WALKING DOWN THE HALLWAY, hand in hand with Alexander, the sound of frenzied activity greeted Olivia’s ears before they even stepped foot into the living room. Agent Moretti barked orders at everyone in sight, all of them jumping to action, typing furiously on laptops or making phone calls. Agents murmured in the background that the call was untraceable, that it would take weeks to pinpoint the origin because of the number of satellites he used. Olivia grew more nervous.
The clicking of her heels on the wood floor caught Moretti’s attention and he looked up immediately.
“Mrs. Burnham…” He rushed toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. “Do just what we discussed earlier. Agent Long will be right next to you and will help with what to say, if you need it. We’re still working on a profile of this man, but we believe he has specifically requested to deal with you simply to upset your husband. He wants to get to him any way he can. He’s arrogant and thinks he’s untouchable. He chose to take your daughter from your home, making it look like the man you both trust more than anyone else was responsible, instead of abducting her from somewhere with much less security. He thinks he has the upper hand, that he’s succeeded in making you both feel completely vulnerable and exposed. You need to act as if that’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
“But it—”
“Just trust me,” he said slowly. “I know it sounds like we’re playing a dangerous game, and we are, but this is the only way we can learn more about him. By catching him off guard, by making him think his actions haven’t had the desired effect.”
“I’ll be right next to you the whole time,” Alexander encouraged, placing his hand on the small of her back.
“He’s going to try to upset you,” Moretti continued. “That’s what he wants. If he veers off-topic, don’t respond. Just try to get him back on course. All we need to know is where he wants you to make the drop so we can get Melanie back. Ready?”
Olivia didn’t know how to answer. She didn’t know if anyone could ever truly be ready for what she was about to do. This phone call would set into motion a chain of events that would be completely unstoppable once it began.
She drew in a deep breath and nodded, then followed him toward the formal dining area where all the equipment had been set up. On shaky legs, she took a seat next to Agent Long. Alexander sat beside her, squeezing her hand.
A younger FBI agent with dark-framed glasses met her gaze across the table and raised his eyebrows, mouthing, Ready? She nodded once more. He pressed a button, then nodded at her.
“Hello,” Olivia said, trying to mask her nerves with a steady voice.
“Oh, Mrs. Burnham,” a man with an accent she couldn’t quite place answered. It sounded Indian or perhaps even Middle Eastern. Based on the bomb detonated during the press conference earlier, she guessed it to be the latter. “So nice of you to finally join us. I was beginning to think you weren’t ever going to come to the phone, which would have been quite tragic for little Melanie.”
Olivia opened her mouth, a fire building deep in her stomach as she listened to this monster speak her daughter’s name. He didn’t deserve to even say her name, let alone be in her presence.
When a hand touched her bicep, she whipped her head to her left. Agent Long gestured toward the legal pad in front of her.
Reading it, Olivia struggled to calm her temper, forcing herself to do just that. She needed to play the part this waste of space wanted her to play.
“I have the money you requested. Where do you want me to make the drop?”
“Ah, do you now? I’m actually rather surprised at this. You must be quite resourceful, Mrs. Burnham… I’m sorry. Do you mind if I call you Olivia? I’d much rather prefer that.”
Agent Long scratched on her pad, but Olivia ignored it, following her gut instead.
“If we’re exchanging pleasantries, what should I call you?”
She could feel Agent Long’s eyes burning through her, but brushed it off. She didn’t want to follow some dumbed-down script. There was no guarantee this man would be true to his word and return Melanie once they paid him the money he demanded. Olivia wanted to try to get as much information from him as possible so the FBI could track him down.
“Oh, Olivia—”
“Mrs. Burnham,” she hissed back. “I didn’t agree that you could call me by my given name, not until I know yours.”
There was a pause on the line and her heart raced, waiting to hear dead air any second. Maybe she should have listened to Agent Long and not been so impulsive.
“Very well then,” he said finally. “You may call me Maleek.”
“Is that what everyone calls you?”
Agent Long placed her pen on her pad, irritated.
“Nice try, Olivia. I will tell you my legal name is Maleek, which is what I would like you to call me.” His voice had an almost sinister quality to it. Mix that with the obvious contempt he had for her, it took everything Olivia had to remain calm.
There was a flurry of activity around her, everyone in the room using all available resources to see if they could find out anything about someone with the first name Maleek.
Olivia looked at Agent Long, unsure of where to steer the conversation now that she had his name. She circled something on the pad and Olivia nodded.
“Okay, Maleek. Like I said, I have the money you requested. Tell me where to go.”
“A little short on patience this evening, aren’t we, Olivia?” he replied smoothly, as if he didn’t have a care in the world…as if he weren’t currently holding her little girl hostage. Her sweet, innocent little Melanie, who still believed reindeer could fly and a fat man could slide down the chimney to leave her presents. Her green-eyed angel, who still called out to her mommy when she wasn’t feeling well. Was she calling out to her now, wondering why she wasn’t rushing to her? Wondering why she had let this complete monster take her?
Her throat grew dry, her entire body tensing. Flashes of her happy, carefree little girl were interspersed with her cries for help, cries that went unanswered. She closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling in an increasingly faster and irregular pattern. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. She was blind with anger, outrage, a hatred unlike any she had ever experienced before.
A squeeze on her thigh snapped her out of her rage. She looked to her right, meeting Alexander’s green eyes. He didn’t need to say a single word. In that one look, he told her everything she needed to hear. That she could do this. That she was strong. That he would be at her side until it was over. That he would find who was responsible and make them suffer…
Except Olivia had a feeling she was the one responsible for this.