Page 6 of Enigma: The Final Chapter
“I need you to call Alex and request his assistance.”
Her pupils widen as she swallows harshly.
“Brandon said you’re the best person to ask for his help. I don’t know what your history is with him, and at the moment, I don’t fucking care. My only concern is getting Isabelle home, so I need you to do this for me, Regan.” My tone is stern but still apologetic for the fretfulness slipped over her usual take-no- shit-from-no-oneface.
She licks her lips. “Okay.”
She removes her cell phone from the pocket of her shimmery black trousers as I hit the speed dial for Jae. Several heart-clenching seconds pass before she answers. “Hey, doll face, how are you?”
My lips twitch as they suppress a smirk from her playful quip. Jae has always called me ‘doll face’ as she swears I'm the spitting image of a male model she lusted over when she was a teenager. His face was plastered on the cover of an Australian magazine calledDolly, hence the doll reference.
“Hugo’s been shot.”
Regan and Hunter’s eyes snap to mine in sync.
“The paramedics have been instructed to take him to your hospital. His ETA should be around…” I stop talking and check my watch. It’s late afternoon, so rush hour is at its peak. “Ten minutes… maybe fifteen.”
“Do you have any further details. Injuries? Where he was shot?”
“I relayed to you everything I know.”
She sighs. “I’ll get the OR prepped and on standby,” she advises as the sound of her tiny feet padding along a tiled floor come down the line.
I gulp in a big breath. “Jae, Hugo is like family to me—”
“I know, Isaac. He’ll have the best surgeons in the country looking after him. He’ll be well taken care of.”
“Thank you.” I disconnect our call and place my phone into my pocket, hiding my shaking hands. When I spot Regan’s tear-filled eyes, my anger gets the better of me. “Not now, Regan. We need to keep it together until we bring Isabelle home. Jae will look after Hugo.”
Her lips quiver as she nods.
“Did you get ahold of Alex?”
She shakes her head. “He isn’t answering his phone, but I know where to find him.”
Five minutes later, Hunter and I follow Regan into the building Hugo used to collect Isabelle from every evening. The hum of activity simmers to a flurry of whispers and gawking stares when I step inside the foyer. The agents’ shock at seeing the man they have been surveilling from a distance up close and personal is marked all over their faces.
Regan shimmies her shoulders and exhales sharply before she walks toward a glass office in the corner of the room. Alex is standing with his back turned to us, peering out a large window behind his desk. When he senses the awkwardness suffocating the air, he swivels around. His lips curl into a wide, egotistical smile when he notices Regan sauntering toward him, but it switches to a snarl when he spots Hunter and me.
Regan walks into his office, not waiting to be invited in. “Alex Rogers, this is Isaac Holt and Hunter Kane,” she introduces, gesturing her hand between Alex, Hunter, and me.
Alex’s top lip twitches as he glares at Regan. “I thought you didn’t know Isaac Holt.”
Regan scoffs. “I said I didn’t know himsexually.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “You, like always, chose only to hear the wordsyouwant to hear.”
Any reply Alex is formulating is cut off by my furious glare. “You can finish your lovers’ quarrel later. We have more pressing issues to address.” I shift my gaze to Alex. “Isabelle was kidnapped this afternoon.” He stiffens, and his eyes widen, but he remains quiet. “We have an image of the assailant, but we’ve been unable to identify him using the police facial recognition software.” He doesn’t appear the slightest bit fazed by my admission that we're utilizing police resources illegally. “Brandon suggested I contact you. He said you have access to better facial recognition scanning software.”
Alex curses under his breath as he runs his hand over his head. “For Isabelle, I’ll call it a truce, but once she's safe, all bets are off.”
Confusion crosses his features when I thrust my hand out in offering. “Deal.”
After we seal our agreement with a handshake, Alex gestures his head to his desk. “There's a secure port behind the filing cabinet.”
Hunter nods and places his laptop on the desk a mere second before his brows scrunch. “If I connect to the FBI’s server, it could leave your security vulnerable to infiltration. If they get in, I may never get them back out.”
I shrug. “Let them have it. I have nothing to hide.” I ensured anything incriminating on my servers were wiped clean the morning after my arrest.
Regan touches my forearm. “What about Hugo?”
