Discovered

by E. D. Brady

  Joey, who was bent over the computer, suddenly turned around. “The other three men are most likely Manuel Castillez, Samuel ‘Sam’ Sheevers and Jason Shepard.”

  “How did you come to that conclusion?” Issy asked.

  “By cross-referencing phone calls and whatnot,” Joey replied. “Those are the three people Schroder has had the most contact with in the last six months or so.”

  “I never would have guessed that Manuel was behind this,” Ben said quietly.

  “You know him?” Layla asked.

  “Yes, he used to work here also,” Ben admitted. “I had a reason to fire him. He was far too fond of snooping around”

  “Really?” Layla questioned, remembering the business card that her mother showed her at dinner a week ago. “I’ve heard of him before.”

  Ben nodded. “Truth be told, I suspected that Manuel was planted here by James, although I had no proof to back that up.”

  “You may be right,” Layla agreed. “I overheard Robert tell James that Manuel had seen Orton in Target and that wherever Orton is, he is not far behind, which I assume meant Jay.”

  “Well, that explains how they knew I was in North Carolina, but what were they doing there in the first place?” Jay piped in.

  “Maybe they were there to meet with James,” Joey guessed. “And by dumb luck, Manuel spotted you while you were shopping.”

  “Dumb luck is right,” Ben replied, rolling his eyes. “Of all the Targets in all of the United States…”

  Something suddenly fell into place in Layla’s mind as she remembered the broken glass on her kitchen floor five nights ago. “I think James’ life might be in danger,” she said. “If James hired those men, then they found out what it was he was after, wouldn’t it make sense that they decided to cut him out of the deal entirely.”

  “Possibly,” Jay agreed, “but why not just steal the formula after they found it. How would James know the difference?”

  “But how did they know where we were the evening after the dance?” Layla questioned. “I think they already found your whereabouts but saw me there, and decided they could use James to get to me. The man on the phone said ‘I have something that you might want. Something you might even be interested in trading your boyfriend for’. What else could that be?”

  “So you think Manuel and Robert had already spotted Jay when he was with you, and Robert recognized you and decided that if he kidnapped James, you would lead them to Jay in return for your mother’s boyfriend?” Issy asked, nodding as she said it.

  “Yes, I think so,” Layla replied. “But if that’s the case, then James’ life is in danger. We need to notify the police.”

  “Layla…” Jay trailed off, shaking his head.

  “Jay, we just can’t leave him with those men,” she screeched.

  “Remember, we’re only guessing that’s how this went down,” Jay said, begging her with his eyes to understand. “And it’s not like James is completely innocent. If we’re right, he started this whole mess with his desire to steal something that doesn’t belong to him.”

  “So what should we do?” she asked, exasperated. “Just leave him at the mercy of those men?”

  “Again, if we’re right, he’s more than likely relatively safe for the moment. I’m more concerned that they’ll try to snatch you, now that they have James, and force you to lead them to me.”

  “How?” she demanded.

  “Have you ever seen a man tortured, Layla?” Jay asked. “Especially one that you’re close to? How long do you think you could stomach that?”

  Layla pondered that for a moment then nodded. “Okay, I see your point. So what now?”

  “Now we head to Jackson Heights and confront this Robert,” Ben said.

  “How do we do that?” Issy asked.

  “Basically, we don’t.” Jay said firmly. “You and Layla will stay far from this.”

  “Oh, no,” Issy said, shaking her head. “Since when can I not take care of myself? I’ve kicked your butt in more than one fight.”

  “I know,” Jay said. “Let me rephrase. I would appreciate it if you could stay here with Layla while Joey, Ben and I confront this guy.”

  Issy nodded. “How do you plan to do that?” she asked.

  “We know where he lives. We know what he looks like. We’ll go to his home and keep watch until we catch him alone,” Joey said.

  “Then what?” Issy asked, putting her hands on her hips.

  “First and foremost, we get James out of danger,” Jay stated. “I’m not happy about that, but I’ll do it for Layla’s sake. Then we’ll use Robert as a bargaining chip.”

  “Do you really think Manuel would care if we had Robert?” Issy asked skeptically. “That’s one less person to share the wealth with.”

  “In that case, we bring Robert back here, lock him up then go after the other three. We can snatch them one at a time.”

  “And…?” Issy pushed.

  “I don’t know,” Jay said agitatedly, “keep them locked up here for eternity, for all I care.”

  “When?” Joey questioned.

  “Tonight, I guess,” Jay said. “We’ll go after it gets dark.”

  “In the meantime, we should head out to the Hamptons. There’s no point in going back to your house until the damage is fixed,” Ben suggested.

  Jay nodded. “I’ll call Rick then give Layla a quick tour of the complex.”

  “Dressed like this?” Layla screeched.

  “There are lots of people walking around in scrubs on the second floor,” Issy told her.

  Jay took Layla by the hand and led her down the hall to a small elevator. He punched in a code and waited only a second for the bell to beep and the door to slide open. Inside, there was barely enough room for four people, and as Ben, Issy and Joey had decided to ride up with them, they were squished together like sardines.

