Chapter 5 #3
Valentin exhaled harshly. “Please don’t go to the police without Jules or another lawyer with you.
A man with your history can’t be too safe when dealing with cops.
Especially in such a high-profile case. The public wants answers.
Cross and his family will demand them. Don’t make yourself the easy answer. ”
“Wise advice. I’ll heed it.”
There was a long pause, then Valentin said, “I fear you don’t take the danger seriously enough.”
Raking a hand through his hair, Ronan searched for a way to reassure his old friend and damned his stressed mind for struggling to think. “It’s hard to worry about myself while I’m so worried about Ireland. But you’re right that I should be cautious. I’ll talk to Jules about it.”
“Bon. Please keep us posted. And know that you’re always welcome here. Nothing can change that.”
Ending the call with a promise to touch base later, Ronan held his phone for several minutes, his gaze on the muted television as he moved the few feet into the living room.
Pundits were discussing Cross’s statement, debating whether he’d simply misspoken.
Experts were offering their takes, and the consensus was that Cross had made a terrible error.
It would be far too easy to accept that reasoning if one hadn’t seen Cross the night before.
Ronan didn’t agree with how Ireland’s family underestimated her and kept her in check, but he’d witnessed their devastation as the truth of her situation came to light, and he’d felt their pain.
Whatever else there was to consider, he believed her family loved her and would pay any demand for her.
Cross had revealed a great deal when he’d spoken.
Not just how much the ransom was, but that the kidnappers had set an unreasonable time limit to meet their demands.
It was hard to believe the people who pulled off the strategic, precisely orchestrated kidnapping would blunder the hostage handoff.
Especially with a cooperative family and so much money on the line.
If they weren’t focused on getting paid, what else was their aim?
Standing in Ireland’s home, a place that somehow felt enlivened by her fiercely feminine essence, made her absence so hard to bear…and his worries far too terrifying.
At her husband’s direction, Eva took the seat behind his home office desk. Gideon took a position behind her, his left hand settling lightly on her right shoulder. They faced a stylishly attired insurance company representative whose copper hair was restrained in a tidy bun.
Night had fallen beyond the windows of their penthouse.
The dinner her father thoughtfully prepared had been a mechanical exercise in fueling their bodies.
They’d been winding down for bed after a brutally long day of waiting for another ransom call when Vicki Banning arrived.
Eva was still unsure why the woman was there and felt uneasy about it because of the late hour and the nature of her business.
Insurance companies transacted in tragedy.
Banning settled into one of the visitors’ chairs used by the security team when conferring with Gideon.
His home office was not a place where he conducted in-person business with non-essential personnel.
It was used mostly as his personal workspace, which was reflected by the collage of photos pinned to the wall, dozens of private and candid images of Eva and Lucky that he’d captured over the years.
“I’m very sorry your family is experiencing this devastating and unfortunate situation,” Ms. Banning said, crossing her legs as she settled in. Her skirted business suit was a cayenne hue and suited her coloring.
“You could call it that,” Gideon said flatly.
Having removed his suit jacket earlier in the day, he stood now in his vest. The light from the brass fixture overhead glinted off his tie clip, cufflinks, and the fob chain of his pocket watch.
In a way, his suits were armor for him, a barrier between his father’s legacy and the one he was building.
Today and every day, he projected power and command because he faced threats from so many challengers, rivals, and enemies.
“There really aren’t words that adequately cover the abduction of a loved one.” Banning’s tone was soft, but also matter-of-fact.
When Gideon said nothing, Eva looked up at him and saw his austere expression framed by the ebony silk of his hair.
He was capable of hiding every emotion and reaction, his striking blue eyes able to conceal as much as they revealed.
She knew his unreadability was another weapon in his arsenal, but hated that the warm, generous, tender soul of the man she loved was so frequently locked away behind that imposing, magnificent exterior.
Eva took the lead. “Why are you here, Ms. Banning?”
“I’m required to be here, as per the terms of your K&R policy. So is a trained hostage negotiator.”
Before Eva could ask for clarification, Gideon explained, “Kidnapping and ransom insurance.”
