Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,36
and walked away. A team of bodyguards waited in the hall and we left. Instead of going to work, I went to WI. Finding out where the investigation stood was imperative.
Gemini spotted me before anyone else. “How is she?”
“Stubborn and won’t take the morphine they prescribed, so she’s in pain.”
“Why?”
“She doesn’t want to become addicted. Acer should pay her a visit.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“Where are we in the investigation? This has to stop.”
“Come in. We were just getting ready to meet.”
Following her into the conference room, I took a seat next to Isla. As soon as everyone arrived, Huff began.
“Unfortunately, Scottie isn’t here, but she was spearheading part of the op. We’ve located O’Brien’s daughter in Ireland, right outside of Belfast. We want to take her.”
I frowned at hearing this. “You mean kidnap her?”
“To put it bluntly, yes. But the ransom would be for O’Brien to turn himself in to the feds, along with the weapons he’s stolen, with a guarantee that the kid would be safe.”
What the fuck! “We can’t do that,” I protested. This was highly illegal and to take a kid out of her country was a major crime.
“I understand how you must feel, but listen to our plan first.” Drex had interrupted me. “No harm would come to her. She would be safe with us.”
“That doesn’t matter. It’s still a crime.”
“The other option is not to remove her from Ireland but to take her to a safe house there until O’Brien caves.”
That sounded better but was still kidnapping. Isla reached out and took my hand. “Raiden, we have to do something or the attempted killings will continue. This seems to be the most plausible course of action, with no one getting hurt.”
“And how can you ensure that?”
She chewed on her lip for a second before answering. “Please trust us.”
If I clenched my jaws any tighter, my teeth would crack. “I realize you guys are the experts, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Thanks for that.” Drex tipped his head. “So we get Sinead and take her to a house in Ireland. Hide her until O’Brien consents to give himself up. Then we free her.”
My brain swam with every kind of potential complication. “What if she has bodyguards?”
“We’ll have every bit of information on her before we begin. We’re gathering information.” Huff was the one who answered. “Don’t worry, Raiden, we’ll have every base covered before we leave.”
I looked pointedly at Isla.
“I won’t be going on this one, so don’t worry. I can’t leave Olivia that long.”
Then she squirmed. “What?” I got a bad vibe.
“Since this is Scottie’s op, she’ll be going, along with several other WI team members and some outside freelancers.”
Drex came to his feet. “Before you say anything, we’ll wait until she’s recovered from her injuries. Risking an employee’s health isn’t an option.”
That did nothing to calm me. “No, but when she’s recovered, it’s still risky.”
“Not necessarily. She can stay in the safe house and the others can pick up the girl,” he explained.
“Don’t sugarcoat it, Drex. It’s kidnapping, plain and simple.”
He shrugged. “I see it as doing it for the people of this nation.”
“Semantics.”
Gemini pounded her fist on the table. “Boys, can we move on? We are proceeding with this op, like it or not, Raiden. Now we need to ensure our plans are precise and perfect.”
I rose to my feet and said, “It’s time for me to head to work. Thanks for the updates.” I left without a backward glance. Kidnapping was a crime I wanted no part of. Our safety was one thing, but breaking the law was a different matter altogether.
Chapter Eighteen
Scottie
Sleep eluded me so I called for the nurse and asked if I could get something. Thankfully, the doctor approved a sleep medicine. I wasn’t as afraid of becoming addicted to that as I was the morphine. It wasn’t long before I conked out, but the nurse woke me up to take my temperature. That was beyond annoying. Couldn’t she see I was asleep and why couldn’t she come back later?
Right after she left, Acer walked in, and chirped, “How’s the patient today?”
“Grrr.”
“Someone isn’t very happy.”
“Someone needs sleep. They keep coming in for silly things, as in taking my temperature every few hours, disturbing my rest.”
“There’s nothing like your own bed, is there?”
“As if I’d know what that felt like. I don’t have one of those, remember?” My salty response flew out of my mouth before I had the chance to temper it. “I’m sorry. Admittedly, I’m a