His phone rings and he answers it on speaker.
Lief’s voice comes over the phone. “Her car is gone. I don’t know where she is. Have Chase-”
“On it.” I sit back down and start running her cards. She went to an ATM and pulled out three hundred dollars. I hack into the police precinct – because they never have the right security – and find her car info. I run a search on it and can’t find anything. If I can’t find it, Sven can’t. Right now.
“And?” Lief asks, breathless.
“She withdrew cash. No hits on her tag right now. No credit card or debit transactions that I can see,” I report, gritting my teeth.
“Try her cell,” He orders. “She’s running.”
Hunter is fuming. He paces across the room, but I see something else. He looks older, ten years older as he rubs over his jaw. His hair is a mess, his suit rumpled. He’s fucking terrified.
“She’s smart,” I whisper, still looking up her number, trying to triangulate. Finally, I snort. “Fuck this.”
I call her. She doesn’t answer. I shake my head and try again. Then again. Voicemail over and over. I send her a text, begging to tell me she’s safe. Begging her to tell me how I can help.
VALERIE: FUCK OFF!
Groaning, I sigh.
“She could be in her apartment and have parked somewhere else, Lief.”
“She’s not that stupid,” He growls. Once Sven finishes the drop off, he’s checking the entire building. He’ll have her name by the time he’s done. Find her. Now.”
He hangs up and I scrub my hands over my face.
Hunter calls her. He leaves a gravelly message, “Sweetheart, I know you’re scared. Let me protect you. Give me a call and I’ll get you out of the state. Don’t go to Sophie. They’ll follow. Don’t go to family. Trust me, please.”
He hangs up and we agonize for an hour. Finally, I see her phone in use. She’s at some dinky fucking motel. I nod to Hunter and he’s gone. Shivers race down my spine and I quickly get rid of all my search history. I put the blocks back in place, disengage, clear my history, wipe the drive of the data, and stare at my phone.
Two knocks on my door and then Sven comes in. He arches an eyebrow at me. “Lief is the leak. He let a witness get away. I need his location.”
But Hunter and I have already talked about this with Lief. We know we’re being turned in circles and so is our father. And we know that Sven has something to do with it. I don’t know why, but I know he’s involved. I know shit is about to hit the fan.
“Lief reported it,” I say.
Sven blinks. “What?”
“Where do you think Hunter is? On a fucking date? He’s taking care of the girl that you let slip. Lief was the one doing the hit. You were supposed to be watching for witnesses and some little bitch escaped?” I shake my head. “Are you on something?”
“No!” He barks. “Lief-”
“Followed protocol. You left a loose end. Fix it before Hunter does.” I growl. He sputters, but I hold my hand up as I stand. Sven may be tall, but Lief and I both have more than an inch on him. “Lief is out there trying to fix your issue and cover your ass. Hunter is out there to make sure the bitch doesn’t open her fucking mouth. What are you doing other than pointing fingers?”
Sven backs down immediately, but I see the hateful gleam in his eyes. He rushes away and I get the idea to look at who ordered the hit. Tracking things in the computer is easy enough. I don’t see a formal order like I normally see tagged for Lief. And Lief gives me access to his phone. Based on that, Sven barked the order.
So I break a rule and head downstairs. My father looks at the ‘conference’ room with confusion. “Did you order this?”
“No.” He snorts. “Sven said he had a clue on who may be the link and said he needed to pull this person in.”
“They look pretty tongue tied to me.”
We both look at the dead body in the room. My father rubs his head. “Lief-”
“Didn’t deliver. He reported the witness and kept going after her while Sven delivered this like a fucking house cat before throwing blame at Lief,” I hiss. “The same Lief that you personally trained, that has never failed in a single mission he’s been sent on alone, has never raised suspicion. So why would Sven say that you ordered something you hadn’t.”
My father takes a slow breath and his eyes narrow on me. “Say it straight, boy.”