“Oh.” She was momentarily startled that abductions were so common as to be insurable.
Banning crossed her hands in her lap. “It’s our job to negotiate your sister’s return, Mr. Cross.”
“Ireland,” he corrected. “Her name is Ireland. It’s also your job to ensure that the negotiation includes haggling over the ransom price.”
Recognizing his tone, Eva leaned back in the chair and let him control the conversation.
“For your benefit,” Banning countered. “If it seems like you’ve got more to spend, there’s nothing to stop the abductor or abductors from making additional demands, which would only delay Ireland’s return.”
“That assumes my sister has time for you to spend bargaining the price down.”
Ms. Banning’s head tilted. “You trusted us enough to buy our policy, but you don’t trust us to execute the terms of it? What changed?”
“This kidnapping is personal.”
“I see.” Banning paused for a moment. “I don’t want to take up more of your time than necessary, so I’ll get to the point. Your policy requires the use of our highly trained negotiators. You violated the terms by negotiating on your own. The policy is now void.”
“They made a demand, and I agreed. That’s capitulation, not negotiation.”
“The discussion wasn’t handled the way it should have been, which increases the liability and risk beyond the considerations of the policy.”
Straightening, Eva pulled away from Gideon’s restraining hand on her shoulder and set her elbows on the desk.
She was deeply resentful that anyone would be worried about their own bottom line when a precious life hung in the balance, but if she’d learned anything from working alongside her husband, it was that the human cost of business was rarely factored in.
“Eva…” he warned, his tone low. “It’s fine. Let it go.”
She spoke anyway. “You can’t be serious. No one in their right mind would come to our home at a time like this, with what we’re going through, to drop a fucking insurance policy.”
Banning cleared her throat. “I also find this distasteful, Mrs. Cross. But there are resources you would’ve been entitled to if your policy were in effect and you need to know that we won’t be providing them.”
Eva’s fingertips tapped a rapid staccato into the desktop.
“Oh, you’re going to provide them,” she said sharply.
“And you’re not voiding the policy because we’re now the safest bet.
Do you think anyone is ever targeting one of us again after this?
Knowing how my husband reacts to this kind of threat? ”
“His decision to put a bounty on the kidnappers is likely to get Ireland killed,” Banning shot back. “I’m sorry for my bluntness, but it’s true. The company takes pride in achieving safe recovery in the vast majority of our claims.”
“You don’t want this ‘claim’ to be a strike against your reputation? Is that what you’re saying?” Eva fell heavily back into the chair. “Wow.”
It struck her then just how alone her husband was with the decision he’d made.
He had zero support from anyone, while facing judgment and criticism from everyone.
He alone had responsibility for his choice.
It broke her heart that he was carrying this burden alone, and she couldn’t help him.
Even if she agreed with him, which she wasn’t sure she did, that wouldn’t change the fact that he’d acted against best practices.
Gideon crossed his arms. “I was open to handling this by the rules, but the kidnappers weren’t interested in arranging a clean, quick trade.”
“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.” Banning uncrossed her legs and sat up straighter. “It’s not unusual for kidnappers to test your commitment first, to make sure you’re taking them seriously. A respectful, open dialogue would’ve paved the way for a productive negotiation.”
“I’ve been deadly serious.”
“And confrontational,” she shot back. “Aggressive. That’s widely reported to be your style of conducting business, but that’s not how you show a kidnapper that you respect the power they have over you.”
“Agreeing to their demands wasn’t respectful enough? I’ve had Cross Industries employees kidnapped overseas, as you know, because your company insured those claims. The pattern of demand and return is always similar. This is entirely different.”
Banning paused for a moment, as if carefully considering her reply. “You don’t think your sister’s alive, do you? That’s why you’ve effectively traded her for the rest of your family’s safety. As your wife said, you’ve made it too risky to try again when there’s other, more cooperative prey.”
Eva felt a sudden buzzing pressure in her ears.
“I believe Ireland is alive,” he refuted icily. “I also believe I’ve given her the best chance to remain that way. Every other avenue we could’ve taken assumes we’re dealing with a rational individual motivated by greed. We are not.”
