The Billionaire's Practice Kiss - Tamie Dearen Page 0,61

with the one holding the purse strings. He’d rather kidnap someone close to you to force you to act quickly. He makes his demands verbally and gives minutes to comply. That’s one reason we can never catch him.” Dan’s jaw tightened. “That’s his problem now. He doesn’t have any real leverage against you.”

“Is there a way we could use my stepfather without letting him know we’ve figured it out?”

“Only if the brothers were convinced you care enough about him to shell out that much money,” said Dan. “But unless Chester has prior knowledge and agrees to cooperate, we won’t be able to protect him.”

“How long do we have to apprehend Alexander before he escalates things?” Mack asked. “Maybe twenty-four hours?”

“If that much,” Dan said. “We’re keeping a close watch on Chester tonight, in case he leads us to Alexander. But if that doesn’t happen, we’ll probably take him into custody tomorrow morning for his own protection. Once that happens, Alexander will make himself scarce… until he feels safe again.

“And then he’ll be back?” Ellery rasped, as if her throat were too tight to speak normally.

“I’m afraid so,” Dan answered.

“Logan’s offered to be the bait,” Cole said. “Maybe we can find a way to make that work. Right now, Alexander thinks Logan isn’t going to the fundraiser tonight. But what if he found out Logan had changed his mind?”

“It’s a possibility,” said Dan. “We’ll consider it if we don’t come up with a better idea.”

“What about a monetary bait?” Mack said. “You’ll be raising millions at the banquet tonight. The money could be a tempting target.”

“These aren’t the kind of people who make donations in cash,” Cole said.

“Gotcha.”

Mack sank back into his chair. Dan retrieved his pen and started it on its repetitive spinning course.

Logan swallowed a long drink from his insulated bottle, his gaze wandering, unfocussed, to the ceiling, while his mind ran through every possible alternative. His mom was safe. Logan could probably disappear… go completely off the grid. But Josiah could still be vulnerable, and Ellery would definitely be a target.

How could he keep her safe? He could only think of one way.

“I’ll just pay the money. I’ve been cashing out investments. I have most of it ready to go.”

“In the past, payouts haven’t satisfied Alexander’s bloodthirst.” Dan’s expression was grim. “These aren’t exactly men of integrity or ones to forgive an insult. To be honest, if Chester really did cut the Krupin brothers out of that diamond deal, they’ll eventually get their revenge.”

Logan felt a pang of fear for his stepfather, despite everything he’d done.

“I’ll do it,” said a small voice. “I’ll go tonight. I’ll be the bait.”

Ellery! Logan lunged off the couch. “That’s not happening!”

Her jaw jutted forward in classic Ellery fashion. “You don’t control me.”

“Tell her!” Logan gripped Dan’s elbow. “Tell her it’s way too dangerous.”

“I can model at the Limitless banquet, just like they expect me to,” said Ellery.

“You won’t,” Logan said. “I forbid it.”

Did she just roll her eyes? As if she were dismissing me?

“There’ll be way too many people around for anyone to kidnap me, so I’ll be safe,” she said. “And if Alexander shows up, he won’t be expecting the FBI. You know what he looks like. All you have to do is grab him.”

“You can’t do this, Ellery. It’s a death sentence.” Logan glanced at Dan, hoping for a confirmation.

An uncomfortable pause followed, and Dan stared at his feet, shifting on the floor.

“Sounds to me like it’s a death sentence if Alexander gets away,” said Ellery, “because he could show back up here anytime. And next time, the FBI won’t be here.”

“It’s way too risky. You have no training.” Logan refused to consider her logic.

“She has a point, Logan.” Dan rubbed his chin.

“You can’t seriously be considering this.” Logan bared his teeth.

“We have to look at every option,” Dan said. “This one has some merit. Leaking a little information to Chester would almost assure Alexander made a move tonight. On the other hand, we’re at a disadvantage because some of my team isn’t here yet.”

“We have eight here from E-Force,” Mack said. “And you know you can trust us. Especially after the case in DC.”

Dan nodded. “It might work. We need to take stock of your communication equipment and see what’s compatible with ours.”

It was like a nightmare Logan couldn’t wake up from. His pulse pattered like a machine gun.

“If Ellery goes, I’m going,” he declared.

Ellery’s brow creased. “There’s no reason for both of us to—”

“I’m the only one who