Sleeping With My Boss: A Standalone Novel (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (A Dirty Office Romance) (75 page)

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

Ryan

"
Mando
said a couple of customers saw two goons hauling
Echo into a dark colored van!" Cece shouted as she burst through the door.
"They said there was some twisty white design on the side, but they didn't
recognize it."

"Why the hell
didn't they say anything?" I shouted.

"Believe me,
I wanted to know the same damn thing," Cece said. "They said they
though it was a movie scene because the guys looked so stereotypically Jersey.
They didn't believe that guys like that exist anywhere other than the movies.
Can you believe that?"

"That's
bullshit!" I fumed. "They could have stopped the whole thing! Now we
have no way of finding her!"

"Whoa, easy
does it, Seal," Cece said as she grabbed my arm and shoved her phone in
front of my face. "One of the guys snapped a photo and I had him forward
it to me."

I grabbed her
phone and stared at the picture of two huge guys wearing dark colored
tracksuits. From the back all I could see was that they were holding on to Echo
as they dragged her limp form toward a van at the curb. The logo and the
company name on the side was obscured by one of the goons, but the front of
side passenger door had a picture of twisted strands of what looked like DNA.

"We need to
figure out who owns that van," I said as I enlarged the picture trying to get
a clearer view of the door.

"Already on
it, Seal," Cece said as she took the phone back and began rapidly tapping
on the screen. "I've got my guys on the lookout for vans in the area with
those markings."

"And how in
the world are your vast array of boyfriends going to find a single van in the
middle of Manhattan," I asked as I picked up my phone and wondered if I
should call Commander Donnelly. It wasn't that I thought the Navy would come to
Echo's rescue, but I did think that having the input of a man used to calling
the shots in intense situations might help me focus on what I needed to do to
get Echo back safely.

"I'll have
you know I am an equal opportunity dater," Cece shot back as she continued
tapping. "I'm putting out the 911 to everyone I know and some of those
guys are in law enforcement."

"No! Don't
get the police involved!" I said. "If you do, then we're going to
have to explain the situation with my father's lab and Julian will know that
there's information he's not supposed to have."

"I'm
concerned, but not stupid, Seal," Cece said shooting me a look that told
me not to question her again.

"I didn't say
you were stupid," I replied. "I just said..."

"You told me
not to do something I already knew not to do, Captain Obvious," she
huffed. "Just let me do what I do best and call in some favors. You figure
out how we're going to get into your dad's office and find those keys and then
figure out how we're going to get into that lab if we can't find the
keys."

"Fine,"
I said grudgingly as I pulled up the map of the TriCorp building and started
plotting out our moves. It wasn't going to be easy, but the more I learned
about Cece, the more I felt like she was someone I could trust to have my back.
"Hey Cece, what's the deal with the lab?"

"When Echo
and I were in the office, she had me looking for keys that your dad said he
left," she said as she finished tapping out yet another message and then
put the phone down. "She said he'd left a clue telling her where the lab
keys were and that if she didn't find the keys she'd have to code her way in
because trying to blow it up would seal the door permanently."

"Great, so
the c-4 was a waste of time," I said with a weak laugh.

"Oh, I think
we might have other uses for that, my friend," Cece said as her phone
began frantically buzzing. She picked it up and her eyes widened as she read
the screen.

"What?"
I asked.

"Someone has
a lead on the van, I think," she said as her eyes flicked back and forth.
"They said they saw a dark van with the twisty white design on the door
headed into a parking garage on 19
th
 
Street.
That's where TriCorp is!"

"They took
her to the building?" I said. "Nah, they aren't that stupid, are
they?"

"Apparently
they are," Cece said as she read the text. "Saw the van pulling into
the garage under big green glass building on 19
th
. Looked like a cleaning crew to me.
IDK."

"We need to
get into that building," I said as I picked up the pistols and handed one
to Cece. "You okay with this?"

"Yeah, I'm
good, Seal," she smiled as she took a magazine from me and slammed it in
place. "I got this one."

"All right,
let's go over the plan one more time," I said looking at my watch. It
hadn't felt like it, but hours had passed and it was almost time for Cece's
guys to drop off the van. We discussed how we were going to get inside and what
we'd do if we got caught. It was a risky plan, but it seemed like the only way
we were going to be able to get what we needed to negotiate Echo's release.

"Inside, get
the keys, up to the seventeenth floor and open the lab, find the cypher and
then get the hell out," she repeated as her phone buzzed again. "Hey,
the guys are downstairs, let's go."

I pulled on a dark
hoodie over my t-shirt before grabbing the bag and heading out the door. As we
ran down the stairs, I said a little prayer to the spirit of Opie Morgan and
asked him to watch over us on this mission.

"C'mon,
Seal!" Cece hollered as she hit the front door and turned to look at me
with a grin. "What do I have to do to motivate your ass to get
moving?"

"Hooyah, I'm
moving!" I bellowed as I grinned back.

"Hooyah?
That's what we have to yell?" she said. "Huh, interesting. Okay,
Hooyah!"

"I hate to
break it to you, cupcake, but you haven't earned the right to holler
hooyah," I said.

"Right,
gotcha," Cece said as she shot me a fiercely disapproving look. We walked
quickly through Nemo's toward the back alley slowing only when Mando demanded
to know where we were headed. Cece shot him a second look that rendered him
silent until the three of us were out in the alley.

"Is someone
going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Mando demanded.

"We're on a
mission," Cece said as she checked the van and gave her friend's workers a
thumbs up before telling them to make themselves scarce. "We need to pick
up a few things."

"Are you
going to tell me what this mission is about?" he said grabbing her arm and
spinning her around.

"No, I am not
going to tell you, my brother," she said sweetly. "Because it's none
of your fuckin' business."

