Page 6 of Holiday Hostage
I had a week to find a kidnapped woman in a vast wilderness.
God only knew if they’d kept her in Alaska or taken off somewhere else. “I need a list of anyone you think might be responsible.” Payton’s picture crinkled in my grasp. I set the picture and envelope on Frank’s desk. “And I apologize for this question, but you know I have to ask.”
“No.” Frank slashed both hands through the air. “There is no way in this entire fucking world that Payton ran away or is having some kind of tantrum and decided to scare me by disappearing. That’s not who I raised my girl to be. You’ll see.”
He turned his head toward the window, taking a moment to regain his composure. “My daughter is all I have, and I will not stop until I have exhausted every resource to ensure I’ve done all I can to bring her home.”
“I understand, sir.” I forced my fingers to unclench and shifted my stance to something more casual. “Will there be other teams?”
“You mean, is there any competition for the contract I’m prepared to offer you?” Frank raised an eyebrow.
“No, sir.” Fuck, I really had to get a handle on the ‘sir’ business. “I mean, do you trust me and my team? I don’t want to be out there stumbling over everyone else. It complicates an already tense situation, especially with kidnappers involved. I don’t want the threat of another team mistaking us for the bad guys.”
“That happen often?” He seemed genuinely curious.
I didn’t feel relaxed enough to shrug. “On occasion.” And I had a few battle scars to prove it. “One team like mine is all you need.”
“I expected arrogance. Reading your file was something of a journey. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to trust someone I haven’t worked with before, but you’ve impressed me.” He held out a hand. “Get my daughter back, Maverick.”
“My team is the best, Mr. Rivers. We won’t stop until she’s back safe with you.” I rarely made promises like that, but in this case, I was fully invested. The woman in that picture had my full attention.
The world needed more people like her.
More smiles. More carefree spirits.
I’d be damned to hell before I let a scumbag take her out.
“Good.” Frank pushed the picture toward me. “Take that with you as a reminder of what’s at stake.”
I didn’t need it. Payton’s image was burned into my brain.
I saw her every time I blinked, and the stoked fire that I’d banked after leaving the Rangers flared to life.
I hadn’t been this invested in a job in over a decade. Nothing short of death was going to stop me from saving Payton.
2
TARRON
Despite my calm, level-headed demeanor, I did not do well with boredom.
I hunched over the table and scratched out another answer in the crossword puzzle in front of me.
Reed stalked into the room, shirtless as usual after a workout in the gym, and snorted when he spotted me. “Another one?”
“Better than letting my brain rot.” I shot the quip back at him before reading the next clue.
A key turned in the lock, and the front door opened. Maverick stepped through, his black hair as wild as the gleam in his eyes.
Reed stopped at the refrigerator, reaching in to snag his protein drink and knocking back half before Maverick dropped his keys in the ceramic bowl on the counter.
The two of them looked at each other, a silent conversation I followed without trouble.
“We have a job, don’t we?” I tossed the pencil into the holder in the center of the table and stood to stretch.
An ache had started in my neck, and I rolled my head side to side before it worsened.
Maverick perched on the edge of the counter, a grin pulling free. “We have a job.”