  After a split second ride, the doors opened to reveal three wooden doors in a tiny hallway. “These are our private offices,” Jay explained. “We’re coming in through the back. No one else has access to that elevator but us four.”

  “Only three?” Layla questioned.

  “Ben and I share an office,” Issy explained.

  Jay led Layla through the door to the left, into his own personal office while the other three went their separate ways.

  Jay’s office was large and spacious with minimal furniture. A solid oak desk sat at the back of the room facing a wall of windows that looked out on to the rear grounds of the complex. Against the far corner was a sectional couch angled around a glass coffee table. The back wall was one huge bookshelf.

  “It’s not much, I know,” Jay said, “but the less distractions I have here, the better.”

  Layla walked to the back window and stared out at the lawns, the November sun giving the false appearance of a bright summer day. She quickly tried to digest all that she had been told in the lab. “So this is where you work,” she said absentmindedly, then stiffened when she felt arms fold around her waist from behind.

  “Um,” Jay breathed, running his nose up the side of her throat. “Speaking of distractions…” he whispered then tilted her head to the side so that he could plant a soft kiss on the side of her mouth. “I’d like to have this distraction here on a permanent basis.”

  “Are you offering me a job, Mr. Vallen?” Layla asked in a raspy voice, feeling her knees weaken.

  “Um, yes, I think so,” he purred into her ear. “You could be my own personal desk ornament. The position pays very well and comes with a complete benefit package.”

  She turned in his arms so that she was facing him and smirked. “So I’m being reduced to an object already?”

  Jay narrowed his eyes. “Ah…oh…I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it that way,” he stammered.

  Layla giggled. “No, it’s okay. I was just teasing.”

  “Little imp,” he said then pressed his lips to hers.

  She pulled away from him and gazed up into his eyes. “T
ell me more about this job offer, Mr. Vallen. I think I like the sound of it.”

  “Well…” he trailed off and kissed her quickly. “It’s a very highly skilled position…” another quick kiss. “The ideal candidate would have to be proficient in sitting on my desk all day…” again, he kissed her, causing her to giggle. “…so that I could gaze at her for hours…admiring her beauty.”

  “And you consider me a good candidate?” she whispered.

  “The only candidate,” he murmured and kissed her forcefully.

  A long moment later, he pulled away and shuddered. “Come on, let me show you the rest of the building while I still have a tiny bit of composure left.” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him as he led her to the door.

  Walking through the main door to his office, Layla looked around at the spacious hallway of sea-foam-green carpeting and white marbled walls speckled with tiny inlet lights. “Wow, this is bright,” she said.

  “I prefer to use the term cheerful,” Jay replied. He let go of her shoulder and took her hand, leading her past a reception area.

  A middle-aged woman looked up from the desk and smiled. “Hello, Mr. Vallen,” she said warmly.

  “Hi, Margaret. This is Layla,” he replied in an almost giddy voice.

  Margaret narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled with amusement. “It’s very nice to meet you, Layla,” she said approvingly.

  “You too,” Layla answered.

  “That’s the front of Ben and Issy’s and Joey’s offices,” Jay rattled off as he led her quickly down the hallway. “And those are offices belonging to a few other high-ranking employees, plus our accountant, lawyers and whatnot.”

  He led her into a large, spacious, two-story entry pavilion dotted with black leather benches and a centrally located reception area manned by three security guards. The front-facing glass wall, coupled with the circular skylights, created a flood of natural lighting.

  Jay waved over to the security guards as he plodded quickly past, pulling Layla along with him. Reaching the far side, he led her down a hallway into an enormous cafeteria with cloth-covered tables and linen napkins—small bud vases sat elegantly in the center of each.

  Jay let go of Layla’s hand. “We like to think that we treat our employees well,” he explained. “Every person that works here gets a chef made choice of entrees every afternoon, and dinner for those who work late.”

  “Free?” she questioned.

  He nodded. “It’s just one of the little perks we throw in. To the back of the cafeteria is a full gym with Olympic-sized pool. There’s also a nursery back there for our working mothers, staffed with specialized caretakers and pediatric nurses.”

  A few people walked over to Jay to welcome him back and generally just brown-nose the boss. This time, he didn’t introduce Layla to any of the men and women he spoke with.

  He turned to Layla and gestured for her to walk back the way they had come earlier. “Sorry about that,” he said when they were out of ear-shot. “I wasn’t being rude. I just didn’t want to draw any attention to you. The one thing that we’re strict about is that no one here talks about us to media of any sort. It’s in every employment contract, but you never know.”

  “What about Margaret?” Layla asked.

  “I trust Margaret,” Jay explained. “But some of the other employees I’m not very familiar with.”

  When they were back in the entry pavilion, Layla noticed Issy, Ben and Joey walking toward them, coming from the opposite direction. She put her hand up and waved, but before any of them could wave back, a flash of a bright light, coming from the right side, caused Layla to turn sharply.

  A loud boom filled the lobby as the wall of glass popped in and shattered, sending thousands of small shards of glass flying in their direction.

  As if in slow motion, Jay dove in front of Layla to shield her from the onslaught, pushing her backward.

