#2
As kidnappings went this one wasn’t terrible. At least the accommodations were pretty good.
Devi looked around the sleek private jet. There were three men with lots of guns and a pilot with guns, and then there was Zach’s dad who had…yep, more guns.
It was gun party central.
“So you’re my son’s girlfriend.”
Ray White sat in the chair opposite her.
She had to figure out how to play this. What she wanted to do was throw bile and vitriol this guy’s way. Her head hurt. She was being kidnapped…again. She was on her way to who knew where, and her future mother-in-law was drugged and buckled into a seat toward the front of the plane. They wouldn’t let her sit close to Shannon. She wanted to fight. But she’d seen how Huisman handled Kala. He’d loved her bile. It made him want to hurt her more.
She knew nothing about this man.
She knew nothing at all. Everyone kept looking to the back of the plane like they were all waiting to see a predator emerge.
She had the feeling Huisman was here, and that motherfucker was waiting to make an entrance.
“I don’t think he calls you dad.”
She glanced over at Shannon Reed. She’d tried to make her more comfortable.
“Only because she kept him from me. She kept the other one from me, too. I didn’t know about my other boy until Dr. Huisman told me. That bitch ruined us.”
“I thought she hid your other son because you were in trouble with a cartel and she was trying to protect him.”
Logic might not work, but she was going to give it a go.
“I would have protected them. I would have protected them all.”
He stared at Shannon like she was a work of art. Or a deeply held regret that threatened to drown him.
“You were in prison,”
Devi pointed out.
“I had plenty of connections.”
She wasn’t sure what his prison connections would have done to a cartel that wanted to hurt his family, but she wasn’t going to argue.
“Well, you certainly do now. You have Huisman. How did you meet him?”
Calm. She sounded calm. That was how she was going to play this whole thing.
She hoped Zach was calm. She needed him on his game because she knew without a doubt that he was coming for her. It would be up to her uncle to keep her brother and fiancé from running in without a plan. They would rush in and try to kill everyone when they needed to be surgical.
All she had to do was survive.
“He came looking for me.”
Ray’s voice brought her back to the moment.
“He knew I could bring Shannon in. I’ve been following that woman for most of my life. I can find her anywhere.”
She’d been in hiding for years, but again, she wasn’t about to argue with the criminal. Also, he hadn’t brought her in. Nell Flanders had.
She hoped her cousin was alive. She remembered something about Lucy taking out the other guy and locking them in, so she knew they’d made it at least that far.
Devi looked out the window. It was dark, and she had no idea where they were going.
Where was Zach? Was he okay?
“You found her today,”
Devi agreed, leaning over to see if she could tell if Shannon was starting to wake.
“She’ll be out for hours. Unlike you. You’re being an awfully good girl.”
Oh, she didn’t like that, but she gave him a wide-eyed stare.
“I don’t want to die. I’ll do what you ask me to, though I don’t know why I’m here.”
“You’re here because these men could not bring in the person I wanted,”
a deep voice said.
Sure enough, every eye was now on a place behind her. Damn. She was about to meet the man, the myth, the terrorist dickhead.
Emmanuel Huisman stepped into her line of vision, putting a hand to the back of Ray’s chair. He was an attractive man in his early thirties with intelligent eyes that held a hint of his cruelty.
“I suspect the person you wanted was my cousin,”
she replied quietly.
Huisman’s lips curled up as though he was remembering something infinitely lovely.
“Well, that was for personal reasons. It had nothing to really do with the mission, though Ray here was smart enough to at least bring me someone. Yes, I did want to get my hands on the stronger half of Ms. Magenta. I will never understand why my dear friend Benjamin is fascinated with the other one.”
That was news to her.
“I don’t think he knows.”
Now his smile was vibrant and bright.
“Of course he does. I told him, but that’s a matter for another day. I simply don’t understand why my dear friend would want the bland and boring when he could have the extraordinary.”
Her gut tightened at the thought of Ben Parker working for this man.
“He’s helped us.”
Huisman sank onto the seat beside Ray and wagged his finger her way.
“You are not a part of us. You are not on that team. You are Ian Taggart’s much-indulged niece. Benjamin has not helped you. Now the question becomes has he helped the team? Or did he maneuver them into the position I want them in? Time and time again. I’m actually disappointed Taggart fell for it. I suppose I made him up to be far more than he truly is. Rather like that woman at the front of the plane. She doesn’t look like the person who can change the world.”
