Page 80 of Her Always Choice

“Because that ransom demand just came through,” he told the group showing his phone to the police.

“Ten million dollars by six tomorrow night?” Grant said reading it over the officer’s shoulder. “Through a text message?”

“I need to find Tate,” Jordan said taking the phone back. “If anyone can trace where it came from its him.”

“Let’s go to the security building,” Dwight said leading him and the others that way.

“Tate?” Jordan called as they hit the lobby.

“Back here,” they heard and the security officer showed them the way back.

“What’d the cops say?” he asked as he continued to put the video through its paces.

“That it might be a ransom demand, about thirty seconds later I got this,” he said handing his phone over for him to read.

“Holy shit…hold on,” he said pulling up a piece of video and enlarging it. “You son of…”

“What’d you find?” Jordan asked hurrying over to the monitor. “That’s Mel but who is that?”

“That would be Kevin,” Dwight said looking over his shoulder.

“This just went from bad to worse,” Tate stated. “But they’re not smart enough to hide their tracks completely, no one is.”

“Except for you and Mel,” Dwight offered encouragingly.

“Yeah well, feel like letting me into your access for the school’s system?” Tate questioned and Dwight nodded.

“If it’ll help find Mel I’d sell corporate secrets,” he assured him.

Tate sat back down once Dwight logged in and pulled up the files for Kevin and Devon. It didn’t take him long to find the connection though a part of him wished he hadn’t.

“What is it Tate?” Arthur asked seeing the way his jaw tightened.

“Kevin and Devon, share the same father,” he told them. “They also weren’t enrolled until this year, and Kevin had never taken any college courses but yet was in Mel’s ethics course somehow.”

“You’re saying they specifically targeted Mel?” Ford asked. “Why her? If they think that I caused their father to go to jail why not come after me, why Mel?”

“She was more convenient,” Jordan answered. “They could learn her routine easier, find times to get her alone. This might not have been the game plan all along but it’s what it turned into now.”

“There’s something else,” Tate said knowing it’d make it all worse.

“What?” Dwight asked.

“Kevin was a mechanic at a Jeep dealership, and the night of the storm when Mel’s car went nuts, he was stuck in the library Mel just left.”

“So he sends Devon after her but Devon chickens out because he falls for Mel, until he’s given an ultimatum perhaps?” Jake offered. “Follow through with the plan or Kevin tells Mel it was all his idea possibly?”

“One last thing,” Tate said as his search came back positive. “Kevin Flaugher owns two guns.”

“What do we do?” Nicole asked as fear gripped them all.

“Pay the SOBs and get Mel back,” Jordan answered looking for the number for the bank.

“Jordan,” Gabrielle said gently. “We’ll take care of it.”

“She’s my wife; I’ll do it.”

“You’ll lose the business if you take out all of your capital to make the ransom,” Ford cautioned.