Chapter 28 #2
"Just bring the purse—undamaged—to Echo Ridge Ski Resort. Midnight tonight. There's an old maintenance barn there by the lifts. You know where I mean?"
"I know it."
"Good. Midnight. Not one minute before, either, or she dies."
"You know I'm not coming alone."
"Yeah, I'm not stupid. Doesn't matter. Just bring the purse." Vince paused. "And Shane? If that purse is damaged in any way, she dies. Understood?"
The line went dead.
Shane stared at the phone, then at the purse on the passenger seat.
What the hell was so important about a designer handbag that someone would kidnap April for it?
Unless it had some sort of misprint or flaw that made it a priceless one-of-a-kind?
Were they dealing with an international ring of thieves who specialized in luxury items?
This just doesn’t make sense.
The guard waved the line of vehicles through the front gate.
Shane’s first instinct was to go to the safehouse, check on April’s family, on his son.
But he couldn't waste a moment as long as April was in danger.
He knew the plan—the women would gather at the safehouse with Kevin, his grandparents, and Pete and Benny, away from whatever shitstorm was about to unfold.
Arden would be the one to tell Kevin. If anyone could help Kevin process this, it was her.
Shane was grateful for that, as he pushed away the guilt gnawing at him for not being there himself.
His SWCC training kicked in—that cold, professional distance that let him function when emotions would only get in the way. He had a mission now. Objective: retrieve April. Nothing else mattered.
Shane pulled into the parking lot in front of Watchdog's main building, rain hammering the windshield, headlights cutting through the downpour.
Ben appeared at his window. "You okay?"
"Vince called. Wants the purse in exchange for April."
Ben's eyes widened. "The purse?"
"Midnight. Echo Ridge Ski Resort." Shane grabbed the bag and climbed out. Otherwise none of this makes sense."
They made a run for the main building, rain soaking them both.
The conference room was at capacity. Shane, Gina, Lach, Kyle, Charlie, Bear, Ben, Elias, Waylon, Flint, Gabe. Dogs settled at their humans' feet—Camo beside Kyle, Fleur at Gina's, Sam near Lach.
Everyone had taken seats around the table except Gina. She never sat during meetings. Just paced or stood, her body trying to keep up with her mind. Whenever someone asked if she wanted to take notes, she'd tap her temple and say, "Got it all up here."
The speaker at the center of the table crackled. "Reporting in,” Elissa said. She was the head of Watchdog Security in Los Angeles and rumored to be one of the best hackers out there. Shane thought she always sounded like the quintessential California Girl. But today, her tone had weight to it.
Shane didn’t waste another second. He told them about Romano’s call.
“Shane?” Elissa said. "First of all, I'm so bummed this is happening to you. But we will get her back. Right, Spooky?"
Gina gave the speaker a fierce grin. Her golden eyes flashed. "Damn straight we will."
Flint’s fingers flew across his laptop keyboard. The screen on the wall flickered to life, and Shane's worst nightmare appeared in black and white—a firefighter in full gear carrying April over his shoulder. She was limp, unconscious.
Not dead. Please not dead.
Shane felt his chest constrict. He forced himself to breathe.
"Unfortunately," Elissa continued, "this is the best image we could get. It was a well-coordinated and orchestrated group effort. They used strategically placed smoke bombs to fake a fire and cover their escape. I found Romano on a lobby cam.” The image on the screen changed to an overhead shot of Romano in the main crowd flanked by a couple other guys wearing dark glasses and baseball caps.
“All three disappeared, like, literally into smoke. "
Shane's jaw clenched.
"But," Elissa added, "the good news is, Spooky ID'ed our fake fireman and I’ve since confirmed the identity."
Everyone looked at Gina. She slowed her pacing and took a deep breath. “Thanks, Lis. Then it’s time to make the call." She glanced at Kyle, and something bitter flickered across her face. "This should interest you, Pup."
Kyle straightened. "Who is it?"
"The one who targeted you over this very land.”
Understanding dawned on Kyle's face. "No shit. This is—"
"An old Capitoline ghost. We had an agreement, and I can guarantee he's not going to be very happy with his employees."
Gina pulled out a satellite phone. If Elissa had gotten her hands on it, Shane imagined its encryption was so heavy even the NSA would have trouble cracking it.
