Page 61 of Rescuing Riley
Taylor didn’t back down. “Liza called me. She’s meeting me here in less than two hours. So are Mr. Gansett and those two thugs from Boston.”
That earlier fear Candace had had written all over her face returned. “Maybe I should go.”
Charlie pushed his way in between Taylor and Josh. The dog was always in tune to tension.
Taylor pursed her lips. “Please, Josh. All they want is the drive, then they’ll let Riley go.”
After rounding the desk, Josh stuck the thumb drive into the computer. He was curious what was so important that it could cost Riley or Liza her life. “Candace, please do me one thing, then you can go. Unlock your computer.”
She did as Josh asked.
“While she gets the files up on the screen,” Josh said to Taylor, “tell me everything.” They had time, but he had to think fast. He suspected that Moretti’s men and Mr. Gansett would show up before Liza to corner her somehow.
Tap. Tap. Tap.Candace’s fingers flew over the keys.
A thousand questions were flashing through Josh’s mind, but he decided to wait until Taylor told him her side of the story.
Taylor petted Charlie’s head. “I was truthful about everything I told you and Riley. I just left some things out because Liza asked me to.”
“Taylor, what Liza’s involved in is dangerous. The mafia is not an organization you want to tango with.” Josh planned on giving Liza a piece of his mind for sure.
Taylor hugged herself. “Liza needed my help, and no matter the danger, I didn’t care. Still don’t. My miserable world is messed up as it is. So putting my life on the line is a risk I’m willing to take, especially for a friend and a lady I admire tremendously.”
Josh remembered Agent Wallace saying she had daddy issues. Maybe she wanted to prove how tough she was to her father. Still, part of Josh admired her for her strength, dedication, and staunch determination to help a friend. Those were all qualities of someone he would go into battle with. He respected her more in that moment than he had since he’d met her.
“How did you end up with the thumb drive and not Liza? And where is my cousin?”
Taylor tugged at a gold chain around her neck. “To make a long story short, Liza was in a rush, when Haley unexpectedly came into town. She meant to grab the drive before she left the office last Thursday. Anyway, Liza was about to tell me where it was when Riley showed up. Fast-forward to an hour after I was fired. I came back to plead with Mr. Gansett to keep my job, when I heard him talking on the phone. He mentioned Liza’s name and said he’d checked her office for the thumb drive. So I went back to her office and found it.”
“Why is Mr. Gansett involved in all this?” Candace asked. “He seems like a nice man. Though scary when he’s about to fire me.”
Josh skirted around the desk. “Is the computer ready?”
“Sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt. But the files are loaded.”
Taylor and Josh settled behind Candace as she clicked on the first file. A picture emerged.
It took Josh a moment to zero in on what he was seeing.
Candace pushed her chair back, practically running over his foot. “That’s the guy who was here today.”
A bald man with a goatee was pointing a gun at a short, chubby man, who was lying on the ground in a blood-soaked shirt.
“He’s one of the thugs,” Taylor added.
Josh gripped the back of Candace’s chair. “Agent Wallace is looking for him.”
Candace bobbed her head. “You should call Agent Wallace. Get him over here before anyone shows up.”
She was so right. They didn’t stand a chance against mafia men who had guns and other weapons, who had a take-no-prisoner attitude, and who dealt with situations by killing people.
Josh wished he were in fighting shape, and he wished he had his tactical gear. He wished Charlie wasn’t there. Josh didn’t want his dog to get hurt. Man, he wished for a lot of things, particularly that Riley was safe.
He had his phone out, ready to tap on Agent Wallace’s number.
“Josh, don’t. Please,” Taylor said. “Do you want to lose Riley? I know you don’t. I saw how you looked at her.”
He pushed his tongue against his teeth for no other reason than to not scream at Taylor. Then he sucked in air and paced, threading his fingers through his hair.
