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“Are you okay?” The woman’s concern oozed through the phone.
“Yeah. Neither one of us was hurt.”
“Still, it sounds terrifying,” Chelsea said in an empathetic tone.
Chelsea knew plenty about terror, Ryan thought. She’d been abducted in the not-too-distant past, had escaped, then fought off hypothermia and several broken bones to get to safety, only to be abducted a second time—from the courthouse, right under Ryan’s nose, during her assailant’s trial. In fact, it seemed Chelsea and Leilah, as well as Olivia and Marielle, had all bonded over that trauma.
“It was,” Leilah said in a soft voice. “I’m just glad I wasn’t alone when it happened.” She glanced up at Ryan and painted him with a warm look that penetrated the center of his being.
“So am I.” Chelsea’s voice turned brisk and business-like. “Okay, the Bearded One said I have to keep this short. Just in case.”
Translation: Jake was concerned that there might be a tap on her phone line. (Ryan wondered idly whether Jake’s fiancée called him the Bearded One in the regular course or if she was being careful not to use names.)
He cleared his throat. “Did the, uh, Bearded One, say whether anything was missing from storage?”
“Our blonde friend says nothing was unaccounted for—other than that one item.”
Ryan was surprised that the three men had gone through the considerable effort of breaking into the fortress-like shed and had taken no weapons or gear. Judging by Leilah’s wide eyes and the little ‘o’ her mouth formed, so was she.
“That’s good news,” Leilah murmured. She flicked her eyes toward Ryan. “Right?”
“It is,” he confirmed. Then he leaned toward the phone in her hand. “Anything else to report?”
“Your friend asked me to make sure you’re taking care of that special project. I mean, we know you are. But, you know him.” Chelsea’s voice was tinged with amusement at Omar’s protective streak.
Leilah’s eyes flared, and he put a restraining hand on her arm.
“Tell him I’m takingverygood care.”
She blinked at the innuendo in his voice.
On the phone, Chelsea was struck temporarily speechless. She recovered quickly, though. “Oh. Oh, okay. This is the last thing: ouramieand the seal tracked down that guy.”
Ryan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Marielle and Trent had found Ahmadi?
“Uh, way to bury the lede,” he told her.
“Not exactly,” she said apologetically.
Leilah wrinkled her forehead in confusion.
Chelsea explained, “The guys headed to the location along with our blonde friend, and the man had already moved on. The trail’s hot, though. They want you to know that. Just hang on for another day or two. They expect they’ll have a more promising update by then.”
“They think we’re just going to sit here and do nothing? For another day?” Leilah scoffed. “Not bloody likely.”
“Listen, Iknowhow you feel. Believe me. But they’re on it. Please be patient. I’ll call you as soon as there’s news.”
Leilah rolled her eyes.
Ryan was distracted. Something wasn’t adding up. Then he realized what felt off. The telephone-monitoring devices hadn’t been stolen, so why couldn’t they talk freely?
“If no equipment was taken from the storage, why are we being so careful about what we say?” he asked Chelsea.
She paused to formulate her response. “The man on the move has the resources to getanythingthat he might need from other places. You shouldn’t assume that you’re in the clear on that front.”
“Understood,” he said.
Beside him, Leilah blanched. He gave her a grim nod of solidarity as his gut twisted at the implications of Chelsea’s explanation.
