Page 32 of Rescuing Rebel
“She often gave them the slip.” His expression sours. “It’s a sore subject.”
“Ditched professional bodyguards?” The notion is almost comical. “She must be good at giving themthe slip.”
“Ally is good at everything she puts her mind to. They waited outside while she went to the ladies’ room. She climbed out a second-story window.”
“Why would she do that?” CJ asks.
“She wanted to party with her friends.” Collins’s shoulders slump. Clearly, he’s at his wit’s end trying to control his wayward daughter.
“Does she do that a lot?” I lean back and fold my arms across my chest.
“More often than I care to admit.” His expression turns distant and haunted. “My daughter is a good girl, a bit wild, but that’s to be expected at nineteen. I don’t try to restrict what she does, but I do my best to keep her safe.”
My instincts scream there’s more going on here. This isn’t a random kidnapping or an act of opportunity. It’s cold and calculated.
A contract job.
“I’ll dig into every corner of the web, analyze every byte. Someone always slips up.” Mitzy pipes up, her fingers tapping her laptop like a seasoned pianist. “We’ll find them. The digital breadcrumbs are there if you know how to find them.”
“Anyone with a grudge?” I ask, my gaze doesn’t waver.
“Against Ally?” Collins shakes his head, confusion flashing in his eyes. “No.”
“It’s college. Any chance of a sorority prank gone too far?” Sam asks, covering all bases.
“No, Ally isn’t interested in the Greek life. She loves a good party, but she’s a straight-A student. Heavily invested in her studies.”
“You mentioned cold fusion. What is her major?” The more I know about Ally, the better. It’ll make it easier to find her.
“Applied and Engineering Physics. She wants to study cold fusion. Her eyes are on a Ph.D. working in the field. She wants to bring clean energy to the world.” Collins’s pride in his daughter’s aspirations is clearly not something he can suppress.
“Lofty goals.” I tug at my ear. At first glance, this appears to be a simple missing person’s case, but Collins is smart. Surely, he exhausted those options.
“She wouldn’t disappear like this.” He maintains his daughter’s innocence in her disappearance.
I can almost see Ally in my mind: youthful defiance combined with a brilliant mind, thirsty for knowledge. She’s like a mini-Mitzy.
“Does Ally have any enemies?” Sam’s question remains soft and probing. It never ceases to amaze me how many times people lie to our faces, to the people they pay to rescue their loved ones.
“Ally?” Collins shakes his head. “Impossible. Everyone adores her.”
“What about you?” I tilt my head slightly, a calculated movement. “Anyone want to hurt you?”
“I’m a rich, fat, white male with several billions to my name.” His tone turns sarcastic and derisive. “Everybody hates me, and if they don’t hate me, they despise me.”
“But is there anyone with enough hatred to want to hurt you?” My eyes narrow. There’s something in the way he hesitates which makes me think he’s one of those clients holding back essential information.
“You think Ally’s abduction is an attack on me?” His eyes widen, the thought dawning on him for the first time. “To hurt me?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time wealth made someone a target. Has there been any ransom demands?” Sam taps his finger on the table.
“None.” Mr. Collins exhales, the breath whistling through his teeth. His body sags with the weight of despair. “I initially thought she was partying, blowing off steam. When she didn’t return by morning, her security detail alerted me. But we decided to wait. She’s disappeared for entire weekends before. Girls’ weekend is what she called it.”
“You waited for two days?” Disbelief colors my tone.
“Ally is an adult, and I have my best people watching her. I want to keep her safe without smothering her.” His eyes glaze, lost in regret. “But when she missed classes on Monday and an important exam on Tuesday, I knew something was dreadfully wrong.”
It’s Wednesday. Which means Collin’s daughter has been missing for five days. Our task has just turned into a race against the clock, and we haven’t even lined up at the starting block.