Page 113 of Hot for Hostage

“Kidnapped?” I asked softly.

The question was deceivingly calm, and Vince straightened at the wheel, putting more pressure on the gas.

There was a weighted pause before Malcolm answered. “That’s what she says.”

… Kidnapped.

It sounded wrong. “Tell me what else Gladys said.”

“That two dark SUVs ran them off the road, and a group of men took Sadie. They heard the names Zain and Fessy, and the physical descriptions match what we know.”

My free hand balled into a fist, and the SUV suddenly felt too small. I needed to pace—to get my hands on Ali.

How the hell had he found her?

“She says they went north,” Malcolm added while more squawking sounded in the background. “Shane already went ahead to scope out Zain’s headquarters, but I hung back to help Sadie’s friends get their van started again. They’ll give me a ride to meet up with Shane.”

Great, so now Gladys and the guy with the big muscles who’d helped Sadie get away from me were going to come along. Just what we needed.

“Vince and I will head in Shane’s direction. Call me with any new information.” I hung up.

I was at a loss. Feeling this powerless was new and unsettling. I didn’t know where Sadie was—or if she was hurt or scared or freaking out.

Well, it was highly likely she was freaking out.

But all I knew for certain was she was in the hands of my enemy, and that made me more than a little pissed.

“Head north,” I told Vince, pocketing my phone. “Ali has her.”

He didn’t hesitate before pulling an illegal U-turn, making me brace against the door. “That quick?”

“Fessy’s involved, too.” Nothing about this abduction sat well. Zain had to have known Sadie was in that van ahead of time, and that meant someone had told him.

Someone who didn’t want Sadie sticking around.

I watched Vince closely. “Did you do this?”

“What?No.” He jerked the wheel before straightening out. A vein bulged on his forehead. “Hellno. My plan was to keep her inside the compound so she wouldn’t put you at risk. This is the opposite of what I wanted.”

Some of my tension eased, but if it wasn’t Vince, then who? Lorenzo hadn’t known about Sadie.

It was possible Ali’s men had been watching the shelter and followed the van to the compound. I liked that answer better than the possibility we had another rat.

“There’s more going on here. Something I’m missing.” Being out of the loop frustrated me to no end, but I needed to focus on getting Sadie back now. “We need to find out what we’re walking into. You know that family best. Who can we get to inside Ali’s camp?”

His thumb tapped the wheel. “Maybe Nasir. He’s got five kids and is up to his ears in debt.”

I tried to place the name. “The tech guy?”

Vince nodded. “He’s smart. If any of Ali’s guys will see reason, it’s him.”

Hopefully, my reputation hadn’t fallen too far yet and Vince was right about Nasir’s smarts helping him see the benefits of betraying Ali and helping us—the main benefit that he’d get to live.

“Reach out to him,” I said. “Tell him the sooner this goes down, the smoother things will go for everyone involved. Promise him whatever he wants. Cash. Protection. Whatever. Just get the location of where Zain took her and a head count of his men and weapons.”

“On it.” He steered with one hand, pulling up a number on his phone. He held it to his ear for two seconds before cursing. “Straight to voicemail. I’ll keep trying.”

I flipped my phone over in my hand and glared out the window. What else was I missing? What could I be doing?

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