GABE (Silicon Valley Billionaires 2)

“You really shouldn’t go there,” Ash said, jerking his thumb at Levi’s retreating form. “You know how he gets when people tell him what to do. It’s not going to help—and you need all the help you can get right now.”

“I know. But it just doesn’t feel right for me to be sitting in my office. Every hour that goes by, Lauren’s closer to losing her company, and her sister could be moved farther away from us. I don’t trust that Li Na will deliver Hannah, so I’m hoping we can accomplish something in this brief interim—like saving the only family Lauren has left. Is that fair?”

“Of course it is.” Always the reasonable one, Ash nodded. “I’m just saying that for sanity purposes, you shouldn’t get into a pissing contest with Levi right now. You know he wants to prove something. Let him do it.”

I set my laptop on the island and fired it up, pulling up some compliance reports I needed to review. “What do you mean he wants to prove something? To who?”

Ash shook his head. “To you, dumb-ass. He’s always wanted to prove something to you.”

“So let him. There’s no better time than the present.”

Chapter 6

Lauren

A few days later, Bethany and I finalized the first draft of the Purchase and Sale Agreement. We’d completed the task in record time, and we were both exhausted. My vision blurred from reading so much, and from lack of sleep.

“Bethany, please get the package together for the attorney. Send her all the documents we’ve prepared so far, then ask for an update.” I stood up, stretching. “And I’m going to ask Li Na if I can talk to Hannah.”

Bethany looked skeptical. “You think she’ll agree to that?”

“We’ve accomplished more than I thought was possible over the past few days. We’re sending them proof of our progress, which is exactly what she asked me for. It can’t hurt to ask, right?” I wanted to see my sister, alive and as okay as the situation would allow. If Li Na’s men had done something to her, the deal was off. “I’m showing Li Na my due diligence—the least she can do is reciprocate.”

Bethany sent off the P&S, I sent an email to Li Na, and then we continued working. We reviewed financial statements throughout the afternoon without hearing back from either Li Na or her attorney. I didn’t know much about the lawyer, Petra Hickman, except that she was a partner at an enormous firm in San Francisco and had a venerable résumé. Bethany said Petra was an asshole, but she said that about most people.

The sky started darkening, and Bethany looked at her watch. “I think we should take a break. We need our IP team to get started on the trade secret transfer documentation. Are you okay with stopping now?”

We’d been working since five this morning. I nodded. “I guess since we haven’t heard back from the attorney, we won’t hear anything until tomorrow anyway.”

Bethany started packing up when her phone buzzed. “It’s Petra—she said she’s reviewing the documents, and she spoke with Li Na. Li Na’s in a meeting, but she’ll be in touch with you later tonight.”

“Okay. Good.” A chill went through me, a mixture of excitement and dread. Will I get to talk to Hannah tonight? It had been days, and I had no idea if she was okay. Is she eating? Did they hurt her? Did they…do anything else to her?

I willed myself to stop thinking about it, because I would go insane.

Bethany looked as nervous as I felt. “Do you want me to come home with you?”

“No, I’m okay. I’ll text you as soon as I hear from Li Na. I’m fine—as fine as I can be under the circumstances. Go home. I promise I’ll call you.”

I watched as she left, my heart heavy. While we worked, I could almost forget about Hannah and Wes, almost lose myself in analyzing the verbiage of the documents. But as soon as we stopped, even for a moment, the pain and panic took over. It was no different right now. I hustled to get my things together and called Timmy. “Meet me at the car?”

The whole ride home, my phone was silent, unnervingly so. I kept checking it, afraid I’d accidentally hit the mute button and had missed everything, had ruined everything, and that I’d lose the opportunity to talk to Hannah. It was full-on dark by the time we pulled off the exit for Gabe’s house.

“You okay, Ms. Taylor?” Timmy asked, breaking my reverie.

“Not at all, Timmy. You?”

He shrugged. “I’ll be better when we get your sister home, and when Wesley’s okay.”

I smiled at my bodyguard, who rarely spoke unless spoken to. “Me too.”

My phone buzzed with a text just as I was about to go through the doors. We received the P&S. Will review. Have your laptop ready in five minutes, it read. I hustled into the house and put my computer on the island.

“I think Hannah’s about to Skype me,” I told Gabe. Levi and Ash were out in the field, trying to generate leads to find Hannah. I wished they were here to see this.

Gabe sprang up immediately. “Did you talk to Li Na?”

“We turned in a lot of documents today—I asked to talk to Hannah in exchange for turning this around so quickly.” I swallowed hard as I waited for the screen to come to life. “I want to see her.”