“I suspect that’s because you don’t believe women can.”
Huisman’s head shook.
“Oh, not at all. I know women can change everything. For the worse. Women manipulate men. Like our friend here. Shannon kept his children from him. A child needs his father. I had mine taken from me. My father, that is. By your uncle. Look how I turned out.”
She was not about to go there.
“Zach did fine without him.”
“Ah, Captain Reed.”
Huisman’s voice turned silky smooth.
“I tried to reason with him. When I captured him in Toronto, I meant to spend some time with him, get to know each other. I thought he, of all the people on that team, might see reason.”
She was pretty sure they had different definitions of reason.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have tortured the people he cared about and put him in handcuffs.”
“Well, he managed to kill all of my men while he was handcuffed, so I suppose I’m lucky he ran.”
Huisman gave a negligent shrug like he wasn’t talking about life and death and trauma. He sobered.
“Still, I would have preferred to bring him in. Or his brother. That was the original plan. I think Shannon Reed will do anything for her sons, but I can pivot. I can still make this happen.”
He turned to Ray.
“Does it bother you that neither of your sons has your name? Names are so important. It’s a man’s right to name his sons.”
It was clear to see Ray was uncomfortable.
“I named him Zach. I didn’t get a chance with the other.”
Huisman tsked.
“I’m talking about the family name. It means something. Women are vessels to be used and discarded. They are pawns for their fathers to move around and strengthen his family line. Your sons do not have your name. One has the name of his vessel and the other carries a stronger man’s name.”
Ray’s eyes narrowed.
“He ain’t stronger than me.”
A low chuckle came from Huisman.
“I assure you Alexander McKay has better control over his family than you do, my friend, though he was only able to produce one weak girl child. His sons all came from other men.”
“Who hurt you?”
Devi knew this was a mistake, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“I mean as a child, because it’s clear you have problems. Was your mother a terrible person?”
Huisman went still. Preternaturally still, and Devi braced for an attack.
And then he took a long breath and sat back.
“My mother was a whore. After my father was murdered, I was sent to live with her for a brief time before my grandfather took control. She was far more interested in finding a man than in being a mother. In the short time I was with her, she brought in three different men.”
Ah, that’s who physically hurt him. It was apparent there was all kinds of psychological harm, too.
“I’m sorry you went through that. There’s nothing worse than a chaotic childhood.”
One side of his mouth turned up.
“Is that how you’re playing me, Devon?”
Now she was going to be honest with him.
“I’m not playing at all. I’m simply trying to understand the man who will likely kill me.”
“Well, at least you’re realistic. And my childhood prepared me for the real world. While my mother was absent, at best, those men she clung to taught me a lot about how the world works. Only the strong survive, and the ideas placed in the heads of humans about building communities and families are constructed by those who wish to pretend the world is something it is not. For far too long smart men have allowed the weak to rule, have allowed the idea that independence makes us equal. I’m going to show the world that this is not true. It was better when we had a king to rule us.”
She knew where he wanted to put the crown.
“I suppose you’re the king.”
“Of course. I mean I can’t rule the entire world by myself. I’ve picked my dukes and vassals from my brethren. When this is done, we’ll carve up the world and it will be a calmer place. Imagine an end to wars and famine. Well, unless a famine is required to remind the slaves of their place.”
She was sitting with a madman.
“Since I’m probably not going to be around to see this new world order, tell me, how are you going to accomplish it?”
He seemed to think about it for a moment and then leaned toward her, an unholy light in his eyes.
“I’m going to start a war in Asia and watch the world burn. Once I get the right bombs, I’m going to deploy them over select Asian cities to deliver a deadly form of anthrax. I believe with the proper use of Ms. Reed’s bombs, we can take out fifty percent of the population of Bangkok in moments. The same with Taipei and Kathmandu.”
Ray clapped his hands together like he was going to enjoy the carnage.
“I can’t wait to see that.”
Devi was confused.
“But won’t that make everyone mad at you?”
Huisman waved the thought off.
“Oh, they won’t think it’s me. I’ve already started several rumors in intelligence circles that the Chinese are planning something big. The Chinese government was more than happy to work with the Huisman Foundation and later with Disrupt Asia. It gave us access to certain systems that got us into other systems. They use artificial intelligence a lot in China. Sometimes it’s about taking over control. When the attacks occur, a broadcast will go out. The president of the People’s Republic of China will take credit for the attacks. The deep fake is chef’s kiss. Truly remarkable. Along with all the data and files I’ve planted deep in their systems, the world will have no choice but to attack China.”
