Page 59 of Paradise & Vodka

Paul looked at me in the rearview mirror as he drove. "Which one was the leader?"

"The one in the cellar when you got to us."

"The one you almost killed?"

I nodded. "I would have if Ashleigh hadn't stopped me."

"I was just telling you I was alive," Ashleigh responded.

"I know." I squeezed her knee. "Thank fuck for that." And thank fuck the gun was out of bullets.

Joss turned in her seat. "The guy was taken care of."

"Killed?" I questioned.

Joss nodded. "Yes."

"So, you guys don't have answers about why we were taken?" Ashleigh probed.

"Not yet, but on the way in, I looked into who owned the property where you were being held."

"And what does that matter if you killed the guy?" I questioned, assuming the leader owned the land.

"We didn't kill the person who owns the property," Joss stated.

"Meaning someone else is behind it?" I inquired.

"I'm not sure yet. Usually, with these missions, we move in fast, and it takes time to gather the information afterward—if at all. We aren't on US soil, and this isn't a Hostage Rescue Team authorized by the FBI."

"We may never know then?" Ashleigh asked.

"I didn't say that, either. You're part of our family now, so I’ll find out if you really want me to," Joss replied.

Ashleigh looked over at me, and I replied to her silent question, "I want to know if your sister and Dougie are behind this."

"Your sister, the one we’re going to get?" Paul questioned.

"They thought I was her when they took us," Ashleigh answered.

"They knew who you were by name?" Joss inquired.

"Well, they called me by my sister’s name, and then we told them I wasn’t her, that I was her twin."

"That was when I negotiated calling you." I squeezed Paul’s shoulder. "We don’t have the money Everleigh’s husband and family have."

"Interesting," Joss said. "Usually kidnappers don’t know names, only assume Americans come from money and then take their chances on who to kidnap for ransom."

"They seemed to know a lot about my sister and Douglas," Ashleigh advised.

"Like what?" Paul asked.

"Douglas’s parents’ names, where they live, and they knew they flew in on a private jet."

"Maybe they have someone on the inside who works at the airport," Joss suggested.

"Or someone at the hotel," I countered.

"The hotel? How would they know about the private jet?" Ashleigh questioned, her brow furrowed.