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“I guess Stella’s warning bothered me.”
“Stella is relatively new to the team. She doesn’t know me well.”
“I can see how that would be the case. You’re difficult to get to know.”
“Do you think?”
“Yes. You don’t open up easily, do you?” I grit my teeth, not liking at all where she’s headed. “I don’t know where I was going with all of this. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“If it bothered you, if anything bothers you, you should tell me. Otherwise, I’m in the dark. And I don’t like being in the dark.”
“No. You like being in control, don’t you?” I nod with caution, sensing an impending attack. “You handle not being in control better than I thought you would.”
“How do you figure?”
“You haven’t fought the FBI joining this case.”
“My ego isn’t attached to it. I want Sophia home. Only in the movies are cases solved by one person. Nowadays it takes an army. At the right juncture, I’ll get involved.”
“I get it.” She shrugs. She looks happier. Lighter. Her eyes are once more a deeper shade of green. “I was wrong.” She doesn’t make any fucking sense.
“How were you wrong?”
“I pegged you as someone who demanded control.”
She’s not wrong. I left the military because, at the end of the day, I refused to put my life, or the lives of my team, in the hands of a nameless person up above me ever again. I started my own company for control. My greatest frustration is my inability to fix my sister.
“Do you like control?” I counter her observation with a question. She moved to another country to get away from her father. It appears she doesn’t like being controlled.
“I’ve never had it. I wouldn’t know.” Her chin lifts, and there is an unmistakable challenge.
I can’t help but think about how she’s had me at her mercy, twice now, in the last twenty-four hours.
The door out onto the deck opens. An agent sets one foot onto the deck.
“We’ve got an update on Larry Reyes.”
CHAPTER19
138 Hours Missing
Alex
“Agents visited Larry Reyes’ home in Texas. He’s not there. Neighbors said he hasn’t been home since last week. We don’t have a search warrant. There was nothing notable in his yard. Here in San Diego, his super said he hasn’t been home this week. All of this could mean he is on vacation somewhere. Given the timing of his vacation, he remains a person of interest.”
Agent Ryland addresses the room from beside the whiteboard that hangs on one wall of Jack’s home office. Ryan, six other FBI agents, and I listen. Jack sits behind his massive office desk, looking pale. His eyes are glazed.
“Any updates on the source of the ransom request email? Or the account seeking funds?” I ask.
All of the agents in the room turn their attention to me. Normally, I would shrink from so many more experienced law officers staring me down, but I’ve been mulling an idea over in my head.
“No. Whoever is doing this is tech savvy. And they know the identities of crypto accounts are protected. They also are aware enough to know that even a billionaire doesn’t have twenty-five million easily available. They gave Jack time to pull the funds together.” Excitement percolates. Ryan’s gaze centers on me. He gives a short nod, urging me to continue. “When she was first missing, our first thought was that she might have gone off with a friend or someone who convinced her to leave. We were also worried that someone may have abducted her and didn’t know who she was.”
Agent Ryland looks at his watch. I ignore him.
“Jack’s PR company has blanketed the news with Sophia’s case. You can’t go anywhere without seeing something about the Texan billionaire’s missing daughter. And then we get a ransom.” I hold up an index finger and move to the middle of the room. “Work with me,” I say, letting my gaze travel from man to man to man. “A team of individuals did this. This is not one person working alone. Even if Larry Reyes is in on it, he couldn’t do it by himself. Nothing in his educational profile would give the expertise to pull it off without help.” I look to Ryan. “Our bet is that a ransom was not the original plan. We went six days without a ransom. If a team kidnapped her with ransom in mind, they would have reached out. Going to the media makes it more difficult to pull off a successful kidnapping. Someone within that team changed the plan after the media hit and the reward was placed.”
“That’s one theory,” Agent Ryland says. “How does that help us?”
