Page 43 of Ethan's Command

CHAPTER 17

Brooklyn's phonevibrated angrily on the kitchen counter, slicing through the tense silence that had blanketed the room after Mojo’s bark. She snatched it up, heart pounding. The number on the screen was unrecognizable, a long string of digits that sent a shiver racing down her spine.

Ethan looked up sharply from where he leaned against the edge of the counter, arms crossed. His eyes narrowed. “Answer it,” he said in a low voice. “Put it on speaker.”

She did as she was told, gripping the phone tightly. “Hello?”

There was a pause. Then, a distorted voice crackled through the line, robotic and hollow, sending a chill curling around her ribs.

“Brooklyn Alexander” the voice rasped. “We have Liam.”

Her breath caught, and she clutched the edge of the counter to steady herself. “Where is he? Who is this?”

The voice didn’t falter. “That’s not important. What matters is what you do next.”

Brooklyn glanced at Ethan, her expression pleading. He immediately moved closer, his body a steady wall of strength at her side. She set the phone on the counter between them. Ethan started to text like a madman on his own cell.

“What do you want?” she demanded, voice trembling despite her effort to sound calm.

The voice was cold, merciless. “A USB drive. Liam had it, and now it’s missing. You have until midnight to find it.”

Ethan straightened, his jaw tightening as his gaze darted to her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Brooklyn said, forcing steel into her voice. “What USB drive? What’s on it?”

“It doesn’t matter,” the person snapped. “Liam had it, and it’s not on him now, which means it’s your problem. You have until midnight. No cops. If you call them, Liam’s blood is on your hands.”

Brooklyn’s chest constricted, each word tightening like a vise around her ribs. Ethan’s eyes were locked on the phone, his body taut with restrained fury.

“Wait,” she pleaded. “How do I even know Liam’s alive?”

There was a brief pause, followed by a muffled, agonized groan. Her stomach twisted.

“That’s all you get,” the voice said. “Midnight. We’ll call again with instructions. Don’t disappoint us.”

Before Brooklyn could respond, the line went dead. She stared at the phone, her pulse hammering in her ears.

“Ethan,” she whispered, her voice cracking.

“I had Bellamy trying to trace the call.” He was already dialing his teammate. “Anything?”

Brooklyn stared at Ethan, but he shook his head. “It’s a burner phone. They pinged off two cell towers, so we know they were in Kona, but we needed a third tower to triangulate the call.”

How could this be happening? She sucked in a deep breath and tried to keep from screaming. She started pacing the length of the kitchen while Ethan spoke rapidly into the phone. Her mind raced, replaying the distorted voice, the veiled threats, thehorrifying groan that confirmed Liam’s suffering. Where was the USB drive? She’d never heard Liam mention anything about it, but clearly, it was valuable enough to someone to threaten his life.

Ethan grabbed her phone and then did something to his phone with hers next to it. “I’m cloning your phone,” he explained. “Mine is already linked to the comms center. We’ll be able to track any incoming calls automatically now, and we’ll be able to track you.” Ethan said, lowering the phone. He was calm, tension etched deep grooves into his face, the barely contained rage simmering beneath the surface.

“I recorded the call and sent Rusty the file. They’re going to work on it, but the distortion makes it tricky. It could take a while.”

“Tricky? A while?” she snapped, her voice rising. “We don’t have time for ‘a while’, Ethan. Liam doesn’t have time.”

“I know,” Ethan said sharply. His voice softened as he stepped closer. “But we’re not going to get anywhere if we panic. Let’s focus on what we do know.”

She forced herself to nod, even though her chest felt like it might implode. “Liam never mentioned a USB drive.”

Ethan’s brows knitted together. “But they said he had it. They seemed very sure. The Yakuza aren’t going to risk kidnapping a kid if they weren’t absolutely sure he had what they wanted.”

Her mind raced, sifting through every conversation, every moment she’d shared with Liam. Her frustration mounted as nothing stood out. “I don’t know. He never said anything. He didn’t act any differently.”

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