Dangerous Surrender(12)

If his guy couldn’t catch her before she resurfaced he had a plan to run if the cops believed her. He didn’t think they would, but he was always prepared for a worst case scenario. Especially since he owed the Russian mob a shitload of money.

As he stepped into the hallway of the executive offices, he nodded once at the patrolman standing guard outside Hugh’s office. They’d secured the area with tape and even though he’d told them that he would cut off access to this floor for everyone else, the police must have decided to leave a guard. The thought made him frown, but he shoved his unease aside and hurried to his own office.

After shutting the door behind him, he rummaged in his desk for another burner phone and called his contact with a trembling hand. It’d been fucking hours since he’d been able to make contact and it was making him edgy.

He picked up on the first ring. “Hey, boss.”

“Tell me you have good news.” His office was secure, with good insulation. There was no way the cop down the hall could hear him and no one else was currently on this floor. It was the only reason he was talking to his contact.

“Maybe. I called in a favor to one of my buddies at the PD. Narrowed down the reports of all the stolen vehicles around the time the target disappeared—”

“Get to the point,” he snarled. His contact loved over-explaining what he did for Neal. He knew the guy was smart; it was why he used him. He didn’t need a play-by-play.

There was a short pause, then he spoke with what sounded like gritted teeth. “There was a Pinto taken within a two block radius of where Hugh’s SUV was found. I’m just surprised the owner reported it stolen. Anyway, the car blew through a few tolls. I know because…never mind. I can’t know for certain but from the direction the car was going when it was pinged, compared against the addresses in her online address book, there’s a possibility she’s going to Vegas. She’s got one contact in Vegas and I remember her talking about missing a wedding there a few weeks ago because of that business trip.”

“Head there now.” Taylor was smart and if she was running, she’d want to get some distance, but wouldn’t want to go too far. Because Taylor wouldn’t want to let Neal get away with hurting her precious mentor. And she wouldn’t go to a hotel or motel because she was too smart to use her credit cards. No, she’d want to go to ground somewhere she felt safe.

“Hadn’t heard from you so I’m already on my way. Should be at the address in half an hour.”

“Who’s the friend?”

“It just says Vadim S in her company address book. It’s synced to her phone.” He sounded smug but Neal was the one who’d given him access to her employee files so it wasn’t as if he’d hacked into it.

The name Vadim was familiar, but Neal couldn’t place it. Had the man done work for the company before? He frowned, wracking his brain, but shelved the name momentarily as he said, “Use any force necessary.”

“What if she’s got back up?”

“Everyone is expendable. If you have to do extra work, there’s a bonus in it for you.” He hated that he might have to pay his contact extra, especially when he needed all funds to go to the Russians or to his getaway stash. At least without Hugh around he wouldn’t have to worry about hiding his diverted funds. For a while at least he could siphon off larger amounts, maybe completely pay off the Russians now instead of using his payment plan.

“Done. Going dark until I know if the target bolted here.”

“Good. Don’t fuck this up.” He disconnected before his contact could respond. Perfect timing too. Escobar knocked even though he could see him clearly through the glass door of his office.

Neal stood and motioned for Escobar and the two women to enter. They both looked nervous, but that was to be expected. He rarely talked to them because he had no reason to. They were in IT and he had limited communication with them.

Pasting on what he hoped was an open, yet sad expression, he half-smiled at the women and motioned for them to sit in the seats in front of his desk. It was game time. He needed to know what Taylor had said to them. Even the smallest detail might give her away and he was determined to find her location at all costs.

* * *

Taylor looked up at the tall, incredibly sexy man she’d just sobbed all over like a complete maniac. He didn’t seem too bothered by it, but she couldn’t fight her embarrassment. She shouldn’t even care, not after everything she’d been through today, but the man with mismatched eyes looked at her as if he could see every single thought she had. One eye was brown and the other a bluish-green, the unique combination making her feel even more off-kilter.