Page 108 of The Billionaire's Virgin

Chapter Thirty-One

Reed

“I assure you, Mr. Davis,” the head of the police department was telling me. “We’re doing everything we can to get your daughter safely back to you.”

“Do better than your best,” I said, not caring if I sounded rude or harsh. “She’s only four, and there’s a mad woman who’s got her hands on my daughter. Have you put up pictures of Sofia Burton?”

There was a pointed pause, and I knew what that meant. “Chief?”

“I think we should avoid doing that, Mr. Davis,” he replied. “We know what Sofia Burton looks like and we have every confidence—”

“You got a call from Mr. Burton, didn’t you?”

“That’s—”

“Listen to me,” I said, through gritted teeth. “I don’t care who he is or how much money he has. I can outbid him any day. Find my daughter and make sure you do whatever needs to be done to ensure that she’s returned to me safely.”

He was still insisting that the police department was going to do their best for me when I hung up on him. My patience was strained. It had been almost an hour and a half since Sofia had taken off with Jenna and still, we had heard nothing. The police were trying to track the call that Taylor had received on her phone, but it linked to a temporary number and a disposable phone.

I was attempting to call Taylor again when I heard an urgent knock on my door. I went to answer it and found Jennifer on the other side. She came forward and embraced me hard.

“Have you heard anything yet?” she asked.

“Not a thing,” I said, shaking my head. “They’re still looking.”

“This is insane.”

“They should never have allowed bail,” I hissed. “That was the first mistake. Of course the Burtons have enough money to post bail, no matter how high it may be.”

“Have you heard anything from Mr. Burton?”

“No,” I said. “And I don’t expect to either.”

“He can’t possibly ignore how sick his daughter is after this?” Jennifer asked incredulously. “I mean… she just kidnapped a child.”

“I don’t know how far he’ll go to protect Sofia,” I said. “In some ways, I understand his need to keep her safe. I would do the same for Jenna. But there has to be a limit. She’s hurting innocent people now, and that can’t stand.”

“No, it can’t,” Jennifer agreed.

“He’s trying to keep her name out of the news outlets,” I said. “I think he’s managed to get the police to agree to that too.”

“Well, there are ways we can get around that,” Jennifer pointed out.

“I’m way ahead of you,” I said. “I called three of the biggest news agencies in New York. They promised me that within the hour they will all have Sofia’s face plastered on television screens everywhere. Burton’s not the only one with money and connections.”

“Good on you,” Jennifer said. “Once people see her face, they can report any sightings.”

“That’s the plan.” I nodded.

Jennifer looked around curiously. “Where’s Taylor?”

“She’s still in the area where Jenna was taken,” I said. “She’s convinced that if she looks hard enough, she can find Jenna.”

“She should come here.”

“I’ve told her that… repeatedly,” I agreed. “She refuses to listen. She’s a little too shaken up and…”

“Yes?”