Chapter Twenty-One
Five minutes after Prince got off the phone with Roderick.
"I have someone watching you," were Roderick's last words.
He walked to the window facing the street below. Prince and Finn lived on the fifth floor and could easily see across the street. He slightly moved the drapes to see if he could pick out anyone who might be suspicious, and spotted him immediately.
Most people were going about their business, but there was one man standing next to a coffee shop that stayed open twenty-four seven and had regular customers who sometimes sat outside on a beautiful day.
One man stood dressed in all black like a bodyguard, with his hands in his pockets, occasionally glancing down the street and back at the building.
His cellphone rang, pulling Prince's attention, and he sighed in relief when he saw Lucas's name.
"I'm sending help until I get there," Lucas told Prince before he could say anything. "I kept the information from your father, but my dad knows. I'm bringing Tucker with me."
"Alright. I heard from Roderick. He has Finn and is demanding one billion. He'll contact me in one hour."
Lucas whistled. "How the fuck does he expect you to get that much money in such a short time?"
"Lucas, I don't give a fuck about the money. I just need to get Finn and the babies back. That's all that matters."
"We will, don't worry." Lucas sighed. "I'm about to get on the plane, I'll call you when we land. My people should be there soon. I can't tell you not to worry cause that would be stupid. But don't do anything stupid until I get there to have your back."
Their call ended, and Prince looked out the window again, but this time the guy he'd pegged for the watcher was gone. Prince frantically searched down the street, wondering if he'd picked out the wrong guy, and he was still being watched.
"I don't have time for this shit," Prince mumbled, still searching the streets. He needed to contact his account manager and gather the funds. He went to call Bevin but stopped himself; he couldn't have his son adding to his worry, and promised to tell him everything once they got Finn back.
Looking at Finn's name, Prince brought it up, hoping to see an indication of his location, and grew increasingly frustrated when it showed the same message. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling utterly useless.
All the money he had in the world, yet he was stuck. He didn't doubt Roderick when he said he had him watched. And even if he didn’t, Prince couldn't take the chance, so he had to wait, and that was driving him crazy.
Gray rubbed against Prince's leg, and he picked up the kitten, hoping for some comfort, but found no relief and set the cat down just as there was a knock at his door.
He stood still for a few seconds, checking the time, and from his estimation, it couldn't be Lucas arriving already. And even though it might’ve been the people Lucas sent, Prince wasn't sure.
Prince always erred on the side of caution, so he walked to a framed picture of him and Finn in Vegas and removed it from the wall.
There was a safe behind it filled with money, stocks, and a few other important documents, but that wasn't what he was getting.
He entered a passcode, reached inside when the door swung open, and pulled out a gun, which he never thought he'd need.
He looked at Gray and placed a finger to his lips, then slowly crept over to the door with the gun by his side. He looked through the peephole and recognized a face that should have belonged to someone else, a mix of Asher Hamilton and a former famous model-turned-business mogul living in Paris.
The face belonged to none other than Seth Hamilton, a model in his own right. Seth wasn't alone; he was with two other people and the man he'd seen standing across the street.
"Who is it?" Prince said, not looking away or opening the door.
"Lucas sent us," was the answer that came back to him.
That was all Prince needed to hear. He opened it.
"Prince Sullivan, I'm Seth Hamilton, Lucas's little brother. With me are former FBI agent Mayson and the best hacker in the world, Chance. We're here to help you find your husband."
Prince noticed the only one who gave his last name was Seth, and he didn't introduce the last man.
"Can we come in?" Mayson said. "The sooner we get started, the better."
"Uh...what about him?" Prince asked, careful not to let them enter yet.
Seth smiled. "Oh, him, he's going to lead us to where your husband is, but right now he's being a bit stubborn."
Prince nodded and stepped back, letting them in. It was only as they walked by him that he noticed the tight hold Mayson had on the watcher, as Prince was referring to him.
"Prince," Seth said. "Do you have somewhere I can 'talk' to this gentleman?"
"Do it here," Prince said.
"We might get blood on your rug," Mayson said.
It’d cost Prince a lot of money, but it wasn't his concern at the moment. "It can be thrown out. All I care about is finding Finn."
"You heard the man," Mayson said.