"Nice, you
kiss your mother with that mouth?" he said wavering between irritated and
worried. He looked to me, but all I did was shrug. Cece was running this part
of the show and I wasn't about to alienate my only ally. "Cece, tell me
what's going on or I'm coming with you."

"You cannot come
with us," she said starting at him. "Absolutely out of the question.
What if Echo calls Nemo's and needs to get a message through? What then? You're
my point person, stay alert and pay attention. That's what I need you to do.
Got it?"

"You're such
a bossy bitch," Mando said shaking his head. "Fine, I'll be here, but
you'd better text or call the minute you know something. I don't like being
left in the dark."

"Don't sweat
it," I said slapping him on the back. "When Cece runs the show we're
all a little bit in the dark."

"You got
that, bro!" Mando laughed as he grabbed his sister and hugged her tightly
before she pulled away and shook it off.

"Don't get
all mushy on me," she said. "I'm gonna go find Echo and be back in
time for breakfast. Got it?"

"Vayan con
Dios," Mando said as Cece motioned for me to get up into the passenger
seat.

"Oh please,
give me a break," Cece said as she rolled her eyes, flipped her hair over
her shoulder and then fired up the van. "I've got a SEAL with me, what the
hell else could I possibly need?"

Mando shook his
head as she put the van into drive and headed down the alley toward the street.
I looked at her and hoped that her faith in me wasn't misplaced.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT

Echo

I
had no idea how
long I'd been laying on the cold metal surface trying to figure out how I could
loosen the straps that held my arms down. Every time I wriggled, the guard
cleared his throat as if to warn me against moving around. I had just shifted
my attention to trying to figure where I was and how to escape when I heard the
sound of a door opening. I listened carefully and heard the sound of footsteps
coming toward me on the tile floor as I craned my neck to try and catch a
glimpse of the person crossing the room. The person was dressed in all black
from head to toe making it impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman.
 
Ignoring me, the person went straight for the
area behind me quickly moving out of my view.

"Hello?"
I called. "Excuse me, I think you've got the wrong person."

"Shut the
hell up, missy," the goon who'd been guarding me growled. "I'm not
gonna tell you again."

"This is all
a mistake," I said trying to regulate my breathing so that I didn't sound
as panicked as I felt. There was something that told me I might be able to
appeal to the new guy by reasoning with him. "I didn't do anything, and I
have no idea why I'm being held prisoner here. Can you at least tell me why I'm
here?"

"Lady, I'm
not going to tell you again," came the response from the guard. "Shut
your fuckin' mouth or I will shut it for you!"

I weighed my
options and decided that being quiet was probably the best choice at this
point. So, I lay absolutely still and listened for any sounds coming from the
two men behind me. I could hear low whispering, but I couldn't make out any
distinct words. It was maddening not to understand what was going on or why
they were holding me. And then, out of the low murmuring, I heard two things.
Lab. Hard drive.

I inhaled sharply
and held my breath as I listened for more words, but they'd stopped talking.
The man in the dark clothing walked toward me, then stopped somewhere behind me
out of my sight line. I tried to tip my head and get a look at him, but he was
smart enough to say out of my sight.

"We want that
hard drive," the voice whispered. It sounded vaguely familiar, but the
whispering and something else masked the identifiers. "Give us the hard
drive and we let you go."

"I know what
you're talking about," I replied recalling Dr. Powell's instance that the
files find their way to the right people. Instinctively, I knew that these were
definitely not the people he had mentioned. "I don't have anything! I was
fired from my job, so I don't even have access to anything."

"Don't lie to
us," the voice rasped. "We know you have the hard drive. Give it to
us."

"You're
asking for the impossible," I said as I twisted in my restraints as I
tried to get a look at my captor. "I don't know what you want!"

"Don't play
stupid with me, little girl," the voice said in my ear the person wrapped
a hand around my throat and squeezed hard enough to make my eyes bulge as he
cut off my air supply. "I'm not kidding when I say that I want what it is
you have. I know you have it, and unless you give it to me, I'm going to deny
you air."

I was thrashing in
my restraints as I tried to get my hands loose so I could claw his fingers from
my throat, but it was to no avail. He was demonstrating that he had all the
power and I had none.

"I...I...I..."
I gasped trying to form words in the absence of air. Easing the grip on my
throat, the captor allowed a small stream of oxygen trickled into my lungs
before cutting it off again. I choked out, "I
don't...have...drive...still...looking..."

"You don't
know where it is?" the voice whispered inches from my left ear while
loosening the grip a bit. I struggled to draw air into my lungs and form words.

"No," I
gasped as I felt a tiny flow of air entering my lungs. Something about the
voice was oddly familiar, but my primary goal was to ensure that I kept
breathing, "Didn't locate it."

"You are
going to need to find it," the voice hissed. "What do you need to
find it?'

"Computer,"
I gasped as he suddenly let go of my throat and backed away. "I need a
computer! And server access!"

My brain was
spinning from the lack of oxygen and the understanding that I was going to have
to bluff my way out of the restraints if I had any hope of escaping these
goons. I knew that the files were safely stored off the server on a hard drive
I had tucked away in a safe place in my apartment, but they didn't. And since I
had no idea where the hard drive that continued the rest of Dr. Powell's files
was, I was going to have to figure out a way to fool them into thinking I was
giving them what they wanted. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that, but I
decided to take each thing step by step; first the restraints, then I'd worry
about everything else as it came.

There was still a
small part of me that hoped Ryan or Cece would figure out where I was before
things got really bad and that they would swoop in and rescue me at the
eleventh hour. However, I also knew that counting on that to happen was pure
foolishness, so I began formulating my backup plan.