life isn’t the time to get stingy.”
Dave’s eyes widened. “No, no! Nothing like that. It’s just hard to get it. I’m not a rich man.”
“You have rich friends. Don’t give me that bullshit.”
“Yes, but it’s hard to arrange. Tomorrow. I’ll have it tomorrow without fail.”
“See you do. I’ll be in touch.” The phone went dead.
The FBI guy looked at one of the techies on a computer. “Any trace?”
The man stuck out his lip and shook his head. “Nah. They have this routed via someplace in Siberia, I kid you not.”
Dave stared at Zakowsky, his hands shaking. “Are you sure it’s wise to stall? Lindsey says he can have the money now.”
A crease appeared between those strong brows. “Once they have the money, they have less motivation to return her safe. Shortening the time between their reward and ours is wise.”
Dave looked up at Lindsey, who nodded, but he kept sorting through his memories. Where the hell had he seen that warehouse? “Interesting that the kidnappers know you have rich friends. They’ve done their homework.”
Zakowsky walked around the table and put a hand on Dave’s shoulder. “We’ll wait for their instructions tomorrow. We’ll arrange to wire the money minutes before they deliver Carla. That will satisfy them and give us a whole night to try and capture the bastards. Why don’t you get some rest, Governor? We’ll all be here in case anything changes.”
Got it! Lindsey nearly said it out loud but stopped himself. He’d almost bought that warehouse. Dave looked up. “You okay?”
“Yes, I was just about to agree with Mr. Zakowsky. You don’t even know how tired you are. You need to be strong tomorrow. Why don’t you go curl up beside Cathy for a little while? She’ll be glad for your company.”
“I don’t think I can sleep.”
“That’s okay. Just give Cathy some comfort.”
“Yeah, I should. I know how awful she feels. Like we didn’t protect our little girl.” Tears dripped from his eyes.
Lindsey knelt in front of him. “They grow up, Dave. You have to give them space, and that space must drive a parent crazy. You couldn’t have prevented this. These are horrible criminals and we—uh, Seth and the FBI will catch them. Go keep Cathy company, okay?”
He nodded. “Thank you for everything.”
“I’m going to go check on the funds and the transfer. Seth will call me if you need me, won’t you?” He bared his teeth in some semblance of a smile. Seth nodded but he didn’t smile. God, even when he frowned the man looked ridiculously good. “And I’ll be here first thing in the morning so we can get Carla back. Okay?”
Dave hugged him. What a sweet man. Lindsey watched the governor exit the dining room toward the stairs, his shoulders slumped like they carried far too much weight. Okay, time to follow his instincts.
Lindsey turned to Seth. “Thanks. I’m going to check on the finances. Call if you need me.”
He frowned but seemed to be trying to sound pleasant. “You don’t have to come back tomorrow. We appreciate what you’ve done gathering the ransom.”
“I’m sure Dave wants me here, darling. So how do you plan to capture these criminals overnight as you suggested?”
“We have lots of resources. We’re trying to track through the offshore bank and other links. Don’t worry about it. We’re on it.”
Lindsey could think of something else he’d like Seth to be on. God, just the smell of the man made his cock hard. Too bad it could never happen. “Oh, I shan’t worry. Good night, darling.”
He strode out of the room, trying not to look in a hurry. He knew where that warehouse was. Damn, if they just didn’t move Carla before the next morning, he’d have time.
With a quick wave to the governor’s assistant, he headed out the door. He’d thought for a moment about telling Seth, but he could be wrong about the location. Plus, the police would go rushing in there all SWATified, and the chances of someone panicking and hurting Carla were too high. No, it was time for someone to creep in on little wolf feet. Not literally. No full moon. So other options were required. Fortunately, he had them at the ready.
Chapter Three
Lindsey hobbled toward the big, metal-sided building, leaning heavily on his cane. The warehouse appeared convincingly abandoned. Hopefully, that meant the humans inside were off their guard, since their only threat probably came from derelicts and squatters. He glanced around. Not many people on the streets in this neighborhood at this