Chapter 22
"New plan," Nash said as he entered the study, his gun pointed at Emil and Lena's father.
"Who are you?" Charles snapped before he registered the gun. Emil's eyes grew wide. Then he laughed. "You too, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Charles asked.
"This is my driver. Or, he was." Emil's eyes danced with a riotous mix of frustration and amusement. "Apparently, I need to upgrade my hiring process. Are you working with Chester too?"
"No." Nash raised his gun. "Both of you, keep your hands where I can see them."
The men sneered, but complied.
"So, what do you want?" Emil asked.
"The jewels."
Emil's glare quirked. "So, you are working with Chester?"
"No. I'm going to take the jewels to the meeting with Chester. I'll tell him you sent me. Since he thinks I'm your driver, he'll buy that. I'm going to make sure Cassidy and Lena get out of there safely."
Charles huffed. "He just wants the jewels."
Emil took a step to his left.
"Do not move," Nash ordered. "This isn't a game. I wasn't ever a driver. I came here undercover, and I'm very skilled at using this weapon. Do not test me. Cassidy and Lena are going to survive tonight. I won't make any guarantees about the two of you unless you cooperate."
"You really want Cassidy and Lena?" Stark confusion twisted in his tone.
"I don't expect either one of you to comprehend, since neither of you values their lives over money."
Emil laughed. Apparently, this entire situation was funny to him. "Quite a bit of money, actually." He jabbed a thumb toward Lena's father. "He's paying me five million just to snatch the jewels, which means his buyer's paying him significantly more than that."
Nash fished a pair of handcuffs out of his jacket pocket and tossed them to Charles. "Put them on."
The incredulous expression on Charles's face promised no cooperation. "You don't really expect me to—"
With a wild look in his eye, Emil lunged farther to the left and snatched a gun from the open desk drawer.
Anticipating his move, Nash yelled, "Don't do it!"
Emil ignored him. He lifted the gun. And aimed at Nash.
Nash fired. Emil dropped to the floor. Deathly still.
No need to check for a pulse.
Charles, mute with shock, mouth hanging open, stared at Emil's lifeless body.
"I'm waiting," Nash said, pulling Charles's attention back to him. "Put on the cuffs." He glanced around for something to cuff Charles to. "Actually, put one cuff on your right hand and the other cuff on Emil's right hand."
Charles's eyes grew impossibly large. He tried to say something, but he just muttered.
"You heard me," Nash said.
"He's . . . he's dead."
"I know that. He'll make sure you stay put until my team can collect you later. I need to be going."
Charles looked like he was going to be sick, but he eventually obeyed.
Nash grabbed the jewels from the desk. "Sit tight. Someone will be here eventually. We're going to rescue your daughter and niece first. Not that you seem interested."
He forced his focus on exiting the study. Because if he spent one more second looking at Lena's father—who still showed no concern for his daughter's safety—he might do something he'd regret.
As he stepped into the foyer, his phone vibrated.
It was Jason.
"We have Cassidy. But—"
"You do? What about Lena? Is she still with Chester?"
"How did you know?"
"Emil's dead. His accomplice is captured. I have him in Emil's study. I have the jewels. I'm heading to North Point Beach. Chester wants to trade Lena for the jewels."
There was a pause. Jason cleared his throat.
"Okay. You're leaving out a few details, but we can talk about that later. I'll have some of Drako's security team take Cassidy back to the Mandeville. They can keep her safe there. That will free up me, Knox, and Allie to assist you. Chester has at least two guys working with him."
"Good odds," Nash said.
"Yeah. Knox pulled up North Point Beach on the GPS. Blue Road dead-ends at the beach. There's not another way in or out by road."
"So he expects to either take us out or escape by water. Or both."
"That's my guess," Jason said. "I'm not sure how smart this guy is, but he's gotten this far."
"True."
"I'm dropping you a pin. It's about a quarter mile from North Beach. We'll meet up there and come up with a plan. You okay?"
"I can be there in seven minutes."
He ended the call. He didn't want to answer the question. Because no, he was not okay.
Nash jogged to the garage, grabbed a set of keys, and hopped into Emil's Mercedes coupe.
Foot heavy on the gas, he sped toward the main road. The coupe ate up the distance in seconds, but as the headlights caught the metal of the front gate, another glint of metal jerked his attention to the right. And he slammed on the brakes.
Emil's SUV. Upside down.
Nash's stomach followed suit.
He reminded the threatening nausea that Lena's father had seen Lena in the video minutes ago. And that he seemed to think she was unharmed. So far.
