Her voice had been cut short, and Boyle came on the line. I could hear Jaime cursing at him in the background. He’d sounded calm when he’d asked, “When can we expect you with the money?”
“A few hours,” Brian said, as planned. Although we’d be rolling in much sooner than that to catch them off guard. “I’m collecting it from a few sources.”
“You’ve got two hours,” Boyle taunted ominously. “Or I’m going to start cutting pieces of your sister off and sending them via courier to your parents.”
“You harm a hair on her head,” Brian threatened, but the line had already gone dead.
Admittedly, Brian did his part well. They didn’t suspect he’d partnered up with anyone to help.
“Let’s run through it one more time,” Kynan says, and I blink out of my thoughts. I glare at him for making us do it, but I listen anyway.
We have a photo projected up on the screen at the end of the conference room table. Kynan uses a laser pointer to go over each man’s position.
Putting the red dot on the roof, he says, “You’ll be here, Cage, and you can access it via the fire escape stairs on the south side of the building without being seen.”
I nod. I’m what’s called the “shock and awe” part of this mission.
“Brian will bring the satchel to this door,” Kynan continues.
All heads turn to look out the glass wall at Brian sitting at a desk in the pit. He knows his part in rescuing Jaime, and he’s committed. For the most part, we trust him to do what’s right, but in the off chance there’s something nefarious we’re not sniffing out, he’s been banished from the conference room while we solidify the remainder of the plans. Essentially, Brian’s on a need-to-know basis… and he only needs to know he delivers the satchel filled with stacks of blank paper so they believe the deal is going down as they planned.
Of course, this plan only got the green light after a very frank discussion with Jaime’s parents. As her husband, I had the legal right to make decisions on her rescue, but I knew how important it would be for our future relationship to involve them.
So Kynan and I sat down with them, along with Clay as the official representative of the FBI, and explained their options.
Either they could let the FBI take over, using their protocols, or they could let Jameson Force Security handle it. Clay explained the FBI would employ the use of a negotiator for her release and the longer the standoff went on, the more Jaime’s life would be in jeopardy.
Kynan explained we would employ a method that was a bit more… let’s say… forceful. We wouldn’t negotiate, and we would ensure it was all over in a matter of seconds. He had to admit there was still some risk. While he couldn’t guarantee any outcome, he felt confident we could get Jaime out unharmed.
Their decision wasn’t easy. They were inclined to trust the FBI, and there was suspicious regard for me—the man who married their daughter behind their back. Ultimately, they chose Jameson because they wanted this over quickly, but mostly because with our plan, Brian would play an integral part and he’d lobbied to help rectify what he’d caused.
Grudgingly, I had a tiny bit of respect for him for doing that, but just a minuscule amount. He still has a lot to make up for.
I listen as Kynan goes over Ladd and Jackson’s roles, who will be coming in behind Brian after I give the signal. It’s a well-timed, well-orchestrated plan that should stun Jaime’s kidnappers into capitulation before they can even raise a gun.
Kynan winds down the meeting. While Jackson, Ladd, and I gather our gear, Kynan goes over everything with Brian one more time. Clay has four agents on standby as backup, ready to make the official arrests.
When Kynan is through with Brian, who goes back to sitting by himself at a desk, I walk over to him. He looks up, wariness in his eyes. He knows I’m beyond furious with him for putting his sister in danger.
But I also know he’s worried about her, too.
“She’s going to be okay,” I assure him. “We’re very good at what we do.”
Gaze dropping, he nods. “She’s going to hate me forever.”
Knowing Jaime the way I do, I feel confident in reassuring him. “Only for a little while.”
His gaze pops up, his lips curving into the slightest of smiles. “I just want to do my part to make this right.”
“You are.” I reach out a hand, squeeze his shoulder. “And she’ll love you for that.”
“Really?” he asks hopefully.
“Yeah.” My smile turns hard, though. “Of course, I’m still considering giving you a sound ass-whooping once it’s all over, then you and I will probably be on good ground.”