Chapter Nine
Rylan waited until the doors closed before he sat down, picked up his phone, and dialed his head of security.
“Duncan, do you have a minute?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll head down and talk to you about it.”
“I’ll be in my office.”
Rylan almost laughed at the startled looks he got from his employees. They weren’t used to seeing him on their level in the building, which caught them off-guard. They all had a healthy bit of alarm mixed with respect.
He didn’t stop to talk to anyone as he made his way down the hallway. He stepped into Duncan’s room and closed the door.
Duncan relaxed back in his chair. He was one of the few people Rylan called a friend—someone who didn’t care how much money he had and never put up with any of his shit.
“What’s up?” Duncan asked.
Rylan pulled a chair over. “I have a sneaking suspicion my new employee is living in the building.”
“No shit. Who?”
“Faith.”
“The one you told me about?” Duncan asked.
“Yes. She’s special to me.”
“Yeah, man, I know. I’ve heard it in your voice the times you’ve talked to her.”
“Can you somehow pull up footage from the cameras in the building from the last few days?”
Duncan sat forward. “Of course.”
Rylan watched his fingers fly over the keyboard. Several different views popped up on the wall of screens he had across from his desk. He was able to see anywhere in the building at any time.
Within ten minutes, Rylan caught her walking down a dark hallway. “That’s her. Fuck.”
Duncan hissed. “Jesus. The thought of her alone…”
“I know. It makes me sick. Let’s go over some more footage. I want to see how she’s doing it.”
They spent the next few hours going over the days she’d been there, starting at the beginning.
“She’s got a good routine down, and she’s very careful. But why is she living here?” Duncan asked.
“Money, I suspect. She’s only gotten paid once, and that’s not enough for a down payment on an apartment. When my investigator tracked down the woman she lived with before, this Molly told him she had very little money, and she tried to help her, but Faith always told her she was fine.”
“What the fuck,” Duncan said.
“What?” Rylan scanned the monitors.
“Those two guys. What the fuck are they doing in the building at night?”
Rylan narrowed his eyes. “Who are they?”
“I see their badges. Let me get a close-up and get their names.”
Rylan watched as the men went from floor to floor. He could tell they were looking for something, and he had a sinking suspicion what.
“It’s Steve Jordan and Tony Stuart. They both work in Distribution.”
“Shit, there’s Faith. she’s running down a hallway.”
“What room did she just go into?”
Duncan looked at the number. “It’s a storage room on the fourth floor.”
Duncan fast-forwarded until she came out again. It was obvious how cautious and fearful she was.
“Oh, fuck,” Rylan cursed when they saw her go into the stairwell and then right after the men got off the elevator. They spent time going through every office, even going so far as to break into them if they were locked.
They caught sight of her on the top floor. She grabbed some food and then locked herself in his office. “Good girl.”
He didn’t have a camera in that room, so they fast-forwarded again until they caught sight of the men getting off the elevator on his floor. “Jesus Christ. I want them arrested for breaking and entering, and then fired.”
Duncan nodded. “They’ll be out.” He looked up at the clock. “Fuck, it’s past five. They’re gone.”
“Wait until the morning. I want them embarrassed when some cops come in and arrest them.”
Duncan smiled. “Let’s check to see where she is now. Are you going to let her stay here tonight?”
“Fuck, no, she’s going home with me.”
“Good.”
Rylan suddenly stood and pointed at one of the screens. “Oh, fuck, they’ve got her.”
Both men watched as the guys dragged her down a hallway. They could tell she was screaming and fighting them, but she didn’t have a chance.
“What floor?”
“The top. Let’s go.”