Page 55 of The Billionaire and the Nanny

“Already done,” said Marcus grimly.

Everyone who was directly or indirectly responsible for this kidnapping was going to pay. I would make them sorry they crossed me, I swore.

“Okay, my team has tracked the vehicle to a warehouse near the Port. We need to get there as soon as possible before they move Maddie and Tia to a secondary location,” announced Luke. “Someone get me eyes on the warehouse. It shouldn’t be difficult since every inch of the Port is wired for security cameras.”

In less than five minutes, different parts of the warehouse showed up on all the screens in the room. It was full of large containers, and Monani held Maddie and Tia in one of them.

“Can we take them on our own?” I asked, chafing with impatience.

“No. There are armed men all around. We’d be risking the girls if we go in guns blazing,” warned Marcus as he studied the screens. “Look at this area. See all those thugs hovering around the blue Amtrak container? I have a feeling Maddie and Tia might be in there.”

There was a knock on the door and Ed North, the Police Commissioner for the city of New York, walked in with his team at his heels.

“Leo, I’m so sorry to hear about the kidnapping. My people are here to help you get your daughter back safely.”

The cops got to work, setting up their stations around the room. They looked taken aback by Luke’s sophisticated and probably illegal tracking systems, but Commissioner North just rolled his eyes. I made a mental note to double our donation to NYPD’s annual fundraiser.

“Leo, I have to make it clear that from hereon, the investigation is ours. We’ll keep you informed at every step. Full disclosure, I promise, but you need to get rid of this illegal surveillance system right now before we’re forced to bust it down.”

“No chance,” I said softly. “Look around you, Commissioner. Compared to ours, the programs your men are using seem almost prehistoric. We have no time to lose over a pissing contest, so here’s the deal. Let’s work together to get Maddie and Tia back safely, and as a mark of our gratitude, I will donate this cutting-edge technology to the NYPD this year. You’ll double your conviction rate before the year is out.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but we’ll take it,” he said with a smile and we shook on it.

We updated them on what we had found, and they put out a call for their SWAT teams to head out to the warehouse. Marcus, Commissioner North, and I set off in my car, with Luke staying back to oversee operations back here. He promised to be in touch with us constantly, keeping us updated on Monani’s movements.

CHAPTER 25

TIA

Istared at the back of the chauffeur’s head when he deviated from our regular route. I hadn’t seen him before. Or the two men who sat in the seat behind us. I had never seen any of these guys, except Rico, one of the guards on Maddie’s security detail.

We were walking towards where we’d left the car when Rico had come running up to us.

“Miss Tia, there’s been a change of plan. Mr. Donovan has sent me to take you and Miss Maddie to his office,” he’d said with a smile.

“His office? But why?”

“I’m just the messenger, ma’am. I do as the boss says,” he’d replied, with a grin. “The car’s right here.”

He had gestured towards the car that was waiting

“Fine. But what about the other car?”

“They will follow us,” he said with unconcern.

I was a fool to believe him, I realized. I had just put Maddie’s life in danger.

I curled an arm around her protectively and tapped on the screen dividing the front and back seats to demand an explanation.

Rico turned around with a blank look on his face. I shivered at the coldness in his eyes.

Before I could speak, he parted his coat and showed me the butt of the gun in his coat pocket. I froze in my seat and stayed silent so as not to alarm Maddie, who was looking out of the window with interest. This had to be my brother’s doing. He had tracked me down somehow, and I’d played right into his hands when I had gone with Rico. I should have called Leo and checked with him before I got into Rico’s car, especially when I didn’t recognize anyone else.

I tapped on the divider again, and Rico turned around impatiently. I gestured for him to lower the screen. He lowered it a couple of inches, keeping his gun in my line of sight. I swallowed nervously at the sight of the gun and nodded.

“Let her go. I’ll come quietly,” I whispered.

But he didn’t reply as pulled the divider up again and turned away. There was no point in speaking to him, I realized. Rico was just a tool. I was going to have to face my brother down and convince him to let Maddie go because this had nothing to do with her.

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