Page 43 of Degrees of Power
I pull on a pair of yoga pants and head into the bathroom to freshen up before heading downstairs to find Chase. His study door is closed and I hear muffled voices coming from the other side and decide to go in. He is sitting behind his desk and the phone is on speaker. “I’ll wring the life right out of him if I ever see the fucker again,” the voice coming from the speaker says.
“Who is that?” I mouth, closing the door and taking a seat across from him.
He places the call on mute. “It’s Brian,” he says, before pushing the button to speak.
“Brian, our teams are doing everything they can. Jay’s team has a lead,” he says and I immediately look up. “A taxicab driver picked a young woman up with long dark hair but it was in a ponytail and she was wearing an adidas zip up jacket. That’s all he could remember from the rearview mirror, but he thought it was odd since everyone else he picked up in front of the entrance was dressed up for the grand opening.”
“Shit, Chase. Why didn’t we know this yesterday?” Brian says.
“He worked the night shift and just got back on duty an hour or so ago. Jay’s men are doing everything they can.”
“I’d like to know how the hell she got around security then, but we’ll save that for another day. Where did he drop her?” Brian asks.
“Here’s where it gets a little strange. He said she asked him to drive her around and show her the city. He gets requests like that all the time so didn’t think too much of it, but she wasn’t paying any attention to him as he pointed out different areas and attractions in the city. She just had this blank look on her face and when he asked her where she wanted to go she asked him to take her back to Prestian Corp,” he says.
“What the hell,” Brian says.
“I just sent a message to Matt to have him search all the open suites in the building and every vacant room within the block. They were focused on all exit routes out of the city and preventing her from getting too far out of reach when it first happened,” Chase says, but Brian is no longer on the phone.
“Fuck,” Chase says, disconnecting and pushing a button to connect with Jay. “I think Brian’s heading Matt’s way to help with the search. As soon as I told him she returned to the building last night and there was a search underway he hung up on me,” Chase says.
“I’ll let Matt know and about the other thing. The security guard took a break to go to the bathroom and didn’t call for backup. Matt’s recommending that we fire him and I’m dealing with it, but wanted you to know,” Jay says.
“Keep me informed,” Chase says to Jay before disconnecting.
“Chase?”
“I don’t think Alfreita had anything to do with this. Whatever Ty did or said to her may have triggered a flight response. She probably wasn’t in any condition to know where to go last night, so she may be somewhere close,” he says.
“She texted me that she just needed to be alone, otherwise I would have been with her. We have to find her Honey, she’s my dearest friend and all alone,” I say.
“I know, Baby. Let’s see if they find her and then we’ll decide what we need to do. We don’t know for sure that it was her, but I’m hopeful,” he says, coming around the desk, taking me by the hand and leading me to the couch by the window. “Sit by me, Baby,” he says, pulling me into his lap and cradling my head against his shoulder, rubbing the back of my neck with his thumb, calming me and holding me for what seems like an eternity as we wait.
The vibration of his phone less than twenty minutes later, but what seems a lifetime, pulls me from my reverie. He answers it still caressing the back of my neck with his thumb. My body is wired and I perk my ears up to hear the conversation although it is not on speakerphone.
“Excellent,” he says and then scowls as he listens to the person on the other end of the phone. “Jesus, put Brian on the line,” he says.
“Matt says you’re bringing Jenny home yourself,” he says, pausing to listen. “Slow up, Brian. There’s no issue with that. I don’t claim to know what’s going on between you two, but given the situation, Katarina and I would be greatly appreciative if you would escort her back to Chicago,” Chase says.
He listens for a moment and nods. “Yes, Jay will take care of all the logistics. He’ll have a helicopter take you to LAX and then home from O’Hare. Let me know when you find out where she wants to stay and feel free to offer her our home. We’re going to be working from here for a little while with the Alfreita mess and Katarina would love to have her nearby. Thanks again, Brian,” he says, pulling me close before he disconnects.
“They found her in an empty suite. She was still in the clothes the driver described from last night and it doesn’t appear as though she’s slept. She was just sitting on the bed staring into space when they opened the door. Baby, she’s going to need help to get through this. Obviously seeing Ty had a drastic impact on her,” he says.
I am seething inside at the injustice done to my friend, but so thankful that she is alive and has not fallen prey to Alfreita. The stories my mom told me of how her captors intended to do terrible things to her and then transfer her into human trafficking come flooding back to me and I shiver at the thought of Jenny in their hands, too.
“I need to call Mira,” I say to Chase, scurrying off the couch to grab my phone from the desk. “I called her before I came downstairs and she must be worried sick. It was odd, though. I mentioned Ty’s name to her and she said Jenny told her he got a job in California and they decided to go their own separate ways. She was so anxious to tell her mom during the holidays, but Mira clearly wasn’t aware. At least it didn’t seem that way to me, unless of course she didn’t know if Jenny had confided in me.
“I am no expert in matters like this, but my guess is she’s kept it all to herself,” Chase says.
He glances at his phone and texts a quick message out. “Brian and Matt are with Jenny. They just got on the helicopter and are heading to the airport,” he says.
“What do you make of Brian lately?” I ask.
“I’ve never seen him like this, but like I told you he’s always kept his personal life to himself, but it would certainly seem that something is going on between those two,” he says.
“I seriously don’t think so. I would be the first to know something like that,” I say, although I recall being surprised at how quick her relationship with Ty had taken off as I think back.
“I was curious to see if they knew each other previously through any of his family’s ventures or personally, but everything that Jay’s team came up with would lead you to believe that the first time they met in person was on our wedding night,” Chase says.
