AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Though petrified, she tried to remain calm. She wasn’t, of course.
Breathe deep.
* * * *
5:56 p.m., Friday – TBK Tower, Destiny, Colorado
Dylan continued moving his fingers over the keyboard at lightning speed. He would’ve been happier to be out on the scent instead of here, but here was where he had to be. Once he found whoever kidnapped Erica, he would get in the field and put a bullet right between their eyes.
“What’s ‘VU’ mean?” Jason asked.
“It’s the country code for Vanuatu,” he answered.
Though his job in the CIA was mainly acting as an operative, his training in tracking down cyber criminals was extensive. Right now, he was working to ID where Erica’s ransom note had originated. He hoped his skills would be enough to rescue her.
“Never heard of Vanuatu before in my whole life.” Jason took a seat in one of the leather chairs around the table.
“Most hackers know Vanuatu quite well, especially the big players.” Dylan didn’t like what he was uncovering. An international crime syndicate had to be behind this. The more he found, the more his hopes for Erica diminished. But he wasn’t about to give up. That just wasn’t something he could do. Ever. “There are satellite uplinks on Vanuatu. It’s a tiny island nation that makes it hard to trace Internet traffic.”
Scott moved and sat down beside him again. “That’s the fifth country you’ve mentioned. God, I wish my brother and the Texans were here already.”
“When do they get in?” Jason asked.
Scott looked at his iPad. The worry on the man’s face mirrored his own. “They just landed. Another hour until they get to Destiny. We could sure use their help right now. Their talents for this kind of thing are incredible.”
“I agree,” Dylan confessed. “Trust me, Scott. We will find her.” We have to.
“Yes, we will,” Jason said firmly.
“Another dead end.” Damn, whoever sent the ransom note knew how to cover their digital tracks. “This time Sweden.”
“Six o’clock.” Jason’s time check filled him with trepidation.
“All the transactions are ready to go,” Scott announced. “It’s five thirty in the morning in India. Their market opens at nine.”
India would get the first ten million at 9:30 p.m. local time. Two hours later, Russia, and then thirty minutes after that would be Dubai. Ten million each. The last to go at 1:00 a.m. was South Africa and Germany. Each would receive the last of the fifty million dollars.
Dylan clenched his jaw as he continued his search through the digital muck.
If all the money went to those markets before they got to Erica, there would be no reason for the kidnappers to keep her alive.
* * * *
10:00 a.m., Friday – three hours from Destiny, Colorado
Erica was so antsy being tied up in the trunk. Her mind was racing faster than her heart.
She recalled how Megan, her bosses’ fiancée, and Gretchen, the Knights’ longtime maid and confidant, had acted during that scary day back on the top floor of TBK Tower. She loved working there with Eric and Scott. At least, she had loved it until a few month
s ago. Every time since, when she walked into her office, her mind replayed the events of that horrific day.
Eric and Scott were more than bosses to her. Being the youngest and only female of the Orphans of September 28, 2001 in Destiny, Colorado—another tragic day in her life—had bonded her to them. Along with her brothers, Sawyer and Reed, it was like adding an additional five more brothers—Eric and Scott Knight, and Emmett, Bryant, and Cody Stone.
Suddenly, she heard sirens, which pulled her out of her thoughts and back to the here and now—a place she wanted to escape with all her heart.
The car began to slow.
Had the police pulled them over?