The room went silent. Even the dogs sensed the shift in energy.
The call connected. Gina switched it to speaker.
"Konstantin," she said. "It's Gina."
There was a long pause. "What a surprise. It's been long time, Smith. What can I do for you?" The man’s accented voice dripped with false warmth.
"We had a deal."
"Da. And I have kept to it."
"Your men kidnapped someone under my protection."
"What men?" Konstantin's tone shifted, going carefully neutral.
"Dimitri Volkov. Vince Romano. Three others. Right here in Lyons, Konstantin."
Ice crept into his voice. "I gave no such order."
"You're telling me they went rogue?"
"Yes."
Shane exchanged glances with Kyle. Whoever this Konstantin was, he'd just confirmed what Gina suspected—the kidnapping wasn't sanctioned. Which meant Dimitri and his crew were operating independently.
Which was either very good or very, very bad.
"What do they want in return for your friend?" Konstantin asked.
"They want her purse."
Silence. "Really? How much is purse worth?" He sounded vaguely amused.
Gina's eyes flashed. "Stop fucking with me, Konstantin. I know how to find you. I'll always know how to find you. Capitoline is gone. The Repair Shop is not."
"No? I hear different story these days."
"Vladimir Peskov."
Konstantin paused. "What about him?"
"It wasn't an accident."
A long, heavy pause followed. "Fine. It was for crypto payout."
Shane looked around the table at faces that looked as confused as he felt.
Crypto? What does that have to do with April? She never once mentioned any sort of crypto to him.
"What do you mean?" Gina asked, though her tone suggested she already knew.
"My men. They met Romano in prison. The man bragged all the time about his hidden fortune, said that when he got out, he would go after his jackpot. They told him about Dimitri, said he could help. One year after Romano’s release, he comes to Dimitri.
He needs help finding his woman who has crypto numbers memorized and promises nice big payout from his jackpot. ”
All eyes in the room went to Shane. He shook his head, dumbfounded.
Konstantin continued. “Dimitri brought the matter to my attention. I gave help—job, car, nice apartment. We found his woman, what, couple weeks ago? And persuaded his parole officer to fake Romano’s check-ins.
Romano went after her like she might be lovesick bird waiting for him.
No such luck for Romano because she has fiancé now.
He asked for more help and when I looked into fiancé, I saw my. ..mistake."
Konstantin's voice went flat. "I told my men, no more help for Romano. The woman was not to be touched, Gina."
"They didn't listen."
"Obviously."
Gina stopped pacing. "What does the purse have to do with it?"
"I don't know."
"Konstantin."
"This is truth. I do not know. She was supposed to have numbers memorized. Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe code is in her purse instead."
Shane looked down at April's purse in his lap. Hidden somewhere in this bag that April had carried everywhere in Vegas, that had sat on her top closet shelf gathering dust for years, was the string of numbers that would unlock some crypto. And she never had a clue.
How much crypto are they talking about?
Gina asked the question for him. "How much crypto are we talking, Konstantin?"
"Enough to make Dimitri think he can disappear from me."
"Can he?"
Dangerous quiet. "He can try."
"He can also fuck things up for you. Actually, he already has."
"Da."
Gina leaned against the table, her golden eyes hard. "We had been even, you and I. I can take care of your problem for you, Konstantin. But then you will owe me again after this."
"Understood." Pause. "Is different world now. Perhaps one day we will work together instead of against each other."
"I doubt it."
Konstantin's laugh was low, without humor. "Dasvidaniya, Gina Smith."
The line went dead.
Gina bent down to scratch Fleur behind the ears, using the dog to ground herself. When she straightened and looked at Shane, her expression was all business.
“Can I assume April never mentioned anything about a crypto fortune?”
“Yes, you can.” He set the purse on the table. “He played her.”
“Sure sounds like it to me,” she agreed.
“Whelp,” Elissa said, “his request not to go rummaging through her purse makes a whole hell of a lot more sense now.”
Gina pushed off from the conference table. “We need to prepare for the exchange.”
Kyle's jaw was set. "I don't care if this was an accident. He fucked with me and mine before. I don't trust him."
Gina glanced at Kyle. "Nor should you, Pup. Nor should any of us.”