The wreck somewhat explained how Chester captured Lena and Cassidy.
Picturing Lena in the SUV when it flipped . . . was a mistake. He forced a deep breath while emotions he couldn't name burned in his veins.
Lena and Cassidy obviously survived the wreck, but they could be injured. Jason hadn't mentioned injuries, but maybe he didn't want Nash distracted by the information.
Cassidy escaped somehow. But not Lena. Maybe Lena couldn't get away because she was injured.
Worry—and a multitude of other feelings for Lena—clawed at his insides.
Dear God, please protect Lena. And show me how to get to her. Fast.
It wasn't an elegant prayer. But it was the most desperate prayer he'd ever prayed.
He mashed the button for the front gate and slammed his foot on the gas.
When he arrived at the location Jason indicated, Jason and Allie stood near a black truck on the side of the road. He parked behind the truck and joined them.
"Knox is doing recon," Jason said, tossing his head toward North Beach. "He'll be back in a minute."
"What happened? How were you able to get Cassidy and not Lena?" Nash asked, regretting that it sounded like an accusation.
Jason didn't look offended. "Allie can fill you in. I'm going to get some more weapons out of the truck." He walked away.
Allie's face softened. "I'm sorry, Nash. We're going to get Lena back."
He let out a long breath. "What happened?"
"When we came up on the SUV, it already looked the way it does now. You probably saw it on the way over."
He nodded.
"We stopped and looked around to see if they were nearby, injured.
While we were looking, we noticed motion outside the gate.
It was Cassidy running toward us. She said after the accident she and Lena were dazed.
And Chester and two other guys showed up and forced them into a vehicle at gunpoint.
They took them down there to an old, rundown cottage"—she pointed toward the beach—"and locked them in a storage shed.
She said Lena came up with a plan to distract the guards so that Cassidy could get away. And she pulled it off."
All the oxygen left his lungs. "She what?"
"That's what Cassidy told us." Allie dipped her head and stepped closer, continuing her explanation in a near-whisper. "She said Lena told her to tell you she's not afraid anymore, and that she knows she's not alone."
The words hit Nash like a truck. He shoved both of his hands through his hair and tried not to look as shaken as he felt. He forced a tight nod.
Allie's understanding eyes softened.
He ran a hand down his face, refocusing. "What else did she say?"
"Cassidy said Lena was fine when she left."
"Lena's not injured?"
"She may have hit her head in the accident. Possible concussion. But per Cassidy's description, she's doing okay. Lena came up with a plan about knocking over shelves in the storage shed to distract the guards. Cassidy said all the crashing noise covered her escape."
Nash swallowed. Admiration and worry for Lena surged through him.
Allie placed a hand on his arm. "Cassidy said the guards were told not to hurt them. Just to guard them. Chester wants to make the trade. He won't hurt her, Nash."
"There are no promises in a situation like this, you know that."
She squeezed his arm. "You care about her."
Her comment surprised him, but it shouldn't have. Allie was excellent at reading people. It was one of her most valued skills with WhiteRock. No point in correcting her.
He looked at his watch. "Chester wants to meet in fifteen minutes. Where's Knox?"
"Right here, buddy." Knox stepped out of the shadows. "I got the lay of the land. And I got a glimpse of Lena. She looks okay."
Relief ballooned in his chest. "What did you see?"
Jason joined them. And all eyes focused on Knox.
"There's a small beach cottage. Maybe eight hundred square feet. Falling apart. And a little shed about thirty feet from it. Lena is inside the house. They put her close to a window, tied to a chair. There's some movement in the house."
"How many?" Nash asked.
"I only saw shadows. Maybe two or three.
No one walked near the windows. Cassidy said it was just Chester and the two guards from Emil's estate, and that tracks.
But I don't think we're going to get a clean shot unless they come outside.
" Amusement sparked in his eyes. "There's a very beautiful speedboat tied to the pier.
That thing's fast. My guess is that's their plan A for an exit.
Once they get what they want, they'll be out of here quick.
We don't have a boat, so we need to make sure their boat doesn't go anywhere. "
Nash ran a hand down his face. "You didn't see Chester?"
Knox shrugged. "I'm guessing he's in the house. No one is outside."
"How did they get out here?" Nash asked.
Allie pointed down the beach. "There's a car fifty yards from here. Just one car. A sedan. Cassidy said that's the car that brought Lena, Chester, the guards, and her. She never saw anyone else."
"Good odds."