Page 18

CHAPTER 18

Brooklyn sat back on her heels, her breath ragged. “It’s not here. We’ve been over his room twice.” Frustration seeped into every word.

Ethan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, his face grim. He’d searched the spare room and the kitchen while she went over the bedroom again. Still, it wasn’t here.

“Where could it be?” she demanded, her voice cracking under the weight of rising anxiety. Glancing at Liam’s alarm clock she said, “Only five hours left. We’re running out of time.”

Ethan moved to her side and gently pulled her to her feet. “Don’t lose it now. We’re going to find Liam. I promise.” His voice was steady, but guilt gnawed at him. He’d promised to keep the boy safe and now look where they were. She had every right to hurl those words back at him, but she didn’t. That only made the guilt worse.

He tugged her into his arms, holding her tightly. He wanted to say it was for her, but the truth was, it was more for him. He needed the connection, the reassurance that he was still capable of comforting someone when words no longer sufficed.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, shattering the moment. He pulled it out and answered immediately, then switched to speaker. “Bellamy, what have you got?”

“Nothing.” Bellamy’s voice was filled with disgust. “I’ve scoured every camera, but the SUV just doesn’t show up anywhere. I’ve been mapping the area, and I think they took a series of back roads. They could’ve gone all the way into the Pu’u Wa’awa’a Forest Preserve without passing another camera.”

Ethan tightened his grip on the phone, swallowing the curse that threatened to escape. Bad news after bad news.

Cooper’s voice came through the line next. “Nova finally pulled the cell phone records. Nothing strange. Liam’s texts are all with his gaming friends, his dad, or Brooklyn. Same with the calls—no unexpected contacts.”

“Oh my God,” Brooklyn whispered, her hands pressing against her face. “How can we not find anything?”

“Did you locate Kenici?” Ethan asked, clinging to the hope that this lead might still yield answers.

“Yeah,” Cooper replied, his tone grim. “He’s dead. Cops in Hilo found his body in an alley an hour ago. We only know because Nova put out a BOLO. Another dead end.”

Brooklyn leaned heavily against the wall, threading her fingers through her hair, a small, pained sob escaped. She’d tried calling her brother earlier, but his phone had been off, telling Ethan he’d managed to catch a flight. Ethan’s heart broke for her; she was facing this nightmare without the one person who might truly understand. And Jackson must be terrified as well.

“I take it you found nothing on your end?” Bellamy said, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

“No luck,” Ethan admitted. He exhaled, trying to maintain his composure. “We need to figure out a plan for the exchange.”

“Already working on it,” Rusty cut in. “I’ve got the equipment prepped, and I’ll be ready when the call comes in.”

“But how can we do the exchange if we don’t have the USB?” Brooklyn’s outburst crackled with desperation.

Ethan squeezed her shoulder gently. “We’ll go to the exchange regardless and do whatever it takes to get Liam back.”

Rusty interjected, “We’ve still got time. Is there anywhere else Liam’s been in the last few days? I checked the café, but there’s nowhere there he could’ve hidden it. Dave’s a mess, by the way. I told him to get out of town.”

Brooklyn turned to him sharply. “Why should he get to leave when Liam is still missing?”

Ethan met her gaze evenly. “Because the Yakuza are cleaning up loose ends. The guys in prison, Kenici—anyone connected to this is being eliminated. If Dave stays, they’ll kill him too.”

Her lips trembled before she bit down on them, anger flaring in her eyes. “I could kill Dave myself right now, but I don’t actually want him dead. You’re right; it’s better if he leaves.”

Brooklyn’s exhaustion was palpable as she sighed. “We’ve gone over everywhere Liam’s been. I even called Ren’s family, but he’s been sick at home since Monday. Other than school, Liam doesn’t go anywhere.”

“That’s it,” Ethan muttered, the realization hitting him like a brick.

Brooklyn blinked at him, her voice wary. “What’s it?”

“School,” Ethan said, his tone sharpening. “It’s the one place we haven’t checked. He has a locker, doesn’t he?”