And the world would explode.
“When are you going to use the nukes? I suspect you have control of those, too.”
“I have a few of my own,”
he admitted.
“Those systems are harder, but I assure you I can make it look like it came from China. You know I don’t actually have to send a nuclear warhead to say, Washington, DC. I only have to make it look like it’s coming.”
“Because the US would respond if they thought it was coming,”
she surmised.
“You don’t think they would wait to verify it was real?”
He laughed at the thought.
“You honestly believe your government will wait when they believe they are about to die? I mean perhaps if they did it would prove me wrong. I don’t know. We will see if I’m right. Now let’s talk about how you’re going to bring Zachary Reed to me. I think he might need a little help.”
“Why wouldn’t you have Ben Parker bring him in? Zach would believe it.”
She didn’t. He was lying for some reason. She’d seen her cousin and Parker. He might be a spectacular actor, but why wouldn’t he have made a move by now?
The crack across her face shook her to her core. She could handle pain, but that man had damn near broken her jaw.
She cradled her cheek, tears filling her eyes.
“Perhaps I will send him your body parts.”
Huisman stood, sneering down at her. His hand clenched in a fist, and Devi prepared for the pain.
“When he gets your hands, he’ll do whatever I want.”
“Stop or I won’t help you at all.”
Shannon Reed stood on shaky legs.
“You don’t lay another hand on her.”
Huisman turned, his eyes widening.
“You are supposed to be asleep.”
Her gaze went a bit unfocused, but she stood her ground.
“You think you’re the first person to try to drug me? I assure you I can handle more, and I know you’ll probably give it to me, but understand if that young woman is hurt at any point, I will let you kill me before I’ll build a single bomb for you. I didn’t write down my process for this particular bomb and it is different from the others. I stopped documenting my work after some early schematics got out. It’s all in my brain now, and I’ll find a way to blow my brains out before I give you anything if you hurt her.”
Huisman’s face went a flaming red, and Devi could see he was considering whether he was going to use those fists on Zach’s mom.
Devi moved and quickly. She put herself between the two. She wasn’t going to let Zach lose his mom. Her hands came up as though she could placate the beast she found herself with.
There were suddenly a whole lot of guns pointed their way.
“There’s no need for violence,”
Devi said quietly, the words tremulous. She forced herself to breathe.
“I’ll be good, and Ms. Reed is going to do what we need to do. I think you’ll find if you send Zach a body part, he won’t be able to be reasonable. Send him proof of life and let him know I’m good, that I’m being taken care of. That’s how you deal with Zach and my family. You’re right. I’m not a part of that team. I’m a fashion designer. I’m not going to give you any trouble.”
She felt Shannon’s hand on her shoulder. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to give her support or needed the support herself, but she appreciated the fact that she wasn’t alone.
Huisman backed down.
“We’ll record proof of life when we get to the base. If you step out of line in any way, I will make you wish you were dead. I will allow all of these men to have a go at you.”
Shannon tried to move to her side.
“And I will make sure my bomb explodes in your face. You won’t see it coming. I’ll be clever. I will not let you harm my boy this way. He loves her. Nell told me all about her.”
She hadn’t even thought about Lacey…Lucy’s mom. She’d met her a long time ago and she was the sweetest woman. Was she okay? Had Henry gotten her out?
Devi pushed the questions aside because she couldn’t know and wouldn’t trust anything these men told her. She needed to bring the heat level down.
“I’m not going to cause any trouble. I’ll help Ms. Reed. I’m good with my hands, so you shouldn’t cut those off.”
Huisman snarled and turned and walked toward the back of the plane. She heard a door slam shut.
A sigh of relief went through her. Somehow all those men with guns didn’t scare her nearly as much as the one who didn’t carry at all.
Shannon stumbled and Devi caught her, helping her back down to a chair.
“Hello, baby.”
Ray hadn’t moved at all, and his focus was entirely on the woman he’d put through hell.
Shannon brought her hand up, giving her husband the finger before she slumped back.
Ray chuckled like she amused him.
“It’s so fucking good to see you, too, babe. We’re going to work a few things out.”
Devi sat down and found herself holding Shannon’s hand even as she slipped back into sleep.
She vowed she would do whatever it took to protect Zach’s mom.