Banning’s brows lifted. “You’ve spoken to an altered voice for a handful of minutes. You can’t determine motive from that.”
“I know greed. I trade in it. You don’t make someone jump through hoops to give you money when you’re greedy.”
Rising to her feet, the representative studied him. Then she slung her tote over her shoulder. “I’ll file notice of your intent to appeal our cancellation. You have thirty days to submit it.”
“I’m not asking for an appeal.”
Brow arched, Banning gave him a long look.
“Look…let this entire conversation serve as a lesson in accepting help when it’s available, Mr. Cross.
If you’re right, by the time your appeal is considered, your sister will be home.
She’ll need all the support she can get, and our trauma services are unmatched. ”
The pragmatic mention of the emotional and mental damage being inflicted on Ireland was chilling. Eva had spent the majority of her life in therapy working toward her own trauma recovery, and she knew that coming home would be only the beginning of a long, painful journey for her sister-in-law.
Eva pushed the chair back and stood. “Thank you for being willing to do whatever you can.”
“I wish I could do more. I’ll show myself out.”
When the door shut behind her, Eva turned and half-sat against the edge of the desk facing her husband. “It’s overwhelming.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “Don’t apologize for anything other than not sharing everything.”
Coming to her, Gideon gripped her waist. “That was quite a mouthful,” he murmured.
The mask of studied implacability was gone now, his features suddenly revealing more weariness in the deep grooves framing his mouth and the lines radiating from the corners of his wild blue eyes.
“Supporting you is my job,” she told him. “Finding out that we have kidnapping and ransom insurance, and that we’ve had reason to use it before, seems like something you should’ve at least mentioned to me. I don’t like learning that you’re dealing with heavy, heavy shit on your own.”
“It sounds heavy,” he murmured, widening his stance to lessen the height difference between them. “But every large international company manages the same threats. It’s a known risk for many businesses, not just ours. And it’s a known risk for all high-net-worth individuals.”
“I find that very disturbing,” she admitted, adjusting his pocket square even though it was already perfectly placed.
“And prior to this, I’d become inured to it, so troubling you and having you worry about me because of common business practice served no purpose.”
She held his gaze. “You are way too good at spinning things into ‘don’t worry your pretty little head’ territory.”
One of his brows arched. “That’s insulting to both of us. Do I want to insulate you? Absolutely. But I’m not underestimating you or devaluing your input.”
“Really.”
“Eva, you sometimes wear yourself out caring deeply about everyone else’s well-being. It’s who you are and one of the many reasons I love you beyond reason, but it also means I have to consider whether the strain of knowing something is worth the toll it’ll take on you.”
“I’ve got the same concerns about you. More now than ever. You’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders, and I feel like all I can do is hold your hand.”
“That’s enough, angel. I’ll never be able to express just how much strength you give me.” Gideon tilted her chin up to study her face. “Do you think I made the wrong decision this morning?”
Eva sighed. “Up until you explained it to the insurance rep, I wasn’t sure. I only knew that you were certain, and that’s always been enough for me. If you’d had doubts, I’d like to think you would’ve talked them out with me first.”
His chest lifted and fell on a deep, slow breath. “I had something else in mind to say when I walked up to that podium. What came out instead was…instinct.”
“Oh, ace.” She wrapped her arms tightly around him. “I trust your instincts without question.”
He hugged her back too tightly. “I’m scared that they haven’t called back. And I’m so damn angry. I know my judgment’s compromised.”
“Stop. You’re not a man who second-guesses himself.” Pulling back, she kissed him. Once. Twice. Quick reassurances that she was there and her love was unwavering.
“I’m fallible, Eva. I just try not to let you see that.”
She smoothed his perfectly knotted tie. “Looking behind us isn’t helpful. We have to look ahead. Plan. Let’s figure out what we’re going to say when they call back.”
His eyes closed, and his head bowed. “Ireland has to come home.”
Eva swallowed past the lump in her throat. She wanted desperately to reassure and comfort him. But they both knew that all they could do was wait, hope, and pray.