Page 128 of Jay Bird

“We wait,” he continued. “We learn her routine and find the weaknesses in it. Everyone eventually becomes predictable once they become comfortable.”

“And then?”

Chen glanced at the photograph he had saved to his phone.

Willow’s smile stared back at him.

“Then we remind her what happens when she betrays me.”

His anger simmered beneath the calm exterior he had perfected over years of conducting business with men who mistook emotion for weakness.

“She needs to be punished, Liu. She needs to understand that every day she’s spent pretending she was free was only possible because I hadn’t found her yet.”

Liu studied him for a moment before leaning back in his chair.

“You aren’t planning to manage this from Italy, are you?”

Chen looked at him and smirked. “Fuck no. Have the jet fueled.”

A frown immediately appeared on Liu’s face. “Chen.”

“I’ve waited long enough.”

“Going to Virginia Beach personally is a risk, especially if the SEAL connection is real. Plus, you’ve got every international agency looking for you.”

“Which is precisely why I’m not sending a group of men into Virginia Beach without knowing exactly what we’re walking into. My tracks are well covered.” Chen picked up his coffee and finished what remained before setting the cup back on the table. “I want to see her life for myself. I want to know who she’s trusting, who she’s living with, and who she believes is keeping her safe.”

Liu stood. “And after that?”

Chen slipped his phone into his pocket, taking Willow’s new photograph with him.

“Then I’ll decide how much of that life she gets to keep.”

Liu remained silent for several seconds, apparently realizing there would be no changing his mind.

“When do you want to leave?”

Chen looked across the pool toward the sea, the peaceful Italian morning suddenly holding little interest for him.

“Tomorrow.”

Liu nodded slowly. “For Virginia?”

Chen turned back toward him, a cold smile settling across his face.

“Yes.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Jay Bird had faced armed men in some of the ugliest places on earth without breaking a sweat, but apparently nothing tested a man’s patience quite like trying to convince a two-year-old that she could not climb into an aquarium tank and pet a stingray.

“Fishy, Jay!”

“I see it, Peanut.”

“Touch.”

“Nope.”