Page 48 of Oblivion

“Bring it in and we’ll get Lars to run another IP search. See if we can get the location the email was sent from.”

My eyes cut to Makka to find him listening. “Will do. Any update from CJ and Laser?”

Jackson sounded on the move. “They hit a dead end at the courier depot when they were denied access to the security footage.”

I cursed and ran a hand over my head. “Okay. Are they still swapping with us for obs?”

“Yup. They’ll be there by zero-eight-thirty. Get Makka to stay and hand over to them, and I’ll meet you at the office.”

“Roger. Be there soon.”

“Same,” Jackson clipped before ending the call.

I turned to Makka. “Did you get all that?”

“Sure did. I’ll swing by the office after CJ and Laser are up to speed. I’ve got a good feeling about this. I think our guy may have gotten a little cocky this time around.”

“I hope you’re right.” I turned to Paul, who was now explaining the situation to Cynthia.

“Mr. Prescott, I need to take your laptop with me so our I.T. guy can run a trace on the email. All going well, this will give us a location and lead us to Penny.”

Paul visibly paled. “That quick?”

I shook my head. “No, not that quick. It could be hours yet.”

Or more,but I wasn’t going to tell them that.

Cynthia came at me and grabbed my hands. “Oh, thank you. Please keep us informed.”

“I will,” I promised, with a reassuring hand squeeze. “Makka will stay here until CJ and Nick arrive.”

Paul seemed surprised. “Is that still needed?”

Makka frowned and cut in. “It absolutely is. This lead has potential for results, but doesn’t hand them to us on a silver platter. It could be a dead end. Until we have Penny within our custody, street surveillance remains status quo.”

Paul gulped and nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course. And please, take what you need. Just keep us updated each step of the way.”

I plucked up the laptop while issuing a promise to do so. “And I’ll need your password to unlock this.”

He let out a preposterous snort. “I don’t think so.”

My irritation began to rise. He was wasting precious minutes. “Either you tell me your password, or I’ll get Lars to hack it. The choice is yours, Paul.”

Despite his outward anger, he bit it all down and scrawled the password on a piece of paper. “Don’t fucking lose it.”

I raised my brows and stared. Sure, he had his daughter’s best interests at heart, but fuck, the guy was arrogant beyond belief.

“Wouldn't dream of it,” I drawled.

Cocking my head toward the door, Makka took the hint and followed me outside.

“Thanks for winding him up and leaving me to deal with him,” he deadpanned.

I growled under my breath. “The guy rubs me the wrong way, Mack. He’s one of those guys you just wanna punch for no reason.”

Makka scoffed. “Get the hell out of here. I’ll see you at the office soon.”

Flipping him off and stalking to my Tahoe, I beeped the locks while burning with urgency to get my girl back already.

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