But those eyes were telling him that now was not a time for watching. Kairo deserved answers.
Izzie lowered his gaze to his hands to find they were tangled together in his lap. He frowned at his wayward fingers. Always giving away his worries.
“As I said, my name is Isidore Panopoulos. I’m the head of the Panopoulos Corporation, which is a conglomerate with a wide variety of interests that include vineyards, farms, transportation—”
“And at least one telecommunications company.”
His smile turned crooked. “One of the largest in Europe, though most of our customers are in Greece.”
“And I’m assuming you were kidnapped,” Kairo drawled, as if he’d heard this story a hundred times already.
Burning crept through his cheeks and he struggled to lift his gaze. In his defense, he’d been trying to help a small child who appeared to have been lost in a busy outdoor market, but by the same token, he knew better than to wander off from his own bodyguards.
Of course, the kid was a ruse and in the blink of an eye, he was captured.
He felt like such a fool.
And he needed to give his poor security team a raise after putting them through all this stress. Assuming he survived this mess long enough to give them a raise.
But none of that mattered now.
“They kidnapped me because they want a copy of the token my company uses to decode encrypted data that is sent via the cell phones on my telecom network.” At that, his head snapped up and he glared at Kairo. He pressed both of his hands to his chest. “Why would I have that information? Do I look like someone who is that tech-savvy? Of course not!”
“But you’re the owner or the president…”
“Chairman, actually,” Izzie corrected in a small voice. “But that kind of advanced programming and technology is beyond me. I get excited when I successfully set a reminder in my phone for an appointment. My company access is limited to logical things such as expenses, customer figures, and profit reports. I even have access to various credit lines and bank accounts.”
Kairo grunted. “But if they are trying to operate under the radar, withdrawing large sums of money from a bank account will draw notice. While hacking people’s accounts using previously encrypted data could take weeks or even months to be caught.”
Izzie sat up a little straighter, his heart giving a skip in his chest. Exactly! He knew Kairo would be able to figure this out.
“Yes! It took me the better part of two days just to convince them that I had no way of accessing what they wanted. At least, not without setting off every alarm and security measure that is in place.”
His new friend didn’t seem impressed in the least. If anything, his expression was growing even grimmer.
“That’s why you decided to drag me into your mess.”
Izzie slumped where he sat and turned his gaze to the floor. “I am truly sorry about this. I didn’t want to force you into his situation.” He met Kairo’s dark eyes and leaned forward. “I do realize how unfair it is to you, and I swear I will make sure that you are amply compensated for your time and the trouble I’ve put you through. Or…if I can’t, I’ll try to make other arrangements.”
This time, Kairo was the first to look away. He scrubbed a hand across his face and then snagged the bottle of water from the floor. He twisted off the lid and quickly downed half the contents. He appeared very annoyed. And he had a right to be.
“Mr. Jones, I am sorry,” Izzie repeated. He’d say it a hundred thousand times if he had to. “I would never have forced you into this situation if it weren’t for…”
“Athena,” Kairo finished.
Izzie nodded. Just the mention of her name made his throat tighten. She had to be okay. They promised they wouldn’t touch her or harm her in any way. Athena was also brilliant and resourceful. She would know how to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. So much better than him.
“Your wife? Girlfriend?”
“Sister,” Izzie quickly answered. “My younger sister. She’s twenty-two and recently finished her bachelor’s degree in city planning with a focus on environmental sciences. She’s taken the past year off to do some charity work, and now she is returning to school for her master’s degree. She’s going to help guide cities into redeveloping into more environmentally friendly spaces while keeping them comfortable and usable to the people inhabiting those spaces. She’s going to change the world. I know it.”
He couldn’t help himself. Whenever he was talking about Athena, he simply had to gush. His sister was far smarter than him, and she possessed the kindest heart. He truly believed she was going to change the world for the better.
Kairo’s expression seemed to soften at the mention of Athena. Good. That was what he needed. He was fine if Kairo stayed mad at him, even if he hated him. It was critical that he worried about Athena. The only thing that mattered to Izzie was making sure his sister escaped this mess unharmed.
“She was taken at the same time as you?”
“No. Separately. Once they figured out I couldn’t get them what they wanted, they suggested bringing in a hacker. I could give the hacker enough access to ease their way into our systems, but I refused…until they captured Athena. Then I didn’t have any choice.”