Page 19 of Stone
“Right now? One hundred million dollars. I don’t need to tell you that this is an international event because of who her father is. While the CIA has done a good job of keeping her kidnapping quiet, it’s only a matter of time before every lunatic comes out of the woodwork. The CIA believes Daniella’s only chance of survival is if we get in, locate her, and get out quickly.”
“Since her father is the fucking vice president of the United States and all.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “I heard right. You know Bradford Vale personally.”
“Know him? I promised the fucking son of a bitch I’d punch him in the face the next time I saw him. He’s a pompous, arrogant, entitled narcissist who thinks his shit doesn’t stink. He controlled his daughter’s life, acting as if she was brainless. And let me tell you something. That woman, that beautiful, beguiling woman no doubt has far more intelligence, grace, and humility in her little finger than that… man does in his entire body.”
Gray kept his eyebrows raised and finally leaned forward to grab his drink. “I can see you have some bad blood between the two of you.”
I jerked to my feet with the drink in my hand, sloshing some on my goddamn hand. “Bad blood? The night before I went to boot camp, he threatened to have me arrested if I ever talked with Dani again. What kind of father does that? He called me trailer trash said my pops deserved to rot in jail. Maybe for just breathing the same air.” I paced the floor, angrier than I was when the initial confrontation had occurred.
Gray remained quiet, allowing me to throw my tantrum. I’d allowed Bradford to get under my skin again, despite another promise I’d made, only this one to myself. Yet, I’d watched him go from mayor to legislator to governor, then to the senate and now serving as vice president of the goddamn country. And every new leadership position he’d taken on had burned my balls.
“Daniella needs your help, Stone. You’re the only one who can get her out safely.”
“What about the ransom money? I’m sure Bradford has extorted enough people in his life his financial platform is worth way more than that.”
“If you did keep up with this group, you know it’s not likely she’ll be returned. Only one hostage has survived.”
Of course he had to toss that in my lap. I moved toward the window, placing my hand on the glass. “I’m not qualified to handle something like this.”
“I disagree. Your skills are exactly what’s needed. Get in, free the girl, get out.”
“I’m one man. These revolutionary assholes have hundreds of followers.”
“They won’t be looking for someone with your qualifications and from what I’ve been told, they use minimal staff on kidnapping operations.”
“Uh-huh. What makes you think I can do this?”
I could tell by his heavy sigh there was more he needed to tell me.
When I turned around, he had his eyes closed.
“Where are they supposedly keeping her?”
“The leader owns a property outside of Paris. Heavily armed and surrounded by several guards.”
“As expected.”
He nodded. “The best way to get in is through a tunnel system that was located on infrared radar.”
I could not believe he thought for a single minute that this was something I could or wanted to do. My days at being counterintelligence and reconnaissance were over and had been for a long time. Sure, I’d provided assistance for my buddies,but in limited capacity. Doing so had only instigated a series of nightmares that I’d long since put to bed.
If the darkness had another chance to prevail, I wasn’t certain I could recover either mentally or emotionally. The only peace I’d gotten had been when putting my former life behind me.
Every bit of it.
Before I had a chance to open my mouth, I heard the whirlybird outside my window again, the pilot landing even closer to the house than before. “Your time is short? You just thought I’d be a pushover and say yes?”
He stood, leaving his drink on the table and running his hands down his trousers. “I thought you’d possibly need someone else to convince you.”
“Someone else? Who the hell are you talking about?”
It didn’t take me long to realize I’d been set up. As soon as several men in bad suits stepped off the bird, I shook my head.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I snarled. “Bradford Vale is here? What the hell are you doing here, Gray? You know this wouldn’t go over well.”
“Not my choice. He insisted, although I convinced him I needed to talk to you first. I know how prickly you can be.”
