Page 50 of Stone
Gray huffed. “What are you insinuating?”
“I’m not insinuating anything. I’m telling you that Matis wants Dani for an entirely different reason than some ransom payment, and he was more than prepared for our arrival. Either you have a leak or you’re just not willing to tell me the truth.”
“There is nothing to tell, Stone. She was kidnapped by a notorious rebel with the intent of extorting money from the vice president of the United States. That’s it. I do appreciate you going the extra mile to keep her safe and Interpol is attempting to identify the soldiers who attacked you at the airport, but as you know, a few of them will be tough to identify. There’s not much left to identify.”
Was I supposed to feel bad about that?
“Just find out because Dani doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life around me.”
“You know what? I can see why. Please share with Daniella that her father is concerned about her and would like to hear from her directly.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell her, but tell the vice president not to hold his breath.” The fact Bradford could still get under my skin pissed me off. I’d ignored the man as much as possible even though he’d made good on his promise to continue growing his illustrious career.
Gray sighed. “I can still arrange to have Daniella protected if you’d prefer to bring her to DC.”
I shook my head and tried to remind myself Gray wasn’t an enemy. He ran some big think tank along with various powerful people from politics to former high ranking military personnel. They were consultants yet also handled missions of security. That’s all that Maddox and Kage had discovered in handling the ‘favors’ he’d asked of them.
The three of us were highly skilled, our particular skillsets complementing the others. Gray had tasked each one of us for assistance based on the mission’s particular needs. I’d known the man would come knocking at my door sooner than later.
I’d just had no idea how complicated his mission of choice would be.
“No,” I gritted out. “I’ll handle keeping her safe. Is there any chance my location in the islands has been compromised?”
“None,” he assured me. “Your name wasn’t listed on part of the mission. We kept everything completely confidential. The only two people that knew you were involved were Vice President Vale and myself. Besides, you have the property in Hawaii listedas Island Time Tours. Matis wouldn’t have a clue where to start looking.”
“Then how did you find me?”
Gray laughed. “I know you and I have sources.”
I’d mentioned I owned property in Hawaii to a single person. Kage. I made mental note to beat the shit out of the man next time I saw him. At least I had some comfort Matis wouldn’t soon knock on my door.
Or blow the roof off.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t take precautions. I already had a security system installed, which I rarely used. It had been a force of habit. I also had enough weapons and ammunition to start a war. Again, another habit that I’d pretended kept the demons at bay.
While it appeared Dani would be safe, I knew better than to pretend as if the danger didn’t exist. In my mind, she wouldn’t truly be safe until Matis was six feet under. I knew his type, someone holding a grudge the size of a boulder with enough money and influence to act on his need for revenge several times over.
For what reason he’d opted to make Daniella his method of retaliation I might never be privy to discovering. Which meant I needed to be completely diligent in my effort to protect her.
That meant keeping my distance from her as well as requiring she remain in house arrest.
Yeah, like that would go over well.
“Just keep the goddamn vice president out of my hair.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Gray wasn’t any happier than I was.
With the call ended, I held the phone to my face, taking deep, controlled breaths to try to remain calm. Being a part of the mission had reminded me that no matter the extensive training or the years on the job, mistakes could still be made. The last thing I wanted was to make one with her life.
“I can only remember a handful of times when I’ve seen you this angry. Including with my father.”
I wasn’t about to get into all the reasons why I loathed Bradford. I’d insisted what had occurred was in the past and planned on keeping the incidents that way. No good would come from dredging anything out of the dark crypts.
“Angry?” I repeated in an instant reaction. “There are reasons I decided not to accept a career military position.” With my chest heaving, I issued a ragged hiss that was carried away by the sweeping ocean tides. While I knew Gray wasn’t a player in this, only a facilitator, that didn’t mean I wasn’t furious that every scrap of information hadn’t been provided.
Dani said nothing as she approached, curiously keeping a couple of feet of distance as she leaned over the railing.
Every time she was near, she drew my attention and tonight was no exception. I glanced in her direction, noticing how the breeze carried her long strands of hair back and forth across her shoulders. She had her head lifted, gazing at the moon partially covered by clouds. Even though she’d been through a horrific ordeal, she seemed at peace.
