcase, put the GPS back and locked it. “I’ve changed the code on the locks, that should keep them busy for a little while. And as I’ve locked the GPS chip inside, be able to track where they take it. That alone should give us the information we need to discover their identity. I’ll contact the rest of the team and see if I can rally a few of them for backup.”
Orla turned to Sam, not letting go of his hand. “He said alone. I have to go alone.”
Sam knew getting back up there quickly was almost impossible, and even if he were selfish enough to ask her not to risk her life, she would do it anyway. He’d go and do his best to protect her along the way. “You won’t be. I’ll be with you in the shadows every step of the way. We’ll retrieve your friend, and make sure those bastards never hurt anybody again.”
ChapterSixteen
