When hischercame home, it would be to peaceful orderliness and no outstanding chores.
He was on his way to the kitchen closet that housed a stackable washer and dryer when he saw the police commissioner on TV speaking at a podium. She was flanked by two men with multiple stars on their lapels. A woman and a man in blue FBI windbreakers stood a short distance behind them.
Moving to the white sofa, Ronan sank into it. He put the basket down on the cushion beside him and turned up the volume from mute.
What followed was a rundown of the abduction and subsequent crime scene locations. Screenshots of the two men who’d exited the vehicle to snatch Ireland were shown. A news ticker at the bottom directed viewers to call the tip line with information and offered a one-million-dollar reward for tips that led directly to Ireland’s recovery.
Then the podium was ceded to Gideon Cross.
Ronan leaned forward, noting how Cross’s wife stood at his side and just behind him. Her face was bare, her blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail and restrained with a headband. She wore a pale blue dress and was considerably shorter than her spouse.
Cross wore a navy three-piece suit. He was hard-faced, his gaze icy. In all the photographs and videos Ronan had studied in the years leading up to the Vidal Records takeover, he’d never seen the man look so foreboding and dangerous. A brother onthe edge. A powerful man with unlimited resources that were useless now.
For a brief moment, Cross stood silently at the podium, staring daggers into the lenses aimed at him. The incessant camera flashes were like strobe lights, but he hardly blinked. “I won’t be taking questions after my statement or at any time. Those should be directed to the authorities.”
He paused for a moment, then said gruffly, “Ireland, if you’re watching or listening, we love you. We’re doing everything in our power to get you home safely.”
Blizzard wandered over and rubbed against Ronan’s leg. Needing the cat a whole lot more than the feline needed him, he pulled Bliz up and into his lap.
Cross continued, his tone sharpening. “I now appeal to Ireland’s abductor or abductors. Contact me. Let’s resolve thisnow. You asked me to hand over one hundred million dollars in jewels for Ireland but gave me too little time to comply. So, I say now, to all, that I stand ready to pay one hundred million dollars to the person or persons who return Ireland safely to us.”
Pivoting abruptly away from the podium, Cross took his wife’s hand and walked off-screen. There was a moment of stunned silence. Then the volume of shouted questions became a roar. The commissioner stepped back into view, her gaze following after Cross. Her expression was blank, as if she hadn’t yet fully comprehended what had been said.
“Mon Dieu,” Ronan breathed, heart pounding while the rest of him was frozen in place, his fingers tangled in the cat’s silky white hair. “He’s set a bounty on their heads.”
Eva’s relief at returning to the penthouse and escaping the world’s prying eyes had dissipated the moment they walked through the door and faced a condo full of critical gazes.
Now, she felt helpless as she watched her husband stand stoically in the center of the room, his arms crossed and legs firmly planted. His gaze was flat and hard as multiple people shouted at him simultaneously. His mother, Elizabeth, was teetering on the fine edge of hysteria.
But he could not be swayed, Eva knew. Once he decided on a course of action, he committed to it and wouldn’t deviate because he’d already envisioned every possible outcome and found the risks acceptable.
The police commissioner did not agree with him. Neither did the detectives nor the FBI, who’d quickly offered their assistance. None of Gideon’s family agreed. Her father wasn’t weighing in because he was in Gideon’s office monitoring the rest of their security team, who were out on the streets hunting. Eva couldn’t say she agreed, either, only that she trusted her husband and knew that his goal was to end Ireland’s dire situation as soon as possible.
“Take it back!” Elizabeth screamed, her lovely face blotchy and her eyes so red they hurt to look at. “Right now! Get out there and tell the press they misunderstood what you were saying!”
“You’re putting these people in a corner, Gideon,” the commissioner said, her face tense with anger. “You’re giving them a reason to cut bait and run.”
“And my sister’s the bait, Mary?” he asked, in a low, dangerous tone that raised the hair on Eva’s nape.
“Don’t twist my words.”
“Gideon.” Chris Sr. walked up to him. His graying auburn hair was disheveled, his face pale with fatigue. “We need to listen to the authorities and follow their advice.”
“You weren’t on the phone with this person,” Gideon snapped. “You didn’t hear how?—”
“Neither were you,” Detective Vega interjected, his crossed arms emphasizing large biceps. As one of the lead detectives assigned to the case, Vega had been hard at work all night. They’d only just met him and his partner, Jang, at the press briefing. Both were hollow-eyed and visibly weary.
“The voice was disguised,” Vega continued. “Maybe, in reality, the message was delivered more seriously, and the program… AI…whatever?—”
Gideon talked over him. “The words were not open to interpretation. The inflection is irrelevant. This is a game to them. Fine, I’ll play. But by my rules.”
“This is Ireland we’re talking about!” Elizabeth’s voice was unnaturally high. “It isn’t a challenge for you to win!”
“She’s right,” Detective Jang said. A veteran of the force, she carried herself with authority. Her dark hair was cropped short, which gave her delicate Asian features a pixie-like quality. “Cooperating with the abductors is the proven way to achieve the best possible outcome.”
The commissioner glared at Gideon. “What you’ve set in motion can get innocent people killed. You could be held responsible for whatever comes from inciting the public to take the law into their own hands. There will be consequences, Gideon, that no one can insulate you from.”
“I’m aware.”
