Page 45 of Holding His Hostage
She washed her body with hotter-than-hot water, wishing she’d been blessed with mind-reading abilities so she knew what that man was thinking. The men of HERO Force would be arriving soon, precluding further private conversation, and she wanted to know where she stood.
“I’m not sorry,” she whispered under her breath. “I will never be sorry.” No matter what happened from here on out, she’d followed her heart and opened herself up to Sloan. That was an accomplishment, not something to be ashamed of or worried about.
When she dried off, she removed her bandages and winced. That didn’t look good at all, and she cleaned it carefully before putting on a new bandage. She dressed quickly in the hot, steamy bathroom, wishing she could go in the cooler bedroom but too confused about her standing with Sloan to walk in there nearly naked, as he had done. The thought further frustrated her already frazzled nerves, and she was thoroughly hot and cranky by the time she emerged.
Once again, Sloan wasn’t there, which irritated her that much more. She tied her hair back in a ponytail and went in search of him, finding him at the desk in the adjoining room, on the phone. He held up a finger.
“I really appreciate you doing this so quickly, Moto. I’ll be in touch.” He hung up. “You’re not going to believe this. All of these accounts have been emptied in the past eight days.”
“All of them?”
“Every last one, all two-point-two million dollars and change.”
“Our missing money. Where did it go?”
“An account in the Cayman Islands.” His phone vibrated, and he looked at the screen. “Mac and Champion are on their way up. You ready to find McKenzie?”
The moment was slipping right out of reach, and she needed to get it back. She’d go crazy if they didn’t talk about the elephant in the room before leaving here. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk for a minute.”
“Shoot.” His phone rang. “Hang on, it’s my mom again. Hello?”
He shot panicky eyes to hers as he listened to the phone. “What do you mean?”
Joanne could hear Evelyn’s voice rising and falling with emotion. “What happened?” she whispered.
“April’s not in her room.”
“What?Put her on speaker.”
He hit a button. “…woods around the cabin, but I don’t see her. Should I call the police?”
Jo was light-headed with fear. “Did she leave on her own? Was anyone there?”
“As far as I knew, everything was fine. I went upstairs to wake her like you asked me to, and it doesn’t even look like her bed was slept in last night.”
“Did she run away?” Jo clutched at his shirt. “Was she that mad at me? We have to find her. We have to find her, Sloan!”
“I should have had guys stationed at the cabin,” he barked. “Damn it, I thought she’d be safe. Call the police. I’ll get HERO Force out there as soon as I can. I’ll call you back.” He hung up.
“He couldn’t have found the kids. He couldn’t have!” She was losing it, the panic attack appearing out of nowhere and instantly on overdrive.
He held her by her upper arms. “Listen to me. She’s a smart kid. She wouldn’t have run away in the middle of winter in a place she doesn’t know.”
She swallowed against the knot in her throat, knowing he was right but unable to comprehend the consequences of the truth. “Then she was taken. But how? This doesn’t make any sense! We checked every device, everything. We were careful.”
“It’s like they had inside information. Someone telling them where we were.”
“But who would do that? The kids know we’re in danger. They wouldn’t be so foolish as to tell someone where they are.” An image of April in tears at the campground appeared in her mind. “No…”
“What is it?”
“It’s not possible.” She ran to the other room and picked up her phone, searching for Instagram and downloading the app, Sloan entering the room behind her. “The guy on Instagram who had me so concerned. I just assumed he was a kid, but what if he’s not?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if he’s Bannon, or one of his guys? All you need to fake an identity on Instagram is a profile picture.” The possibilities were horrible and endless. “But your mom checked for me last night. April hadn’t reinstalled the app.”
“I saw her on Fiona’s iPad.” He headed for the other room. “I’m calling my mother back.”
