Chapter 40

40

A hard body slammed into Abe, toppling him sideways.

Fox.

Abe stumbled, then regained his balance. “She?—”

Fox hammered his fist into Abe’s jaw. “You won’t find her like this. Get yourself under control.”

Abe staggered backward, cradling his throbbing jaw. The pain penetrated the fog in his head, his heartbeat slowing as his thoughts regained clarity. Fox is right.

Fox stepped closer and gripped his face, forcing eye contact. He swatted the tender spot he’d inflicted on Abe’s jaw.

Abe flinched, hissed in pain. “Fox, what the?—”

“That’s your reminder,” Fox said in a commanding voice. He released Abe’s face and gripped his shoulders, eyes locked on his. “I know she’s everything, and I know you’re hurting. We’ll find her. But not like this. We need clear heads, or we’re both fucked. You good?”

Abe took a breath, forcing himself back on line. He was no use to Freya any other way. “I’m good.”

Fox released him with a clipped nod.

“What do we know?” Leo materialized from the crowd, his white shirt soaked and plastered to his body. The look on his face promised extreme violence.

“Track and trace options are limited.” Fox shook his head. “Her earrings have an embedded locator, but maximum range is five hundred feet. We need a general location first.”

“Intel compromise confirmed.” Kat’s voice was winter-cold. “Korolov had inside information. This was a precision extraction.”

“Only people in that meeting knew.” Zak’s eyes were dark.

“We’re missing one person from that meeting.” Abe holstered his weapon and yanked out his phone.

He’d wasted so much precious time fighting what he felt for Freya, trying to keep his heart locked down. Now she was gone and it might be too late. He’d give anything to hold her again. He wouldn’t let it be too late. “Hi, can I speak with Einar Gunnerson?”

“One moment, sir.” The receptionist’s modulated voice made him want to scream.

The phone rang out. Fucking endlessly.

Abe killed the line with a frustrated swipe. “Einar’s not in his hotel room.”

Fox grimaced. “Gone?”

“I’ll dig deeper. There might be something we missed in his background.” Kat stepped away with her phone pressed to her ear.

Abe dragged his hand through his wet hair. Think. Numbing cold sank into his bones—if he didn’t find Freya, it would never leave. “Freya mentioned Einar was going to an art exhibition tonight.”

“Location?” Fox’s eyes were slivers of granite.

“Unknown.” The paintings in Einar’s office suite. Rembrandt . “But I might know who.”

Abe keyed a few phrases into his phone, fingers moving fast. A moment later, his screen lit up.

Gotcha.