The Steeles were cool and collected in the face of drama, something that both confused and concerned Harley. It wasn’t until they reached the library and sat down with the detectives that he understood why.
“This isn’t our first kidnapping, Mr. Dalton, so I’m sorry if we seem unaffected by this. We’ve learned the hard way to save emotions for later, once what needs to be done is done.”
Harley made his statement to the police, letting the family listen in anxiously as he recounted the threats, the break-in and finally Jade’s abduction from the property. She and the Steeles were related; they had to be. And if the Steele family wasn’t trying to keep Jade quiet, he had no leads on who the kidnappers could be.
The police were sending a crew to the house to set up a surveillance team in case the kidnappers called in a ransom request. In the meantime, every cop in the city would be looking for a white van with South Carolina plates that started with the number 7.
“This is our fault,” Patricia said, once the police stepped out and left them alone together in the library. She’d been sitting on the couch, holding a dumbfounded Morgan against her side for the last hour. Harley couldn’t begin to imagine how the young woman was processing everything under circumstances like this. “It’s happening again, just like with Tommy.”
Trevor came around the couch and placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “We got Tom back safe and sound, and the same will happen here. We will get Jade back, and then we will find out what happened at the hospital and why.”
“So someone switched babies, then thirty years later, they kidnapped the one who’s really our sister?” one of the twins asked. It was either Finn or Sawyer, Harley wasn’t sure. The young man stood by the window looking confused.
“Morgan is your sister,” Trevor insisted, pointing to the woman on the couch. “In every way that is important. But yes, if this man is correct, your biological sister, Jade, was taken because she was trying to find her family and someone didn’t want that to happen.”
Morgan stood up from the couch, her eyes red, but tearless. “I’m going upstairs,” she said. She rushed from the room.
“Let her go, Patricia,” Trevor said. “This is a lot for her to take in. What’s important for her to know—and for all of us to impress upon her—is that she is no less a member of this family because of what happened.”
Harley was pleased to hear them say that. He was equally hopeful that they would welcome Jade with that same attitude. She deserved that much, especially after he’d basically forced her into going through with it all tonight. What if he’d just taken her home instead of arguing with her? They’d be in bed, holding each other, instead of him waiting anxiously for a phone call or news from the police about Jade’s whereabouts.
“I wish they would just call already,” Patricia said. “The waiting is the worst part.”
As though the kidnappers had heard her plea, a phone started to ring. They all expected it to be the Steeles’ home phone, where the police had the lines tapped, but it was Harley’s cell phone.
He didn’t recognize the number, but he answered, putting it on speakerphone so everyone could listen in. “Hello?”
“Ten million dollars,” a raspy male voice said. “Small, unmarked bills. Fill a black tote bag with the money and leave it in locker 17 at the bus station downtown by ten tomorrow morning. If you follow my instructions and we’re able to pick up the money without police interference, I will text you the location of the woman. If the cops are waiting for us, or we get intercepted in any way, you’ll never see her again.”
“I want to talk to Jade,” Harley insisted, but the man just laughed and hung up. As the line went dead, he felt a sense of hope rise up to battle the ache of dread in his stomach. They just wanted money. He had plenty of that. He’d happily comply with their instructions to get Jade back safely. He just had to hope that the kidnappers played by their own rules.
“Ten million is a lot to get our hands on in less than twelve hours,” Trevor said.
“I know,” Harley said. He’d learned early that to make money he had to keep his cash tied up in things that would continue to earn for him. Untangling that was not a quick job. “I’ll have to think of something. I can easily get my hands on maybe a third of that.”
“How much do we have in the safe, darling?” Patricia asked her husband.
“Four, I think. Maybe four and a half. We could get more wired over without a problem. It’s morning in Switzerland, isn’t it?” Trevor walked over to where Harley was standing and patted him on the back. “Between the two of us, we’ll get Jade back safely. Never fear, she’s one of us now. And in this family, we live by the strict motto of No Steele Left Behind.”
* * *
Jade heard a noise and shot to attention on the cold steel wall she was slumped against. She wished she could pull off her blindfold and see what was happening, but it was impossible with the zip ties on her wrists and ankles.
She’d been alone for a while, but she wasn’t sure how long. She’d heard the men talk about going to get the money and then they left in the van. They didn’t say much to her while they kept her captive, but they left her with parting words that chilled her to the core... The next thing she saw would either be her rescuers if all went well, or the two of them before they put a bullet in her head.
If someone was here, wherever she was, she was about to find out which it would be.
“Jade!”
“Harley? Harley!” Jade heard his heavy footsteps pounding across concrete toward her. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice and felt the tears start rolling down her cheeks. She hadn’t allowed herself to panic; she didn’t have that luxury. But now all her emotions were pouring out of her at once.
She felt someone drop to the ground beside her and rip off her blindfold. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the light after hours in total darkness, but she could make out Harley crouched beside her. He made quick work of the ties on her ankles and wrists, allowing the blood to flow into her extremities again.
“Oh my God, baby, I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so sorry. I never should’ve let you out of my sight.” Harley clutched her to his chest and she happily curled up against him.
She’d spent a long night with her thoughts, reliving what had happened before and after the abduction. She knew she’d overreacted. And in this dire situation, her dangerous bad boy was the only man qualified for the job. He was up to the task, and for that, she would be eternally grateful.
“It wasn’t your fault,” she croaked with a hoarse, dry throat. “You saved me.”