  The last thing Layla felt was her head smack against the marble floor before she slipped into unconsciousness.

  Chapter 20

  With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Layla’s eyes fluttered open.

  She looked up into the faces of Jay, Issy, Ben and Joey, all staring down at her, worry etched in their features.

  She pushed herself up into sitting position. “What happened?” she asked, her hand automatically going to the back of her head.

  “Robert, Manuel and the other two tried their tactic of flushing us out again. This time shattering the glass in the lobby and injuring two security guards,” Ben replied solemnly.

  “I jumped in front of you and unfortunately caused you to bang your head off the floor,” Jay said apologetically. “We picked you up and ran to the basement before they could get their hands on you.”

  “None of you were hurt?” Layla asked skeptically.

  “By some miracle, no,” Joey stated.

  “How do you feel?” Issy asked her.

  “Surprisingly well for someone who probably has a concussion,” Layla answered. “How long have I been unconscious? I feel like I’ve slept for two whole days.”

  “About thirty minutes,” Issy answered.

  “What happened to Robert and those men?” Layla questioned.

  “We don’t know,” Jay answered. “We fled with you, but some of the employees called the police. They’re upstairs as we speak.”

  “Are you going to talk to them?” she asked.

  “No, I think it’s best if we’re not involved in any police investigations. We’re heading out to Issy and Ben’s house in the Hamptons as soon as Rick arrives, which won’t be for an hour or two, unfortunately,” Jay explained.

  “But if the police find any evidence that matches the evidence at your house, won’t that lead to a full investigation?” she queried.

  “I’m not sure,” Jay responded. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. And it may have the added benefit of leading the police right to them. We can claim that Manuel is a disgruntled ex-employee looking for revenge for being fired.”

  Layla jumped to her feet energetically and looked around. She was back in the little room with the old couch that she’d slept on the previous night.

  They sat lulling around the tiny room for over two hours, in strained conversation, until Rick finally called to say he was waiting for them at the helicopter.

  As they walked toward Lucia, something nagged at Layla’s mind, a sudden clarity as though the bump to her head had popped something back into place. How long ago did James work for Vallen Enterprises? James was only thirty-two and had worked with her father for ten years, having graduated from college well ahead of his age due to having skipped a few years of high school for being some sort of whiz kid. He would have been very young, but if that were the case, then Jay would have been a little child and definitely not working on any research. Something just wasn’t adding up, unless James had worked there recently and failed to mention it to her mother or her. As she tried to roll this all around her mind, Jay came up to her and grabbed her hand.

  “I’m sorry I never told you about knowing James,” he said as though reading her mind.

  “I understand your position,” she answered. “I probably should be mad at that, but since it falls under the category of the initial lie, the one I’ve already forgiven you for, I suppose I shouldn’t be.”

  “You have no idea how much I regret all of this,” he said, stopping short and turning her around to face him. “I just wish that I would’ve had the strength to leave you alone while there was still time for you to go on with your life without getting involved with all this crap.”

  She sighed deeply. “Yeah, but I didn’t want you to,” she answered, shrugging her shoulders. “So in a way, I deserve to be here.”

  “Layla, I care about you so much,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “If anything were to happen to you…” he trailed off and grimaced as though the thought was too unbearable to contemplate.

  Layla put
her hand on his cheek in an effort to console him. “I’m in the thick of this now, so there’s no point in having regrets. I know you didn’t do any of this on purpose.”

  “In a very twisted way, these last few days have been the happiest of my life,” Jay admitted. “But every time I forget why you’re here with me, and begin to bask in the exhilaration of it, they come around to bring me back down to earth.”

  “I know,” she answered with a sad smile.

  When they reached Lucia, Rick was already on board flicking switches and pushing various buttons. Layla climbed into the back and sat sandwiched between Jay and Joey while Ben and Issy took the seats facing them.

  They flew directly over the Long Island Sound and touched down in a large deserted field within thirty minutes.

  When they were safely off Lucia, Rick pulled her back up into the air.

  “Where is he going?” Layla questioned over the whirr of the main rotor blades.

  “Back to Greenwich,” Jay answered, taking her hand. “We have nowhere to keep the helicopter out here.”

  On the other side of the field, Layla spotted a blue SUV waiting by a small patch of concrete.

  As they made their way over the grass to the waiting car, a shiny black van ripped from behind the trees to the right and headed in their direction.

  “They were waiting for us!” Jay yelled, pulling Layla behind him as he ran toward the waiting car.

  Layla felt her heart pound in her chest. She knew there was no way to make it to the parked car on time.

  The black van swerved to a stop right in front of them.

  Layla let out a muffled scream as the masked men jumped from the vehicle, guns drawn.

  Jay skirted to a dead stop and tightened his stance, his hand going toward the inside of his jacket, no doubt to retrieve his handgun.

  “Don’t even think about it, Vallen,” one of the men said.

  “What do you want, Robert?” Jay replied calmly.

  Behind her, Layla could sense the tension coming from Issy, Ben and Joey.

  “Ah, so you’ve figured out who I am?” the man replied.

  “As a matter of fact, we know who all of you are,” Joey answered, walking up slowly to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jay.