Page 33 of Possessed By Roman

“Enough to tell me that this isn’t some random guy running a small operation. He has clients. Military and government associates. People who may be helping him, protecting him, or simply looking the other way.”

I grip my phone tighter. “Can you identify them?”

“Working on it. But he has contacts in the FBI and CIA. And Dan was right about NCIS too. There our connections there too. Might even find his boss if I narrow down the list some more.”

“What about his clients?”

“Same thing.”

Royal sounds tired. He has probably been staring at the same information for days, trying to connect names and transactions without knowing which piece of information will finally lead us to Duggan.

“What do you think he’s running?”

“I don’t know yet,” Royal says. “But he’s been careful. Whoever Duggan works with, they’ve helped keep his operation quiet.”

Silence stretches over the line. None of us says what we are all thinking. If Dan found something dangerous enough to make Alexander take him, then there is a chance he never intended to let him go. I swallow hard.

“Keep digging,” I tell them.

“That’s the plan,” Royal says.

The call ends. I lower the phone and stare at it. It’s only a matter of time. That’s what I tell myself. We will get to Alexander. Then we will find Dan. I finish getting dressed and leave the bedroom.

“Cora?”

No answer. I walk into the living room, but it’s empty. The laptop is sitting on the coffee table, but she isn’t there. I look toward the kitchen.

“Cora?”

Nothing. A strange feeling moves through me. I walk faster, checking every room in the apartment. My pulse begins to rise. Then I notice her phone. It is lying on the couch. I freeze. Cora doesn’t go anywhere without her phone. Not since Dan disappeared.

I pick it up. The screen is still on. A video is open. My blood turns cold as I press play.

Dan appears on the screen holding the day’s paper. The video is shaky. He looks exhausted, his face bruised and unshaven, his clothes rumpled and dirty.

“Cora.” My entire body goes rigid. A distorted voice gives the instructions: bring the drive, come alone, and tell neither me nor the police.

The video cuts off. I stare at the screen. “No.”

Cora saw the video.

She believed her father needed her. She knows where I keep the original drive.

And whoever sent that video knew exactly how to get her out of this apartment.

“Fuck!”

I grab my phone and send the video to the group, telling Royal to pull anything he can from it while I alert the others that Cora is gone. The responses come almost instantly. The thought of Cora in Duggan’s hands sends cold fury through me. Panic can come later. Right now, I need to find her.

Chapter Seven

Cora

I know the moment I see the message that I should not open it.

The number is unfamiliar. And after everything that has happened over the last week, I have become careful about unknown calls and messages. Roman has told me more than once not to respond to anything suspicious.

And I know that if he were standing beside me right now, he would probably take my phone from my hand before I could even think about touching the attachment. But Roman isn’t here.