She nodded slowly.

“Good. Let’s go.” He grabbed his keys, ushering her toward the door. Mojo, sensing the urgency, darted around their feet excitedly.

“We’re heading to the school,” Ethan said into the phone. “Keep prepping for the exchange and cross your fingers.” He hung up and followed Brooklyn out to his truck.

The drive to the school was silent and tense. Ethan wanted to reassure her, but there was nothing left to say. Without the USB, the odds of getting Liam back were slim. This wasn’t a custody dispute; this was organized crime. Even with the USB, the chances were fifty-fifty at best. Without it… he didn’t dare finish the thought.

When they arrived, Hale waited by the school entrance, his expression serious. Ethan had called the man to let him know that they were on the way and he appreciated the man’s lack of small talk.

“I’ll take you to Liam’s locker.” Hale led them into the school.

Two minutes later, Brooklyn rifled through the contents of Liam’s locker while Ethan stood nearby, scanning for any sign of a clue. After searching twice, she slammed the door shut.

“It’s not here,” she said, her voice shaking. “Where else could he have hidden it?”

Hale hesitated. “It’s a big school, Ms. Alexander. There are plenty of places a clever kid could hide something. We’re talking days of video footage to review, and with the science fair tomorrow, it’s chaos around here.”

Brooklyn swayed, and Ethan immediately steadied her, his arm wrapping protectively around her. “Off the top of your head, can you think of anywhere specific?”

Hale shook his head. “Maybe the library?” He gestured for them to follow. “I’ll grab the keys to unlock it.”

As they walked past the gym, Brooklyn stopped, her gaze drawn to the activity inside. A few maintenance workers were setting up tables under bright overhead lights. In the morning, students and families would be allowed to come in and put the finishing touches on their projects.

“Can I see Liam’s science fair project?” she asked, turning to Hale.

He nodded. “Sure. I’ll meet you in there.”

Brooklyn stepped into the gym, her eyes scanning the rows of projects. Ethan followed her, and within minutes, they found Liam’s setup. He’d left his sweatshirt on the back of the chair and Brooklyn had recognized it right away. She picked it up and hugged it.

“Impressive.” Ethan genuinely meant it. “He really put in a lot of effort.”

The display featured a detailed trifold board explaining tsunami impacts, accompanied by a scale model of one side of the Big Island. Tiny houses and cars were glued to the terrain, with a switch on the table to simulate the effects.

Brooklyn put the sweatshirt over her shoulder and then ran her fingers over the model, her expression softening. “He worked so hard on this. He wanted to show how a tsunami would affect us.” She pointed to the loose placement of the cars and houses. “When the water hits, they’re all washed away.”

She frowned suddenly, her fingers hovering over a small black sedan. “That car… I don’t remember seeing it before. He had a Jeep, a sports car, and a SUV. This one’s new.”

She plucked the sedan from the model and turned it over. “It’s different from the others.”

Ethan took it from her, examining it closely, noting a seam where there shouldn’t have been one. Gently, he tugged at it, and the front of the car slid off, revealing a USB drive nestled inside.

Relief and dread warred in his chest. “This is it.”

Brooklyn stared at the drive in his hand, her expression a mix of disbelief and hope. “Oh my God, now what do we do?”

“We head to the Brotherhood Ranch. We need to know what the hell is on this thing that triggers kidnapping a young boy.”

Twenty minutes later, they walked into the comms center. Rusty, Bellamy, and Cooper were all waiting.

"Here," Ethan said as he handed the thumb drive to Bellamy. Bellamy immediately inserted the drive into a desktop computer that sat alone on a table in the corner.

"Brooklyn, how are you holding up?" Rusty asked.

"Better now that we have the USB drive."

Ethan walked over and started a cup of tea for Brooklyn, then poured himself a cup of coffee. The next part was going to be the hardest, waiting for the call.

"What’s he doing?" Brooklyn asked, pointing to Bellamy.

