She tapped the little attachment icon, and the several seconds it took to open felt like a lifetime. For a moment, it was all Louisa could do to keep down the food she'd eaten so hungrily earlier. Her mother sat in a place she didn't recognize. The cast on her foot told Louisa that the photo was recent. She didn't look injured, but she did look terrified.
Her phone shook in her hand, and she was glad she was seated. There was a garbage can within arm's reach, but Louisa breathed deeply and slowly until she had her heart rate under control. The image changed everything she thought she knew. There was no length too far for Vasilii. He wanted the formula badly enough that he would take her mother. She knew what she had to do. She had to go to him, offer to re-create it in the lab. But there was no way she was going to do something as stupid as sneak out the side entrance and do this alone. Not when there was a room full of men more than qualified to help her scour the earth for her mother. All she had to do was buy them time while they did it, perhaps throw in a couple of missteps along the way to kill time.
Either way, she knew what she held in her hand was crucial information, and it certainly explained where Ivan had disappeared to.
Once she felt under control and able to walk on legs that were shaking, she hurried back to the meeting room. As she hit the hallway, she could hear Six.
"And I say we hire three more right now. Harley could be back here by tonight, and according to Gaz, Jackson is doing little more than screwing around in Tijuana. The guy is thirty minutes away. There's got to be a third that we can find." He'd finally gotten his head around her offer. It had taken an hour of convincing, and when she'd finally made him see sense, he'd insisted on treating it as a loan. Even insisted they pay her back interest.
"I'm on it," Cabe said as he grabbed his phone off the table. "I'll go make those calls."
Despite the shot he'd taken to his side, Six was on his feet, ready to fight on her behalf.
Without overthinking it, she walked around to Six's side of the table. Gently, she placed her hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to sit. Muscles strained beneath her fingertips as he lowered himself to his seat. She knew she'd never convince him to stand down, to let the others help her while he healed. Nor would she want him to. She trusted her life in his hands. But she could get him to rest when it was possible.
"Cabe, you should stay just for a moment," she said with as much authority as she could muster. "I think it's about to get worse." She placed her phone into Six's hands.
"What the … ? Who sent you this?" he said, handing the phone to Mac.
"It's from Vasilii. They have my mom." She looked at Six. "And you aren't going to like what I'm going to suggest we do to save her."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Louisa."
The way Vasilii drew out her name in some sicko pretense of being friendly made Six want to punch the guy in the throat, right before he carved out his vocal cords with a blunt fishing knife.
"Where is my mom? Let me speak to her. I need to know she's okay." Louisa moved to pick up the phone, but Six stopped her. They were recording the call. Her hands were frozen.
"You have something I want. I have something you want. A simple exchange is all that is required to put this all behind us. I will send a car for you. Be ready within the next hour. I know where you are. The driver will not be told where to take you until you are safely on your way. He also does not know where my guest is. Don't test me, Louisa, or the thing I have of yours may become … damaged. Oh, and as much as I hate to sound like a cliché, if anybody tries to interfere in any way, like follow you or call the police, or attempt to hold the driver hostage, the damage will become permanent, so please, come alone."
The phone clicked silent.
"I should have gotten security for my mom. I've got to … "
Six turned to her. "You aren't seriously thinking of going, Lou?" His head had been filled with other options, but none of them involved her getting in that car. The idea of her anywhere other than in his sight freaked the shit out of him.
"It's not like I have a lot of choice," she said, her eyes focused on the phone.
"We need eyes in the sky," Buddha said. "No one ever looks up. We can follow the vehicle that way. Let me see how quick I can be airborne." He grabbed his phone and stepped out of the room.
"He's not going to do anything to me until he has the formula," Louisa said. She placed her hand on his shoulder. It felt tiny as she dug into his muscles. "And you'll get me before then. I know you will."