Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Debt
Leo returned with two security men.
“Underground garage is sealed,” he said. “Elevators locked.”
Gabriel pointed at the destroyed tracker.
“We’ve been compromised.”
Leo’s expression changed immediately.
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
A phone rang.
Ella flinched.
It was hers.
The screen displayed UNKNOWN CALLER.
Gabriel picked it up.
“Don’t.”
Ella tried to sit.
He answered.
“Gabriel Ross.”
A man laughed softly.
“Well. That saves introductions.”
Gabriel put the call on speaker.
“Who is this?”
“Ask Miss Bennett.”
Ella went pale.
“I don’t know him.”
“You heard her,” Gabriel said.
“You purchased Tyler Bennett’s debt three weeks ago. Very generous.”
Gabriel’s face remained calm.
“What do you want?”
“The drive.”
Gabriel glanced toward the silver flash drive beneath his desk.
“You stabbed a woman over accounting files?”
“Not those files.”
Ella frowned.
The caller continued.
“Tyler stole something that belongs to me. His sister knows where it is.”
“I don’t.”
“Then perhaps another conversation will improve your memory.”
A muffled sound came through the phone.
“Ella?”
Tyler.
Ella lunged upright.
“Tyler!”
Gabriel caught her shoulder.
“Ella!”
“Please! Tyler!”
Her brother’s frightened voice came through the speaker.
“Ella, don’t give them anything!”
A heavy impact followed.
The line went silent.
Ella stared at the phone.
Then the caller returned.
“Midnight. Pier Seventeen.”
Gabriel spoke calmly.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No, Mr. Ross. You made the mistake when you purchased the boy’s debt.”
The call ended.
Ella grabbed Gabriel’s wrist.
“You can’t go.”
“I wasn’t asking permission.”
“They want you there.”
“Obviously.”
“They’ll kill you.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Someone put a knife into your leg and kidnapped your brother because they believed it would bring me to a dock.”
His voice lowered.
“I’d hate to disappoint them.”
Dr. Samuel Harris arrived minutes later.
While he treated Ella, Gabriel and Leo stood near the windows.
Leo spoke quietly.
“Barlowe?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Barlowe enjoys money too much. Kidnapping someone whose debt I purchased would be suicide.”
“Then who?”
Gabriel looked toward Ella.
“Someone interested in whatever Tyler stole.”
Ella suddenly spoke.
“Wait.”
Gabriel turned.
“What?”
“My apartment.”
“What about it?”
“Tyler came over four nights ago. He was terrified.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked if I still had Dad’s old things.”
Gabriel frowned.
“What things?”
“Our father repaired watches.”
Ella looked at him.
“Tyler asked specifically about his tool case.”
“Where is it?”
“My storage unit.”
Leo checked the time.
“We can have men there in twenty minutes.”
“No.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Too obvious.”
Ella pushed herself upright.
Dr. Harris stopped her.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“I know the access code.”
“Give it to us,” Gabriel said.
Ella stared at him.
“Promise me something.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
“It is to me.”
“What?”
“If you find whatever Tyler hid, you don’t abandon him.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“I bought his debt.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“No.”
Ella’s eyes narrowed.
“No?”
“I won’t promise to try.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“I promise I’ll bring him home.”
For the first time that night, Ella looked like she believed him.
---
The storage facility was almost empty.
Gabriel opened the old metal locker while Leo watched the corridor.
Inside were boxes.
Photographs.
Christmas decorations.
A battered leather tool case.
Gabriel opened it.
Screwdrivers.
Tweezers.
Magnifying lenses.
Leo picked up an old pocket watch.
“Boss.”
The watch was unusually heavy.
Gabriel opened the back.
Inside was a microSD card.
Leo smiled without humor.
“There’s our ledger.”
A sound echoed outside.
Footsteps.
Gabriel closed the watch.
“How many?”
Leo listened.
“Several.”
Gabriel slipped the watch into his pocket.
The lights went out.
A voice came from the darkness.
“Mr. Ross.”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
May you like
“You people really need to learn how to make appointments.”
---