Ethan handed her the tea. "He’s trying to determine the drive’s contents. That’s a standalone computer, not hooked up to anything. We can’t just access a drive we know nothing about. If we do, we risk setting a virus loose in the entire system. We need to make sure it’s safe first, then we can move it to our system and go from there."

"I understand," she said but still went to stand behind Bellamy.

Rusty came over to Ethan and dropped his voice. "Are you going to let her go to the exchange?"

Ethan’s gut churned. He’d been grappling with that exact question since they found the USB. "I don’t want to, but I’m not sure I can stop her."

Rusty nodded once. "Okay. I’ll shift some things so we’ve got her covered as well."

"You worked up that detailed of a plan? We don’t even know where the exchange is going to take place yet."

Cooper came over, coffee in hand. "We know they won’t do it in a public place because it’s after midnight. Odds are it will be somewhere remote with limited access. They’ll want control, so they won’t give us much time to get there. I’m thinking they’ll tell Brooklyn she has twenty to thirty minutes to arrive—tops. They’ll already be in position."

"You’re thinking of hiding in the truck," Ethan said, cutting in.

Rusty nodded. "Yeah, you know the drill. You take a Brotherhood SUV. We’ll hide Rusty in the back and have a backup vehicle as close as we can. The other two will leave the second vehicle and hike in on foot as quickly as possible."

Cooper took a sip of coffee. " Bellamy and I will be in the second vehicle. Depending on the setup, we’ll decide on bringing the dogs. They might come in handy."

Ethan nodded. "I’ll bring Mojo with me. They’ll expect that. He’s always with me."

"Sounds good."

Bellamy cursed under his breath.

"What is it?" Brooklyn demanded.

"This thing has serious encryption software. There’s no way I can break through it in"—he glanced at his watch—“less than three hours."

Ethan checked his own watch. It was after nine. He was surprised at how late it had gotten and damn grateful that the others were already putting a plan in place. He glanced over at Brooklyn. Her face was ashen, and she held her teacup in a death grip.

He moved over to stand beside her. "Brooklyn, it’s late. You should probably?—"

"I’m not leaving," she blurted out.

He squeezed her shoulder. "I’m not asking you to leave. I just want you to get something to eat. I don’t want you out there and suddenly lightheaded."

She stared at him. "You’re going to let me go to the exchange?"

"Do you want to go?" he asked. Had he misread her? Did she not want to be there?

Relief blossomed on her face. "No—I mean, yes, I want to go. I just thought I was going to have to convince you, that’s all."

"Honey, he’s your nephew. As much as I’d like to keep you out of harm’s way, I’ve seen you with Liam, and I know how much you love him. I know you have to be there for him."

She set her cup aside before wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Why don’t you go with Cooper to get something to eat? There’s some food in the kitchen. I’m going to speak to the guys for a second and then I’ll check on you."

Cooper added, "I think there’s some Chinese food from earlier tonight, or some sandwich fixings, if you’d prefer."

After a brief hesitation, she followed Cooper to the kitchen.

Ethan turned back to Bellamy as Rusty came to stand beside them. "What do you think?" Ethan asked.

"I think I’m going to have to call in the big guns. I’m good, but this is above my pay grade. I’m not sure Hawk has anyone here at this level, but I’m guessing he knows someone who can handle it."

Rusty swore. "It would’ve been nice to know what all this is about."

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, "but that’s not the end goal. The end goal is to get Liam back. We just need this thumb drive for the exchange. Everything else is secondary."

Bellamy nodded. "I’ve made a copy here. There aren’t any obvious viruses. I’ll transfer it to one of the computers and copy the file again. I’ll email it to Hawk and ask for help. Hopefully, he knows someone who can break this encryption. You never know—this information might be useful."

No matter how true that statement was, he just didn’t care. Right now, it was all about getting Liam back. He only prayed the kidnappers played fair. There was no way to be sure, and he didn’t want to deal with Brooklyn if Liam didn’t come home tonight. The boy was her whole world and hurting her like that would shatter his own.