Trusting Danger (Danger, #2)(33)

“What’s going on in your life that’s making you act so miserably?” she blurted.

Surprise flickered in Grayson’s eyes. It was so brief she might have missed it, but her words had clearly struck a nerve.

“Really? It’s armchair psychology now?” He stood up and brushed past her to the kitchen to dump his mug into the sink. “As fun as this has been, I need to call my boss.”

Claire’s anger deflated slightly as he stalked from the room, and worry crept into its place.

Stepping over to the chair Grayson had been sitting in, she dropped onto it. She’d been assured by Grayson and Jeremy that her parents weren’t in danger, but was that really true? When the kidnappers couldn’t find her, would they go after her parents instead?

Thomas and Eva Parker might not have been the most affectionate parents, and they drove her crazy with their self-centeredness and relentless expectations of her, but they were all the family she had and she loved them. It terrified her to think of something bad happening to them.

Frustrated, Claire stared out the window into the front yard. Her parents were due back from the campaign tour on Sunday night, and she didn’t want to still be stuck here when they returned. Peter had surely told them by now that she was in protective custody, and they were probably worried sick.

Worried sick?

Okay, so her parents would probably be more concerned about how news of this situation might affect her father’s campaign and their family’s reputation. Knowing she was safe with these federal agents, her father and his team would focus on the optics of the situation.

Claire was missing important client meetings that affected not only her future but Chris’s, and she had no idea how much longer her life would be on hold like this. Being a law student, she understood the agents couldn’t tell her everything they knew, but surely they could be a little more forthcoming.

She went back to her room and wrote Jeremy a note, asking to speak to his boss, and slipped it under his bedroom door before she went to bed.





Chapter Twenty-Three





After leaving Claire downstairs, Grayson paced the small guest room as he called Eli for an update.

“Things have been happening quickly,” Eli said. “Want to hear the call?”

“Absolutely.”

“I just forwarded you the video of the meet with Deck Wallace’s girlfriend, Regina. Here’s the audio of the phone call from yesterday, where Rob arranged the meet.”

Grayson stopped his pacing to listen intently as Eli hit a button and a recording began to play. There was the sound of a phone ringing, and then the call picked up.

“Is this Regina?”

“Yeah. Who’s this?”

“Rob. I’m having trouble reaching Deck.”

“What do you want him for?”

“I’m supposed to do a job for him. He gave me your number in case I wasn’t able to reach him.”

There was a pause. “Who did you say you were?”

“Rob, a friend of Deck’s.”

“Deck doesn’t have his phone anymore. That’s why you can’t reach him.”

“Did he tell you what the job is?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“He tell you I’ll need a deposit?”

“How much will you need?”

“Ten thousand now. Another ten after.”

When Regina didn’t answer, Rob said, “That going to be a problem?”

“No. It’s not a problem.”

“When can you get me the money?”

“Tomorrow. Where do you want to meet?”

After a short discussion, they agreed to meet inside a sporting goods store in a shopping mall in Falls Church, Virginia.

“What time?” Rob asked.

“In the afternoon. I live in New York and it’ll take me a while to get down to Virginia.”

“Bring me a picture of the target with the address written on back.”

“I will.”

At the sound of the call disconnecting, Eli pressed another button, shutting down the audio. “Take a look at the video I sent you. The meet went down at two o’clock this afternoon.”

Grayson frowned, thinking through the possibilities. “We’re sure Deck Wallace hasn’t had any more contact with Rex Gibson?”

“Very. We’ve been monitoring both men’s calls. Wallace hasn’t been in touch with anyone but Regina. Gibson’s only spoken to his lawyer.”

“Okay. Hang on a minute while I pull up the video.”

Grayson sat on the bed and clicked on the app his team had developed to block any Wi-Fi signals within a short distance, then opened the secure Wi-Fi only he and Jeremy had access to.

Once the signal was open, he pulled up the video.



The video opened with a point of view from the surveillance van where Eli waited with two other members of the team. The camera followed an Explorer that pulled into the parking lot, zooming in as a woman got out of the car. Regina. Wearing a formfitting dress, she teetered on high heels as she started for the store.

Audio overlaid the images as Eli radioed Rob. “She’s on her way in.”

“Copy that. I’m in place.”

At this point, the video’s point of view changed to Rob’s body cam, probably hidden in the collar of his jacket, based on the perspective. He had been pacing the shoe department and walked over to the weights, the place where he and Regina had agreed to meet.