“He did?”
“Almost Scout’s honor, sweetheart,” I joke. “Seriously though. He did. Kara’s fine, but I do want you to meet the people protecting you. You need to know who they are and feel good about them, and since we can’t risk an in-person meeting, Royce and I just had a quick conversation before I talked to Blake about doing a Skype. Are you okay with that?”
“I am. When?”
I glance at my watch. “It’s only six-fifteen. When do you want to get to the office?”
“Nine.”
“Then let’s just do this now.” I motion to the desk where I have a monitor set up with Skype already.
We move in that direction, claiming side-by-side seats. “Who am I meeting with?” she asks, sipping her coffee, seemingly relaxed, but there is an edginess to her I can’t quite define.
“Asher, Jacob, and Royce.” I send a Skype ping and the reply is almost instant, with Asher appearing on the screen, his long blond hair tied at the nape, his short sleeved t-shirt showcasing his brightly colored tattoo sleeves.
“Myla,” he greets, his tone friendly. “I’m Asher. How the hell are you?”
“I’m better now that I have help,” she says.
“Everybody’s better with help unless that help sucks and we don’t suck.”
“That is true,” she says, the sound of her laughter that follows is welcome in the aftermath of Alvarez’s call.
“Myla,” Jacob says, moving into the screenshot, the contrast of his short buzzed hair and stoic personality to Asher hard to miss. “I’m Jacob. I just wanted to say that we’ve got your back.”
“Hi Jacob. Thank you. You both know Kara?”
“We do,” they both say.
“I’ve worked with her quite often,” Jacob offers. “I’d trust her with my life or anyone else’s.”
“Count me in on that one,” Asher agrees. “Your sister’s kick ass. Have you heard what she did to Kyle?”
I grimace at the memory I can’t escape. “No she has not,” I say, while Myla gives me a curious look.
“It’s nothing,” I say. “It was before-”
“She dropped him like a rock,” Asher supplies, “or more like a ten-foot tree.” He holds up his hand and mimics me falling as he adds, “He fell like a timberland.”
“I wouldn’t know how I fell,” I snap, “since I was drugged and passed out.”
Myla faces me. “Why’d she drug you?”
“Because I was trying to keep her from going after Blake, who was going after Alvarez.”
There are voices off-screen before Asher says, “Royce wants to talk to Myla.” Then giving her a nod he adds, “Myla, nice to meet you.” He firms his voice. “And all jokes aside. I have your back. You have my word.”
“Yes,” Jacob adds. “We have your back.”
Both men disappear and Royce appears, his long, dark hair tied at the nape, his trademark hard stare and the hard set to his square jaw in place. But when he says, “Hello Myla,” his voice is gentle, and friendly. “I’m Royce. I’m sure you have questions. What do you want to know?”
He’s asking if she wants to know about Kara, testing her to see if she’s distracted by personal matters. “Did you check out the locations I gave you?” she asks, proving her focus is crystal clear. She wants to save those women. She wants to get Alvarez.
There is just a flicker of surprise in Royce’s eyes that he quickly replaces with hard focus. “We’ve been up all night working on it. In every location we have trusted contractors, we confirmed active locations. In most of the others, we’ve found missing person trends that support a location in the city.”
“Then what’s the plan to get them out?” she asks.
“At this point,” I say, “we want to put together a mass raid that happens at all locations at the same time we extract you, which will be at the moment Alvarez appears.”
“That’s going to require manpower and support,” Royce adds, “which means we need to call in the FBI.”
“If you hand this over to them and they delay to act or make even a small mistake,” she says, “those locations will be gone. And if anything happens to him, and they’re not already under your control, they’ll be gone. He’s taken precautions for everything.”
“Without the FBI involved,” Royce says, “we’ll be delayed. With them we’ll have the resources to monitor, prepare, and raid those locations.”
“In other words,” I offer. “Even if the location is moved, we’ll have eyes on it, and move with it.”
“We’re on this, Myla,” Royce says. “And thanks to you, we’re going to finally get this bastard, and all his minions. But if you don’t mind, can I have a word with Kyle alone?”
My jaw clenches at the request sure to stir discomfort in Myla, though her reply is quick and cordial. “Of course. And thank you for your help.”
“Thank me in person when you are no longer in prison.”