Chapter Forty-Four

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Chicago, Illinois

H e couldn’t find her. After spending weeks and thousands of dollars searching, not one of his investigators had unearthed the slightest clue. He knew the girl existed. He’d seen her himself, but now it was like she’d disappeared off the face of the earth.

Oscar grabbed another handful of chips and stuffed them into his mouth. He followed that with a long swallow of Pepsi and then belched. He was a stress eater—had been all his life. When frustrated, he could demolish food like a bush hog mowed down weeds. Eating helped him think, and he’d had a lot to think about over the last few weeks.

He’d even lowered himself to search his brother-in-law’s office and pore over his ridiculous notepads, looking for clues. Kevin had insisted the girl had told him nothing, but he’d held her for almost ten days. Surely she had told him something, but if she had, it wasn’t to be found.

Two investigators had spent a week in Seattle, since that was her location at the time of her abduction. Of course, the fact that she’d been checked into a cheap motel with zero camera footage helped not at all.

There was only one choice left. It wasn’t one he wanted to make. Even though it had always been in the back of his mind that he could reach out and ask for help, the very idea of what he would have to give up to get what he wanted was, well, in a word, terrifying.

He knew people who had fallen into their trap and sincerely regretted their decision later. Some had paid by having to carry out horrendous tasks. Others had paid by doing something as simple as making an introduction to a high-powered individual. What they wanted you to do and when they wanted you to do it was never within your scope of knowledge or control. The call came, and you either obeyed, or you paid. And even sometimes, when you did exactly what they asked, if it didn’t work out, you forfeited your life.

Take Franco Bass. He had done exactly what they’d asked of him, but when their plans had fallen through, they’d gotten rid of him as easily as one would wad up a piece of paper and toss it into the trash. Stupid bastard had never seen it coming.

But he reminded himself of one big difference between him and Bass—he wasn’t stupid. He knew the score up front. He could control the narrative. Once he had the girl, all the power would be his.

The Wren Project—what a stupid-assed name for what they were—made it so enticing. Just one little phone call, and he’d have exactly what he needed.

Years ago, when he’d been approached by one of their minions, he hadn’t been interested. The leader of his organization, Ronan Byrne, had just died, and things had been in turmoil. If he’d tried to take over then, he wouldn’t have been successful. Things had been too murky and shaky. And in all honesty, he would have been too afraid. But age and life experience had taught him that if you didn’t seize the moment, then someone else would.

There were tons of people waiting in the wings for this chance. He’d seen more than a few threads on the dark web of just how deep these people could reach and how insidious they could be. If he didn’t take this chance within his reach, someone else with more backbone would do it, and all would be lost. He couldn’t take that risk.

Pulling out a burner phone he kept ready and charged for the dirtiest of deeds, Oscar punched in the number he’d been given years ago. The instant the call was answered, he figured they knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. They were just that good.

“Number,” an androgynous voice said.

“43412.” Oscar winced at how shaky his voice sounded. He cleared his throat and took a calming breath. Showing these people any kind of weakness wasn’t the way to start out.

The voice said, “State your request.”

As succinctly as possible, Oscar explained what he wanted and how he wanted to go about getting it. He tried his best not to prattle, but when he was uncertain, the nervous habit revealed itself. When he finally finished, he held his breath, waiting for the verdict.

“One moment please,” the voice stated.

It was the longest moment of his life. What if they decided not to grant his request? He was now on their radar. They could come after him without giving him anything in return. He shook his head. No, why would they bother with him? But that didn’t negate the fact that he was currently engaging with the deadliest organization on the face of this earth. Their tentacles spread through every branch of government in every city and country in the world. With one nod, leaders fell, leaders succeeded, and people, no matter how high up, jumped to do their bidding. Giant organizations could be demolished with one word from the top, and thousands of lives could be destroyed. He’d seen it happen. Even while people were scratching their heads and wondering how something so awful could happen, he had known the truth.

What on earth had he been thinking? He couldn’t do this. Should he just hang up? Could he pretend he had been kidding? Maybe if he told them he was someone else. Maybe…

In the midst of his threatening hysteria, the mechanical voice suddenly said, “Your request is approved. We will be in touch.”

The call went dead, and Oscar practically fell out of his chair. It was done. He panted and looked wildly around his small office. What had he done? What had he done? Then he thought about all he could have, and his panic quickly subsided. His time had come. He had worked hard for this, and he was finally going to get what he wanted.

The money would be his. The power would be his.

Grabbing the bag of chips, he stuffed his mouth full, and a slow smile spread across his face.