Page 43 of Wild Temple
I hesitated a moment. “We’ll come back. I promise.” After a pause, I said, “If something happens, you should probably get on the first plane out. There will be no one here to help you.”
A grim frown tugged her full lips. She nodded, set the gun on the bed, then wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tight. Her eyes filled, and she wiped the tears away when we separated.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” I assured once again. “We’ll find Hannah.”
Brooke nodded again.
JD and I gathered our things and slipped into the hallway. We ambled to the elevator, and Jack pressed the call button. We made our way down to the main lobby, then stepped outside under the carport and scanned the parking lot.
"How are we planning on getting over there?"
We only had a few options. I didn’t think taking a cab over to the villa was a good idea at the moment. Not with what we had in mind.
He read the look in my eyes. "No. Absolutely not. I'm not riding bitch on that little scooter of yours. You need to get that idea out of your head right now."
25
The little scooter buzzed down the road, Jack holding on for dear life. With the two of us on the moped, it wasn't quite as fast or as agile as one would hope.
We looked ridiculous.
It was still dark out, but the sun would be cresting the horizon before long.
The wind swirled, and the engine purred as we headed away from the main strip, cruising through rice paddies and luxury villas. The denizens were mostly tech bros and digital nomads who had achieved a degree of success. Crypto types with more money than sense. A lot of people bought these villas as a passive income stream to rent out. The construction wasn't all that great, and when the land lease was up, you’d have to give it back unless you’d negotiated an option to extend.
Jack shouted over the wind, "Just how exactly do you plan on exfiltrating if we actually find the girl?"
"I'll improvise something in the moment," I said, having no clue what we’d do if we actually found Hannah.
We cruised through the posh villas and arrived at the target site. It was two stories of modern tropical design. Large windows and relaxing terraces. An A-frame roof capped the villa. Slatted wood softened the stark appearance of the natural stone. Lush creepers hung from the terrace. Shrouded by tall palms, thick greenery engulfed the backyard, creating a secluded oasis from the outside world. A high perimeter wall surrounded the property.
We did a recon pass to assess the situation.
A second-floor light was on.
I pulled to the curb and parked the bike about 50 yards from the house. The lot to my right was undeveloped.
“How do you want to handle this?” JD asked.
I had gotten used to Isabella as our eye in the sky. We didn't have a drone to scope out the property. Isabella wasn't around to hack the Wi-Fi and tap into security cameras.
I called Talia. "We reached the target site. Can you tell me how many phones are currently at the location?”
She tapped the keys and, a moment later, said, “I count two cell phones, including the one that called Brooke's phone with the ransom demand.”
It wasn't a guarantee, but it likely meant there were two people on site guarding Hannah. If my theory was correct, Caspian hadn't wanted to pimp her out yet. He probably wanted her for himself. First dibs on the new merchandise.
"Were you able to get any background information on Caspian Vorn?”
"Not yet. Like I said, I don't have access to the vast amount of resources that Isabella had. But what I did find on the Internet is that he is an international businessman. Or at least that's what he purports to be. He owns numerous restaurants and bars on the island. At a casual glance, everything looks legit. That's all I know right now. I'll keep digging.”
"Who owns the Villa?"
"I don't know.”
I thanked her and told her I would keep her updated.
The villas on the street were packed tight. Some shared common walls. Others were freestanding. Several homes were mirror copies of each other, built by the same developer. There was a narrow gap between the target house and the neighboring property.