Seth nodded, pulled a gun with a silencer from somewhere Prince wasn't sure of, and pointed it at the guy. Prince wasn't going to ask how a world-renowned model was so handy with a gun. He was a Seeker agent.
"Wait,” Prince said just before anything could happen.
"What, did you change your mind about the carpet?" Seth quirked a brow.
"No, I need to put away the kitten; he's too young to witness murder." Prince picked up Gray, taking him to the bedroom and locking the door so he wouldn't come out, then returned to the living room. "You can continue."
"Alrighty," Seth said, looking at the guy. "We searched you and didn't find your cellphone. How's Roderick contacting you?"
"I told you, I don't know anything. I was just waiting for my wife to get us some coffee," the guy said, in a shaky voice, holding up his hands in surrender. "You guys got the wrong guy. I don't know any Roderick."
"I hate when people lie to me," Mayson said, kicking the guy in the knee, and Prince heard the bones cracking. The man shouted in pain, going down to one knee. A gun in his mouth quieted him quickly.
"If you don't want any more bones breaking, you'd answer the questions," Seth said. "How is Roderick contacting you?"
The man made a sound, unable to speak.
"Seth, take the gun out of his mouth," Prince said.
"Oh, sorry," Seth said, removing the gun. "Talk."
"Please," the man babbled, tears filling his eyes. "I really don't know anything."
As the words came from his mouth, a ringing descended on the room, and Prince and the agents looked at each other, then at the man who was trying to pretend he didn't hear it.
Chance, who had been quiet the entire time, walked over and patted the man down, stopping at his arm, pushing up his jacket.
They saw a watch that looked like a normal one, not one of the smart ones where the sound was coming from.
"Answer it," Mayson ordered. "And whatever you do, don't play cute or I'll break the other leg."
The man nodded and pressed the button on the side of the watch. "Yeah."
"The boss wants an update," said the other voice on the other end. The sound came in nice and clear.
"Nothing's happening," the man answered, looking at Mayson and Seth.
"Good, that means he didn't call the cops. Alright, keep watching. The boss will call to make the switch soon, then we can get out of this godforsaken business."
"Y...yeah," the man stuttered.
The phone went silent, and everyone assumed the other person had hung up, but they spoke again.
"Why is it so quiet on your end. It's a busy street, I don't hear any movement."
"I stepped into the alley across the apartment so I could watch without being seen."
His partner must have believed him because he didn't ask any more questions and ended the call.
"Good job," Mayson said.
Prince watched as Chance pulled the watch off his wrist and rushed over to the table, surprising Prince, where he already had three computers set up.
"Do you think you can find the location?" Seth asked, going over to him.
"I should. Our goal is to do it before the hour is up," Chance said, pulling the watch apart and hooking it up, then started tapping furiously on the keyboard.
Prince looked at his watch. "We have less than thirty minutes."
"We'll get him," Chance said.
Prince's attention was taken off Chance when the man howled in pain, spitting out blood. Mayson had stepped on his already broken leg, making it even more useless. Prince was happy his apartment was soundproof, or his neighbors would have already been knocking on his front door.
"I told you not to lie to me," Mayson said. "Now, let's start over. You are going to tell us how many men are helping Roderick."
The man went to answer, but there was a knock at the door.
"That's Lucas," Seth said.
"How can you tell?" Prince asked.
Seth smiled. "I can always tell when my brother is close."
"For fuck's sake," both Mayson and Chance said, not deterred from their tasks.
Prince went to answer the door, and true to Seth's intuition, it was Lucas and Tucker.
Lucas patted Prince on the shoulder as he stepped inside. "Talk to me," he said to the crew, not even looking at the man moaning in pain on the ground as Mayson was punching the shit out of him.
"You came just in time, big brother. Chance is trying to triangulate the location. We just got a phone call," Seth explained. "He isn't cooperating well, so Mayson is being very persuasive."
"Good, good," Lucas said.
"Hey..." Prince said, but paused when his cellphone rang. He looked at the screen, and it was Roderick. He was calling earlier than the hour timeline.
"Give it to me quickly," Chance said.
Prince didn't hesitate and handed it over. Chance hooked it up to the computer, pressed a few keys on the keyboard, and nodded to Prince.
"Keep him talking for at least three minutes, and any longer than that, and he'll know something is wrong."