Chapter 45

The plane touched down in Los Angeles almost twelve hours after leaving London. He hated almost everything about this city. Comparing it to London was like trying to compare trash to solid gold. The disgust he felt was palpable.

He'd not checked a bag, so he was out of the airport and in his rental car in no time. The drive to San Diego took longer than he'd expected, getting him to the city close to ten that evening. The bar where she worked was closing soon, so there was no reason to head there. Tonight, he would get some sleep and then start searching for her in the morning.

Finding her wouldn't take long, but getting out of the city would take finesse. He'd explored exit strategies and decided to leave by boat. If they took off with a car, the police could be on one of their roadways, searching for him.

The plans had been the reason for the delay. They'd had to create a new identity, which was getting more difficult by the day. Seriously, twenty years ago, it only took a few days to get a passport, license, and credit card in a new name. This time, it took almost three weeks to get everything taken care of.

He hadn't breathed easy until he was outside the airport, free from customs or their airport security. The final plan could still go to hell, but he would have her in a few days, and her freedom would be over. If she ended up at the bottom of the ocean instead of being held in some rich man's compound, so be it.

The hotel wasn't bad, though it wasn't the level he'd grown accustomed to. He'd probably gone overboard on the not drawing attention to himself angle. There were too many people in California to care who he was. It was a lot like London. No one paid any attention to him. They all went about their business, not at all caring he was there or who he even was.

He should have guessed it would be that way, but the military presence freaked him out a little. With all his searching, he still didn't know who Danika was with. She had to be living somewhere, but her trail had gone cold. The only clue was the photo. When he'd had Charlie call the bar where she worked, the man who answered the phone had told them he wouldn't share the name of his employees and hung up. Ezra had wanted to take the phone from Charlie and call the guy back to tell him to fuck off, but that would have raised alarms. The last thing he wanted was for Danika to run again.

No doubt, he'd underestimated her. She had much more going on inside that little head of hers than he'd given her credit for. As far as he'd been concerned, he had her under his thumb. Then she'd taken off, running away from him in London. That had shocked the hell out of him.

The woman was crafty, but he would put an end to that. After he was done with her, she would regret ever crossing him.

In the morning, he easily found the bar, a shit spot in a shit town. Hanging around all day would only get him seen. He would come back later and take her after she left work. They would be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean before anyone missed her. Then, she would be transferred to another boat, and he would return to San Diego, return the car to LAX, and be on his way home. Eventually, he would travel to the compound of the man who'd purchased her, but that was something to look forward to in the future, long after everyone else stopped looking for her.