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“I’ll get him back. I promise I’ll get him back safe and sound.”
I wanted to believe him. I had to. The thought of never seeing Leo again threatened to keep me on the floor forever, but I clung to Mikhail’s promise. My legs felt like they were in deep quicksand, but my thoughts were becoming clearer. My brother was in trouble. He needed me.
If the situation were reversed, Leo would have already leaped into action. He wouldn’t be huddling in a puddle on the floor. I wiped away the tears I didn’t realize had been flowing down my cheeks. Shaking but getting stronger by the second, I dragged myself to my feet.
At some point when I’d been sniveling, Mikhail must have dismissed his guards. We were alone in his office. The terrible video was still loaded on his computer screen, and that final frame of Leo passed out in the chair those monsters had tied him to, still visible.
Mikhail noticed I was transfixed by it and turned the monitor off with a curse.
“I’ll get him back,” he said again.
“How?” I asked.
His eyes skated away from mine. I believed he wanted to help and would do everything in his power to save Leo, but I could tell he didn’t know how to start yet.
“You should stay out of it,” he told me.
I would have laughed if I hadn’t just seen something that stole a piece of my soul. “You better not try to leave me out of it, Mikhail.”
His eyes narrowed, and he pressed his lips together. To hell with it. I didn’t have time to argue with him. My legs had regained their strength. I turned and stalked away. He grabbed my hand before I reached the door.
“Where are you going?” He wasn’t being harsh. His voice sounded pained as if he hated not knowing what to do.
“I’m going to find a gun and shoot you if you don’t let me help save Leo.”
He raked his fingers through his hair, looking like a frustrated porcupine by the time he stopped. One hand was still wrapped around mine.
“The Novikoffs must know you’re here now,” he started slowly. It wasn’t a direct admonishment, but it felt like a slap in my guilt-ridden state. But while I had started this, it wasn’t about me now. I nodded tersely for him to continue. He closed his eyes. “Since there’s no way they can breach the island, they’re trying to flush you out, don’t you see? They want you where you’ll be more vulnerable.”
He was right. Furious tears welled in my eyes, and I crammed my fists into the sockets to keep them from falling. “I don’t care,” I croaked around my clogged throat. “Mikhail, he’s my brother.”
He pulled me into his arms. I couldn’t fight him and didn’t want to. His comforting hands rubbing my back kept me from falling to pieces. I struggled to find the words to explain to him how much I needed to help. Logic told me my presence would probably make no difference, but my heart had to be where Leo was.
“Okay,” Mikhail said, his chin resting on the top of my head.
I jerked back to look up at him, shocked he had agreed. But I could see in his eyes he understood somehow, and I melted against him with relief and gratitude.
“But only if you listen to every word I say and do every last thing I tell you,” he added. “If anything starts to go south, you’re out, got it?”
I nodded against his chest. “Yes, I’ve got it.” I held on tight. Of course, Mikhail understood. “Thank you.”
Invigorated by fresh purpose, I pushed away from his warm embrace and hurried back to his computer, snatching out the USB stick and heading to my own office.
“What are you doing?” He followed me down the hall.
I prayed my hunch was correct. “They’re idiots, remember? They never checked all their camera feeds after they figured out I hacked them.” I flew into my office and sat down, flicking my sleeping screens to life. “Maybe,” I said, inserting the USB into a port. “Just maybe somebody slipped up somewhere.”
I opened the metadata on the file, trying to keep my hopes level as I scanned the information. Mikhail sat across from me, his hands planted on the desk as he leaned over, trying to see what I was doing. My heavy heart grew lighter as I found what I sought and whooped in triumph.
“What’s going on? What did you find?” he asked, rushing around to crouch beside me. He stared at the screen, which was probably gibberish to him, but was as good as a map to me.
I jabbed at the metadata and then switched tabs to pull up a map. “Whoever sent this was either impatient, sloppy or just plain stupid. Maybe all three. They never wiped the location information. A fifth grader should know to do something like that before sending out pictures or videos.”
He grimaced. “I wouldn’t know how to do that.”
I smiled, my face feeling rickety and out of practice. This was good news, but Leo still wasn’t safe. “God, I love you, old boomers,” I said. “You make my life so much easier.”
He let the mild insult roll off his shoulders. “So you know where he is?”
