Counting On Cole (Wilde Ways #8) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,75

drop off that money. Me or else Harrison would be dead the second he saw someone else there. So we have to come up with a plan—together—to make this work. One that involves saving my brother and none of us dying.” She straightened her shoulders. “We can do this.”

Cole exchanged a long look with Harvey.

“Piece of cake,” Harvey muttered.

“I freaking love cake.” Cole focused on Evie. “Something you need to know.”

She waited.

“It’s looking like Robert Demakis is the one we’re after. He convinced Gia to do a whole fake kidnapping hoax. He even had Gia disguise her voice with a distortion app.”

“You think he used the same app on the phone with me?”

“I think Robert is missing. I think he wants vengeance for what happened to his folks, and I think he is very, very dangerous.”

***

“Harrison’s so-called bodyguards have disappeared.” Chase delivered that bombshell when he strolled into Evie’s home two hours later. “Interesting, don’t you think?”

Cole shoved the duffel bag that he and Evie had only recently filled onto the table and glanced at his friend. “Either they were taken out…” He let his voice trail away as he glanced toward Evie.

She frowned.

“Or they helped take your brother out,” Chase finished. “My money says option two because guess who those guys worked for right before they became employed by Harrison White?”

Cole knew where this was going. “Robert Demakis.”

“Bingo.”

All the pieces were shoving together. Robert was looking guiltier and guiltier by the moment.

Evie’s fingers toyed with the handles on the duffel bag. “Are we set to go?”

Pretty set. In that bag, five million dollars waited.

Chase whistled. “Oh, shit, is that the cash? Like, you just have it right here?” He moved closer and poked at the bag. “Can I see it?”

Cole swatted his hand away. “No. Dammit. In addition to the cash, we’ve got a tracker in there—one that is carefully hidden—and I don’t want you screwing with it.”

Now Chase huffed. “I wasn’t going to screw with it.” He paused. “Maybe I was.”

Cole could only shake his head.

“What’s the battle plan?” Chase motioned toward Evie. “I see that she’s wearing her special bling-bling. Good job, Evie. That way, we can keep track of you no matter what.”

Evie lifted her wrist. “It’s my new favorite accessory. Never leave home without it.”

They didn’t know where the drop would be yet. They hadn’t heard back from Harrison or his kidnapper. But Cole knew the call could come at any moment.

James and Harvey were outside of Evie’s building. Wilde tech agents were scouring traffic cams and searching online databases for any intel that they could use.

As far as the team could tell, Harrison had gone down to his parking garage with his two bodyguards.

Then they’d all vanished.

As fate would have it, all security cameras in the parking garage and all nearby street cams had been on the fritz. A very convenient fate that Cole was sure the bad guys had arranged.

“The battle plan…” Evie cleared her voice. “The kidnapper tells me where to make the drop. I do it. Hopefully, he gives me Harrison in return.”

Cole didn’t have that high hope. The exchange was not going to happen that easily.

“Then I walk away with Harrison.” Her fingers fluttered over the large duffel bag again. “That’s when the Wilde team swarms.” She gave a brief pause. “We call that Plan A.”

“Huh.” Chase’s head tilted to the right.

“For Plan B, he gets away before Wilde can swarm. In that case, the kidnapper takes the money. He doesn’t realize that a tracker is inside, so we all follow him. Then Wilde agents swarm.”

Chase tapped his chin. Cole was pretty sure the man was using all of his strength to hold back another “huh.” Very unlike him.

Chase must know that if he said anything else, he would terrify Evie.

The guy had better keep his mouth shut. The last thing Cole wanted was for Evie to be more afraid. She was holding onto her control. Impressing the hell out of him. But then, she’d always impressed him. Charmed him. Addicted him.

Evie’s phone rang. Wilde agents had already set up tracking on her phone, so they would be trying to follow the call, triangulate the other phone’s signal, and run the bastard down. Cole had instructed Evie to keep the perp on the phone as long as possible.

When she saw her brother’s number on the screen, Evie’s gaze lifted.

Cole gave a small nod. “You’ve got this, baby.”

She swiped her finger over the screen, turned on the speaker so that he