Crazed: A Blood Money Novel Read Online Free Page B

you drive an hour or so west from the city, mostly abandoned.” He nodded toward Della, who hadn’t bothered to stop clicking and typing during the recap. “We received marginally clear images of the captors’ faces from the footage, so Della is running those against local, national and international offender databases.” Casey paused. “More than twelve hours have passed with no ransom demand.”
    He didn’t need to explain further. They all knew if that amount of time had elapsed with no demand, then no demand was forthcoming.
    “I spoke with Adam last night,” Della mumbled, eyes glued to her screen. “Must’ve been right before he got Casey on the line.”
    Quiet followed that lilting statement, until Gavin lifted a brow in question. “And? What did he say?”
    For the first time since Casey had slid the broken tech in front of her, Della looked up, green gaze clashing with Gavin’s blue. “I was instructed not to share.” The hoops in her eyebrow glinted as she mirrored his forbidding expression.
    The tension in the room rocketed higher, so Tobias defused it, gently because they were all understandably on edge. “I know what Adam said to you.” Just as he knew that his cousin had been placed under strict orders to only speak to either Adam or Tobias on the matter. Adam’s kidnapping changed things. “Given the circumstances, Della, full disclosure can only strengthen us.” He looked around the room. “Call this the proverbial circle of trust.”
    “Dirty laundry, boss, but whatever.” Della shrugged. “Adam asked me to look into a helicopter believed to have been present during the Kabul Girls’ School Bombing last year.” She tipped her head toward Gavin, either oblivious or uncaring of the effect of her words on the rest of the room. “And he said to start by questioning you.”
    “Me?” Straightening, Gavin dropped the shielding forearm he had wrapped around his midsection, his glare a ferocious thing. “Why me?”
    “Dunno, boyo,” she snapped, lip curled. “Perhaps you ought to unburden yourself to the ‘circle,’ save me the effort of dumping your browser history and credit card statements. Tell you honest, I don’t much fancy discovering whether or not you’ve got an Asian fetish.” Nose wrinkling, Della gestured toward the rest of them. “Trust circle? Your two cents?”
    “He prefers busty redheads,” Beth offered wryly. “Never once accidentally ran across any Japanese schoolgirls on his laptop.” And Beth would know, being that she and Gavin had been nigh inseparable in the three years they’d been partners in the field. That time in the field had, unfortunately, included the disaster in Kabul, the catalyst event that had driven Beth from her life as an assassin-for-hire and sent Gavin spiraling into undercover work with the Russians.
    “Not helping, B.” Gavin scrubbed a hand over his scruffy jaw and stalked to the coffeepot. “Can’t believe y’all are putting me in the crosshairs here,” he muttered as he poured, but Tobias noticed he didn’t look their way. In fact, his face had gone pale at the mention of the helicopter.
    And Tobias wasn’t the only one who’d made that observation. Casey, doughnut long since devoured, sauntered over to the island, pressing his palms flat to the counter and spearing Gavin with an assessing glance. “There a reason why Adam might have told Della to start her line of inquiry with you?”
    Before Tobias could interrupt—because it was on his orders that Adam had started down that road in the first place—Gavin turned, mug in hand, and met Casey’s gaze. “Probably due to what I learned while I was under in Moscow. Or...what I think I learned.” He indicated a pair of empty chairs in the living area and, reluctantly, Casey followed him, until everyone but Della sat together. Gavin eyed Beth with tender caution. “I wore that cover longer than I should’ve once I first heard mention of the chopper. Guess I was hoping