“And what did you think of her?”
“Incredibly outgoing for a hacker. My brother just introduced us using our real names to protect me. I was tempted to tell her the more comfortable I became with her, but I resisted the urge. We later hung out a few times while she was in Germany on vacation. When it came to her hacking efforts, she was more of the Robin Hood type, draining rich people’s accounts and then making anonymous donations to non-profits. I never imagined she’d be involved with people like this.”
“Maybe there’s a side of her you don’t know about.”
Mia nodded. “You never really know about people, do you?”
“In this line of work, trust is a precious commodity.”
“This is still shocking to me and even more so given who her step-father is.”
“Is it someone I would know?”
“Maybe not personally, but you’d know the name.”
Alex’s eyebrows shot upward. “Oh?”
“Yeah, President Young’s opponent in the upcoming general election, Collin Radcliffe.”
CHAPTER 20
Undisclosed location
outside Washington, D.C.
EVANA BAHAR TEMPLED her fingers as a faint smile appeared on her face. After months and months of preparation, her plan had become a reality, pulled off without a hitch. Olivia Young struggled against the bindings the kept her strapped to the cot and dished out threats as if she had any power. But she didn’t. Hidden away in the back room of a warehouse, Evana quietly celebrated her victory.
“My father will hunt you down and kill you,” Olivia said.
“Dear Olivia, that’s exactly what I’d love for him to do, although you and I both know he’d never come personally,” Evana said. “He’d send some of his military thugs to fight his battle.”
“They’re going to find me, and whatever you think you’re going to accomplish by kidnapping me will fail.”
“Kidnapping you? Do you think that I’m doing this to get your father to pay a ransom?”
“Why else would you do it?” Olivia asked with a scowl.
Evana laughed. “My child, there are so many things you don’t understand about the big world out there, including what kind of man your father truly is.”
“I’ve lived with him my whole life. I know exactly what kind of man he is.”
“Do you really?”
Olivia nodded. “He’s a patriot, a man of principle who puts others before himself.”
“Interesting, though that’s not the man I know. Care to put your theory to the test? Do you believe that your principled father will negotiate with me for your release?”
“He won’t negotiate with terrorists,” Olivia said.
“But I’m not a terrorist,” Evana said. “I’m a principled person myself, fighting for what I believe in.”
“And what do you believe in?”
“Revenge.”
Olivia furrowed her brow. “Revenge? What did my father ever do to you?”
“You have no idea what havoc the American terror machine has wrought on my country and my people.”
“Do you think I’m going to be sympathetic toward your plight?”
“Your callousness proves your ignorance,” Evana said. “American military terrorists stormed into my country and have killed indiscriminately without any accountability. Innocent lives have been lost. Families have been gutted. And all because someone at the Pentagon didn’t care about the collateral damage caused by that missile from a drone.”
“I’m not going to debate who gets to take the moral high ground,” Olivia said with a snarl.
“Good, because you’d lose. You’ve lived your entire life in a cocoon, unaffected by the ravages of war being waged by those who run your country. Now, you’re about to get a first-hand lesson in the consequences of those flippant decisions made by your leaders.”
“So what, you’re going to kill me now to get back at someone for something they did to you? I’m sure that’ll ease your pain.”
Evana paced around the room, her hands clasped behind her back. “Killing you would be too easy. If I wanted to do that, you’d already be dead. No, no. I have other plans for you. Let’s start with a phone call. Care to give me your daddy’s private number, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?”
Olivia glared at Evana. “Over my dead body.”
“I can make that happen, but something tells me that you’re bluffing. Let’s find out.”
Evana grabbed a pair of pliers off the table behind her and then knelt next to Olivia. “Those pictures you post on social media are so pretty. I wonder what that smile would look like if you were missing your front teeth.”
Olivia clenched her jaw and turned aside as Evana dangled the pliers over her captive’s face.
“If you don’t open up on your own,” Evana said, “I’ll be forced to make you. And I can promise you won’t like that.”
She teased Olivia with the pliers, moving them slowly across her body. “I’m not giving you anything.”
“Say that again,” Evana said.
Olivia shut her mouth and narrowed her eyes.
“You’re a smart one,” Evana said. “But you’re no match for me.”
Evana clamped down with the pliers on Olivia’s index finger, eliciting a loud scream from her. With her mouth wide open, Evana grabbed Olivia’s face and placed the tool in her mouth.
“Should I start in the back?” Evana asked calmly.
“Okay, okay,” Olivia said. “I’ll give you his number.”
“That’s what I thought,” Evana said. “Looks like it’s not over your dead body after all.”
Olivia recited the number to Evana, who then loosened the straps on her prisoner. “See, I’m not such a tyrant, am I? Just a little cooperation is all I’m looking for. We’ll have you home in no time. You’ll see.”
Evana plugged her phone into the laptop on the table in the corner of the room and dialed Young’s number. After a few moments, the line started to ring.
“This is Noah Young,” the president answered.
“President Young, it’s so nice to hear your voice again.”
“Who is this?” Young asked with a growl.
“Oh, I think you know who I am. But before you worry about all that, let me put your mind at ease. I have your daughter.”
“I know exactly who you are. You better return her at once.”
“Or else what?”
