Page 19 of Hacker Identified

Holy crap, these people were straight-up insane. I thought my father had a plan of action for anything. Their stories from the hotel room, I had figured were a stretch of the truth. Especially where they said Kat had killed a man with a garden gnome and dragged his body across the backyard. Now I wondered if they downplayed how dangerous she was.

"Do I die in your plan?" I asked.

"No." Kat rolled her eyes. "I figured the box would trigger a panic attack. Vegas has too many unknowns and security cameras. Our houses in Haven Ridge, we can control almost everything. We also don't want anyone to know you are there. Hence the slight sleeping aid."

"To me, it sounds like you are delivering me on a silver platter to my father."

Sophie nodded. "It might. No way your father will look for you there. My guess is he will think we took you to Ft. Lauderdale. The entire intelligence network along with mercenaries know how close Zack is to the Ross brothers. Time to climb in the chest."

"No, I'll have a panic attack."

Kat raised her gun a second time.

Everyone screamed no, and Kat pouted as she lowered it.

Zane squeezed my hand. "With Zack out for a while, it's my job to make sure you're safe. Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed as fuck at Kat, but she does have a good plan. I'm not going to let her tranquilize you, but you must hurry and climb in. We won't lock the top, and I can FaceTime you the entire time. If you panic, we can stop and slow things down."

"This sounds like a late-night drunken idea. How did one simple meeting request turn into me agreeing to be a stowaway?"

"Beats flying in the back of a cargo plane full of pigs for seven hours," Sam said.

"If I remember correctly, we got into that predicament all because you introduced Gretchen Tresser into the lifestyle and her father ran the Catholic church," Zane replied.

A couple of things clicked. I read spicy romance; they’d said lifestyle, spanking, and Kat called Zack vanilla. I had enough on my plate, but I really wanted to ask questions. Except Patty spoke before I could.

"Gretchen, as in the woman who came to the palace last month?" Patty said.

"With her husband and three kids," Sam said. "We don't have time to rehash old stories. Neal has an update for us once we’re in the air."

My eyes locked on the four foot by the three-foot box. I would fit, but once the lid closed, the world would be dark. "I don't have a phone."

Kat strode toward me and knelt to hand one to me. I hadn't left Zack's side since he fell and my hand rested on his chest.

"It's time," Zane said.

He grabbed his brother under the armpits. Sam wrapped his fingers around his legs, and together they lifted his limp body. Kat grabbed the discarded dart on the ground and stuffed it in her purse.

They lowered his body into the box and closed the lid.

Antonio held the top of the second crate open. With each step, my heart pounded against my chest. The phone in my hands vibrated, and I jumped.

"It's me, answer it," Sam said.

Sam waved his phone, showing the call. I swiped my finger, and his face came into view. Texan helped me climb over the edge and lowered my body. The wood scraped against my bare legs. The light faded as they closed the top.

"Guys?" My voice shook.

"Breathe," Sam said. Patty's face appeared right next to his. "You got this. I'll see you tomorrow. We have to grab the kids before we head to Virginia, but I know you are in good hands."

"Are you absolutely sure this is necessary?" I asked.

"Yes, the main airstrip has cameras. Neal hacked the ones inside the hangar to play a loop of the area as if we weren't here. You're doing good. The chest will sway a little as we walk."

My stomach rolled as they lifted me up and took the first step. Sam moved the phone to his other hand. The lock never clicked on the side of the chest. I pushed my hand up and sighed when the lid moved a smidge, and the runway lights filtered through the crack.

I sang “Rock-A-Bye, Baby” in my head as the trunk swayed. I was on my eleventh round of the song when I heard police sirens and they were getting louder.

"Be very quiet," Sam whispered into the phone.

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