Page 45 of Ethan's Command

“Liam’s not like that,” she protested.

“Just suppose for a minute he was, where would he hide things?” Ethan asked.

Brooklyn wanted to keep protesting but she knew it was useless. They weren’t trying to smear Liam’s character although that is what it felt like.They were trying to help him, she reminded herself.

“If he was trying to hide something, he would probably hide it here. I never go into his room. I always tell him it’s his space and as long as he keeps it clean, I’ll only vacuum and change the sheets.”

“We’ll search his room here. Rusty, head over to Dave’s Café and see if you can turn up anything over there, okay? That’s the only other place Liam might have encountered someone who could have given him the drive.”

“Will do.” Rusty clicked off the call.

Brooklyn bit her lip as a thought occurred to her. “You don’t think that Liam could have hacked into something, do you? Like stumbled onto something online and the Yakuza found out?”

Ethan shook his head. “He’s a bright kid but the conversations we had while putting up the cameras tell me that even though he is smart, he’s not a hacker. He didn’t create the USB drive. Whatever is on it, it must have come from someone else.” Ethan straightened. “We have to search his room.”

Brooklyn rose slowly. “It seems like such an invasion of privacy.” The thought of pawing over Liam’s stuff was making her ill.

“We’re doing this to save Liam. Trust me he’s not going to care if you look at his things. Do you want me to do it on my own?”

“No,” she said shaking her head. “Somehow that would almost be worse.”

Ethan nodded. “Let’s get to it. Remember a USB drive is small and can be hidden in all kinds of ways. Be thorough. We don’t have time to make a mistake.”

As if she needed reminding of this. She was very well aware that Liam’s life was hanging in the balance. If she didn’t manage to save him, there would be no hope of saving herself. She would never get over it. Never.

CHAPTER 18

Brooklyn sat backon her heels, her breath ragged. “It’s not here. We’ve been over his room twice.” Frustration seeped into every word.

Ethan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, his face grim. He’d searched the spare room and the kitchen while she went over the bedroom again. Still, it wasn’t here.

“Where could it be?” she demanded, her voice cracking under the weight of rising anxiety. Glancing at Liam’s alarm clock she said, “Only five hours left. We’re running out of time.”

Ethan moved to her side and gently pulled her to her feet. “Don’t lose it now. We’re going to find Liam. I promise.” His voice was steady, but guilt gnawed at him. He’d promised to keep the boy safe and now look where they were. She had every right to hurl those words back at him, but she didn’t. That only made the guilt worse.

He tugged her into his arms, holding her tightly. He wanted to say it was for her, but the truth was, it was more for him. He needed the connection, the reassurance that he was still capable of comforting someone when words no longer sufficed.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, shattering the moment. He pulled it out and answered immediately, then switched to speaker. “Bellamy, what have you got?”

“Nothing.” Bellamy’s voice was filled with disgust. “I’ve scoured every camera, but the SUV just doesn’t show up anywhere. I’ve been mapping the area, and I think they took a series of back roads. They could’ve gone all the way into the Pu’u Wa’awa’a Forest Preserve without passing another camera.”

Ethan tightened his grip on the phone, swallowing the curse that threatened to escape. Bad news after bad news.

Cooper’s voice came through the line next. “Nova finally pulled the cell phone records. Nothing strange. Liam’s texts are all with his gaming friends, his dad, or Brooklyn. Same with the calls—no unexpected contacts.”

“Oh my God,” Brooklyn whispered, her hands pressing against her face. “How can we not find anything?”

“Did you locate Kenici?” Ethan asked, clinging to the hope that this lead might still yield answers.

“Yeah,” Cooper replied, his tone grim. “He’s dead. Cops in Hilo found his body in an alley an hour ago. We only know because Nova put out a BOLO. Another dead end.”

Brooklyn leaned heavily against the wall, threading her fingers through her hair, a small, pained sob escaped. She’d tried calling her brother earlier, but his phone had been off, telling Ethan he’d managed to catch a flight. Ethan’s heart broke for her; she was facing this nightmare without the one person who might truly understand. And Jackson must be terrified as well.

“I take it you found nothing on your end?” Bellamy said, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

“No luck,” Ethan admitted. He exhaled, trying to maintain his composure. “We need to figure out a plan for the exchange.”

“Already working on it,” Rusty cut in. “I’ve got the equipment prepped, and I’ll be ready when the call comes in.”

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