Page 20 of Ethan's Command

“His usual friends—Keoni, and Nakoa,” Brooklyn replied. “Ren wasn’t there that day.”

Ethan nodded thoughtfully. “Do you think anything could have happened with them? Or maybe something was said?”

“Not that I know of,” Brooklyn said. “And I didn’t want to broadcast what happened, so I haven’t mentioned the attempted abduction to anyone.”

Ethan leaned back in his seat, his mind working. “We’re going to have to talk to Liam’s friends. If he was targeted, we need to know if any of them were too.”

Brooklyn frowned. “He’s not going to like that.”

“Probably not,” Ethan agreed. “But we don’t have much of a choice.”

“Ethan, you can’t just talk to the kids without their parents’ permission. If someone did that to Liam, I’d be furious.”

Ethan considered her words and nodded. “You’re right. We’ll do it the proper way. For now, let’s talk to Liam and see if he remembers anything unusual.”

Brooklyn sighed. “Fine. Let’s wait here, take him home, and then talk to him about it.”

Ethan’s phone buzzed, and he answered it quickly. “Coop. Yeah, I spoke to Nova earlier. She gave me the rundown. Listen, I’m at Liam’s school, and we’re going to be here for a little while. Can you do me a favor? Run some names for me.”

He glanced at Brooklyn. “Keoni Kobayashi, and Nakoa Mano,” he said, repeating the names as Brooklyn supplied the last names.

“Got it,” Coop said. “I’ll get back to you.”

“I don’t know about checking out Liam’s friends,” Brooklyn commented when he hung up.

“It never hurts to know who you’re dealing with,” Ethan said. “This is an odd situation. We need all the information we can get.”

Brooklyn understood but hesitated before asking, “Did you check me out?”

“No.” Ethan hesitated. “But I did run your brother.”

She stiffened. “What? Why?”

“If your brother had been involved in something, it would’ve explained this. But he’s clean, Brooklyn. There’s nothing there. And Deanna, his ex-wife—well, she seems like a piece of work, but I don’t think this has anything to do with her either.”

Brooklyn snorted. “That’s an understatement. She and her new husband are quite the pair. But I doubt they’re involved either.”

Ethan nodded. “All right. So, here’s the plan. When Liam’s done, you’ll take him home, and I’ll meet you there after I pick up Mojo. I want him with us tonight.”

Brooklyn nodded, though her nerves were still frayed. “I don’t have a babysitter for Liam.”

“You won’t need one,” Ethan assured her. “I have an idea.”

She frowned but agreed. “Okay, I’ll see you later.” She watched him get into his pickup truck. Yakuza. That was crazy. Insane. So why was fear unspooling like a snake in the pit of her stomach?

CHAPTER 8

“Thanks again for doing this.”Ethan and Rusty stood on the front porch of Brooklyn’s house, Mojo and Soda at their feet.

“Are you kidding me? A chance to play video games all night without Sienna hassling me? A dream come true.”

Ethan snorted. “Who are you kidding? You are madly in love with that woman, and she is the Queen of video gaming. You just want a chance to not get your ass handed to you.”

Rusty grinned. “True. But I don’t mind looking after Liam. I talked to Cooper today and he filled me in about the Yakuza angle. I just can’t figure out the connection.”

“Me either,” Ethan agreed. “Did Cooper mention if Nova said why the company and the assets weren’t seized and everyone connected with it arrested when the DEA raided?”

“I asked the very same question. Coop said what she knew and what she could prove were two entirely different things. They tracked more holdings when the police shut down that human trafficking ring under the Pearl Lagoon Resort. Viktor Wang was high up in the Yakuza, and with him dead, they had more freedom to poke around, but you know how it all goes. Kill one of them and another takes their place. I don’t think it made a huge dent in the overall holdings of the gang.”

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