CHAPTER SIX
Maya took a deep, shuddering breath and reluctantly extricated herself from Jeffrey’s embrace. “I do apologize.” She sniffled and accepted the tissue he offered. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“For God’s sake, Maya, you have every right to be upset. Someone has taken your … our daughter.” Jeffrey set the box of tissues in front of her. “So how about you give yourself a break and save the British stiff upper lip for another time, okay?”
“Yes, yes, you’re right.” She dabbed away the last of her tears and rolled her chair back to the other side of the table. If she remained too close to him, she would be strongly tempted to crawl into his lap and continue with her pitiful sob fest. “What is our next step?”
Now was not the time to fall apart. Maya would delay that until after her daughter was home safely. Only then would she cloister herself away in her bedroom closet for a good cry. In the meantime, she would revert to her MI6 training and experience to find her daughter.
Our daughter. That was going to take some getting used to.
“Write down the access information to Isla’s account.” He stretched across to grab a notepad and pen from his desk and set them in front of her. “I’ll have my tech guy trace the IP address, and hopefully, we’ll figure out who she was really communicating with.”
“Her password was frightfully easy to decipher.” Kitten . She scribbled down the user ID and password, tore off the paper from the pad and handed it to him. “She’s been begging me to get her a kitten for months.”
As much as she would have loved to have given her daughter a kitten, their lives didn’t suit pet ownership.
“Wait here.” Jeffrey pushed back from the table, stood, and walked out of his office.
A door down the hall opened, then closed.
Maya dug her phone from her bag and, like she’d done a hundred times a day since Isla disappeared, checked for missed calls, texts, or e-mails. And just like all of the times before, there was nothing, and her heart sank further into despair.
A door opened, then closed, and Jeffrey stepped back into his office.
“Casey’s going to work on that.” He closed his door with a soft click . “In the meantime, why don’t you tell me about Isla. ”
“I’d love to.” For years, she’d wanted to talk with him and share all of the wonderful things about their daughter. Now, she finally could. “As I mentioned before, she’s brilliant. Math comes easily to her, and she has far surpassed my ability to teach her any longer.”
“You homeschooled her?” His posture seemed to relax. Slightly.
The only time she’d ever truly seen him relax was right after sex. The mere thought of their steamy nights together sent warmth pouring into her cheeks, which he would surely notice. So she looked down and pretended to brush something off her pant leg.
Her body’s response to him and to those memories had always been intense and probably always would be. Just because she’d had to leave him didn’t mean her feelings for him ever changed. Perhaps if they had, her life without him might’ve consisted of fewer nights filled with loneliness and longing.
“Maya.” Jeffrey looked at her as if he’d said her name a few times.
“What?” She blinked away the past. “Sorry.”
“Where did you go just now?” He tilted his head to the side.
Nope, not sharing that bit of information.
“It’s just lack of sleep.” She shooed it away with the whisk of her hand. “Where was I?” She snapped her fingers. “Oh, yes, homeschooling. It really was the only feasible option that worked for our … lifestyle.”
“Lifestyle?” His brows crinkled.
“Let’s just say we’ve dealt with immense challenges and change.” So much change. “We’ve had to relocate eleven times in the past twelve years, and each time becomes more difficult.” For both of them. “Poor Isla has never been able to make any lasting friendships.” Nor had Maya.
As if hearing her thoughts, he said, “Had to be pretty tough on you, too.”
“Keeping her safe has been my primary focus.” Her needs were secondary. “The people after her me will surely stop at nothing to use her against me.”
A cell phone pinged.
“Excuse me a moment.” Jeffrey reached into the inside pocket of his suit coat and slipped out his phone. His eyes traveled back and forth as he scanned the screen. “Casey was able to trace the IP address for Samantha.”
“That was certainly fast.” Maya shifted to the front of her chair.
“He’s one of the best.” He set his phone face-down on the table. “The IP address belongs to a known sex offender who manages a child pornography site and goes by the screen name of Maximillian. His real name is Gary Joseph Sherborne, and he’s located in Richland, Washington. ”
“Oh, God.” She dropped back against the chair. “I knew she … but hearing it aloud …” Her hand lifted to cover her mouth.
“Richland is in the tri-cities area of eastern Washington. That’s a hell of a long way from Sicily.” He picked up his phone. “I’m going to call some people I know who operate out of Washington.”
“Wait!” Her arm shot across the table, and she covered his hand holding the phone. “People? What people? What if Isla ends up getting hurt?” She didn’t want just anyone going after that guy.
“They are highly trained operatives and their Dark Ops unit specializes in dealing with online child exploitation and other related crimes.” He tapped the phone screen twice and put it to his ear. “They are eminently qualified, and I trust them to go after our daughter.”
Maya chewed her lip, prepared to protest further. Instead, she reminded herself that she had come to him because he was her last, best hope. Maya had to trust him.
“Hey, Jonathan.” He nodded. “Yeah, I figured you guys were still on your way back to Whidbey Cove.” He listened for a moment, then his eyes lifted to her. “Yes, this is about the woman at the coffee shop.”
“Hang on, Jeffrey, I’m putting you on speaker because I want Beck to hear this,” Jonathan said.
“What’s up?” Jonathan asked.
“I’ve got an urgent situation, and I need OSI’s help.” Jeffrey rose from his chair and moved to stand behind his desk. He opened up the information Casey sent him and spent the next few moments explaining the circumstances behind Isla’s disappearance. “We’ve traced the IP address to a Gary Joseph Sherborne in Richland, Washington. Screen name, Maximillian.”
“Sherborne, yeah, we’re familiar with that piece of shit,” Jonathan said. “Operates a child porn site out of his home called Youthful Delights. The Dark Ops team is close to taking him down.”
“His usual MO is tricking or extorting young people into sending him sexually explicit photos that he can put up on his site.” Beck made a point to keep up with all of OSI’s various operations and investigations. “Grabbing a kid seems off-nominal for him.”
“Agreed, but it’s possible he’s working with someone overseas.” Jeffrey was well aware of how quickly the child sex crimes industry was growing.
“Jonathan’s on his phone putting together a team,” Beck said. “Mason will have them in the air in less than an hour. ”
“Beck, there’s something else you should know.” He looked across the room at Maya, and their eyes locked. “Isla is my daughter.”
“Did you say she’s your … daughter?” Beck sounded almost as shocked as Jeffrey had been.
“Yes. I’ll explain later.” He moved back over and picked up Isla’s photograph. “Hang on a second. I’m going to send you Isla’s photo.” He snapped a quick pic with his phone, tapped the screen, and texted it to Beck and Jonathan.
“Got it,” Beck said. “Jeffrey, we’re on it.”
“Thanks. Keep me informed.” He ended the call and looked at Maya. “Now, we wait.”