Page 2 of Off the Grid
“What about Jo?”
“Not Jo, so much as her friend.”
He scrunched his brows together in surprise. “Her friend? Who? How is she connected?”
“Her name is McKenzie Harper. Age twenty-five. Professional pastry chef. Lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, blonde and about five—”
“Yeah, yeah, you can skip the rundown. What’s going on?”
“This morning, Jo told me someone hacked into her personal computer. She ran a trace on the IP address but it was scattered. There’s no way to know for sure, but she thinks it was the Russians hacking into her messages, looking for contact from Ryder. We both know they’re trying to permanently silence the asshole before we can find him.”
Leo frowned and nodded. Jo’s partner, Thad Ryder, was the only person left who could positively ID the Russians her father had been working with and who could provide eyewitness testimony to their crimes in a court of law. The Feds were after him to offer a plea. The Russians were after him to offer a bullet to the head. It was a race against time to see who found him first. But Leo and Nate had been taken off the case due to Nate’s less-than-professional relationship with Jo, which was fine with Leo. Because…Hawaii.
“Anyway, they were nosing around her chat with two of her online friends, McKenzie and a girl named Addison. Jo tried calling them both, but no answer. I called the local precincts and there’s been a missing person’s report filed for Addison. Apparently, her boss arrived at her place of work this morning to find a dead body, bullet casings, and a whole lot of blood. We think she was possibly approached by Ryder as a way to contact Jo, but the Russians got wind and interfered. As of right now, we’re working on two theories—Ryder kidnapped her to get to Jo, or she was taken by the Russians to use as collateral.”
“And McKenzie?” Leo asked, though he had a sneaking suspicion of what was coming next.
“No word.”
There was a pause. The silence stretched, full of hesitation on one end and stubborn denial on the other.
Leo caved first. “You want me to go to New York?”
“I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important,” Nate pushed forward, taking the opening. “I tried the boss first, but he doesn’t want to waste an agent on a hunch, not when this police report about Addison down in South Carolina might be a lead on Ryder. He told me to call the NYPD. They’re on their way to stake out her apartment. And they’re good. I know they’re good. They’re one of the best police forces in the country, but—”
“They’re not me,” Leo finished, not bragging, just being honest. Before joining the Feds, he’d been a marine. And before that, the streets in the less-than-desirable neighborhood where he’d grown up had done their part to train him. More importantly, Nate trusted him. Which meant Jo trusted him. Which meant he was the only one either of them would trust with one of her dearest friends.
“They’re not you,” Nate echoed.
“Okay.” Leo hardly believed his ears as the word slipped through his lips. Then again, he did. He’d always had a hard time saying no to the people he cared about, especially when they needed his help. It had never seemed like a character flaw until right now, with the sands from those Hawaiian beaches slipping through his fingers.Why, why, why did I answer the phone?
“I’d go myself, but I’m still on crutches dealing with this damn leg injury, and— Okay?”
“You heard me.”
“Thank you, Leo,” Nate rushed to say, gratitude heavy in his Boy Scout voice. “Really, thank you. I know how much this trip with your brother meant to you, how much you need a vacation—”
“I said okay, Parker,” Leo cut in, shaking his head as his partner laid it on thick. “I never said I was happy about it.”
Nate snorted over the line. “I owe you for this, Leo. Anything you want, just tell me.”
“Oh, anything I want? How generous.” Leo grinned. He didn’t need anything. This was what partners did for each other, what friends did, but he couldn’t help pushing when Nate left him such an easy opening.
“Anything, Leo. Name it.”
“How about a new partner?”
“Very funny.”
“I’ve been eying a new Harley…”
“Leo.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll settle for a business-class seat to Hawaii, leaving from JFK tomorrow night, assuming all goes well.”
Nate sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Leo turned and scanned the board over his shoulder. “So will I. There’s a shuttle to New York that’s boarding now. I’d better go if I want to catch it.”
