The bastards only let Harlow go because they were hoping it would motivate a much larger payment for Taylor. You know negotiating and paying her ransom would probably be a death sentence for her if she’s still alive.”
“I know,” I answered harshly.
I had far more confidence in my brother and I as a team getting Taylor back safely…if she was still alive.
I stood up, antsy to get moving. “I’m going to get things in motion. I’d like to be in the air within an hour. Marshall, can you get me the coordinates?”
The older man walked over to me like his slight limp didn’t bother him at all, and I knew that meant he wanted to have a short, very private discussion. “You need backup?” he asked.
I shook my head. “We can mobilize and move around better without detection if it’s just the two of us. We need to get in and out of there as quickly and quietly as possible.”
“Agreed,” Marshall answered as he handed me a small envelope that I already knew would contain the woman’s location and other sensitive information. “It’s just her, Hudson. I got a text during the meeting that Mark’s body was recovered by the Lanian government while they were searching for Taylor. His body wasn’t far from the same dock Taylor and Harlow used. I think he was probably ambushed just like they were. They’ll be returning his remains to the States. I’m sorry we lost one, but I’m glad you boys are taking on Taylor’s rescue yourselves. Good luck, son,” he said in a firm voice as he slapped me on the back.
“If you found Taylor’s location, why aren’t you contacting the Lanian government?” I asked him.
Marshall raised a brow. “They’ve been looking for it for nine days now. I found it in an hour. Lania may be slowly improving, but their law enforcement and military are totally inept. Do you really trust that they’d have any success getting Taylor out of there alive?”
“Hell, no. We’re out of here,” I grumbled.
I looked across the room at Harlow.
She looked completely destroyed. Now definitely wasn’t the time to tell her that her boyfriend was dead.
“Can you get Harlow back into the hospital? She’s doesn’t look good,” I told Marshall.
“I think I can handle that,” he answered drily.
Since there was very little Marshall couldn’t deal with if asked, I nodded to Jax.
He stood and followed me out of the conference room.
Hudson
“Do you think we should have told Harlow that her boyfriend is dead?” Jax asked as he finished cleaning and inspecting his weapon and set it aside.
I looked up from the file I’d been studying on Taylor since Jax and I had boarded my private jet earlier.
I leaned back in my seat as I replied, “She didn’t look good. I think she needs some time to rest before we deliver that information.”
Jax kicked back on the comfortable couch in the cabin of my aircraft.
We’d both changed into sweats after we’d gotten underway so we could get some sleep at some point during the long flight.
He shrugged. “You’re probably right. Not that I’ve ever had a serious girlfriend, but if I did, I’d probably want to know the truth. I feel a little bit guilty that we didn’t tell her.”
I looked at my younger brother in surprise. “Since when do you actually feel guilty about anything? And if you’d go out with a woman more than once, you might have a serious girlfriend.”
Jax was known as the billionaire mogul who was never seen with a woman more than once, and the press had a field day with his playboy antics.
“Seriously?” he said drily. “At least I date, unlike you, who is never even seen with any female.”
I ignored his comment. It wasn’t like I’d never had a girlfriend. I just hadn’t had one for a long time, and I’d pretty much given up on trying to find a woman who cared about me more than she cared about the status of the Montgomery name and wealth.
Apparently, Jax was still willing to try. Really, really hard. I didn’t actually see my brother as a womanizer, but I was starting to think he had a really high tolerance for chronic disappointment.
“Marshall will tell Harlow,” I assured Jax.
He nodded. “I know. I’m not sure why, but I feel like I should have done it myself this time. Maybe because they’re our employees. This whole thing is just so fucked up. A few days ago, we were watching Mason get his