Ransom (Benson Security 4)

The silence stretched, and it became clear that Beast had a stubborn streak to match hers, which was impressive.

“Fine,” he snapped at last. “I was going to get you to put your acting skills to good use and send you outside to see what their camp looks like.”

“I’m going to ignore the fact you sneered the word skills and say that’s a great idea.”

Before he could say anything else, she was on her feet and thumping at the door. “Hello, anybody, I need to use the bathroom. Hola, tengo el baño.”

“I wasn’t finished detailing the plan,” Beast snarled at her.

“What’s to finish? I agreed with this stage. If it looks like we might be able to escape, we’ll discuss the next step. First, we need to see what we’re up against. Right? And I can totally do this. I have kidnap victim experience. Although the woman I played was kept in an apartment in Manhattan. But I can adapt. Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

She beamed at him. Beast leaned back and hit his head on the wall. Repeatedly. She would have told him to stop before he hurt himself, but the

door opened and a man with a gun appeared.

“Baño?” Belinda flashed her movie-star smile.

“Vamos.” He motioned for her to follow.

“Oh wait, my shoes.” She ran for her silver high-heeled sandals as the guy followed her into the room. He sneered at Beast as Belinda tugged her shoes on. Then the two men watched in bewildered wonder as she fluffed her hair and adjusted the strap of her tiny cross-body bag. “I’m ready.”

Both Beast and the guy with the gun just stared at her.

“What?” she said as she tottered towards the door on four-inch heels.

She heard Beast groan as the door closed behind them.

Chapter 6

Ryan jogged down the long corridors of the overpriced resort and slammed through the ballroom doors. The party was well and truly over. The lights were on full and the tables had been pulled into the centre of the room to form a makeshift command centre. His team were at the tables. Elle Roberts, their IT expert, was busy tapping at her laptop. She’d dyed her hair lavender to match her party dress, rather than the usual electric blue she preferred.

“Any word?” Ryan asked her as he pulled up a seat beside her.

“The kidnapper called and spoke with Belinda’s parents and then Harvard.” She pointed at the giant black man who was one of Joe Barone’s childhood friends and, if rumours were right, ex-CIA and about to become part of the Benson Security London team. “Her dad said Belinda wasn’t making any sense. He thought she was drugged. I’m trying to pinpoint the location the call came from, or at least narrow it down.”

“Why’d they talk to Harvard?” And what was it with Americans and nicknames? On Joe’s side of the wedding party, there was a Grunt, a Beast and a Harvard. Ryan felt sorry for the fifth guy, Noah, and wondered why he didn’t have a nickname too.

Elle let out a tense sigh. “Belinda told her captors that Beast was really John Favreau, the movie director, and that Harvard was his agent.”

Ryan let out a low whistle. “Rookie move. Now all they have to do is Google him to see if she’s lying. A made-up name would have bought slightly more time than a real one.”

“Yep, she put them under pressure.”

“Listen up.” Lake Benson, the original owner of the company, raised his voice to cut through the chatter, and all eyes turned to him. “The clock is ticking here. The ransom is supposed to be transferred to the kidnappers’ account by midday. Seeing as it’s past three now, that doesn’t give us much time to find them. The Collinses are insistent on paying the ransom by the deadline. Delaying payment would have bought us more time. As it is, we have nine hours to get to them.”

As an ex-SAS soldier, Lake was experienced with these situations. The man was still lean and muscled well into his forties, and there was barely any grey in his blonde hair. He stood at the end of their makeshift war area, with two of his partners, Callum McKay and Rachel Ford-Talbot, flanking him. The fourth partner, Harry, was a silent partner. Ryan had never actually met the guy. As far as he knew, he had very little to do with the business.

“Elle,” Lake said. “What can you tell us?”

Elle’s fingers stilled over the keys as she looked up at her team. “I’m not sure yet, but I think I may have narrowed down the search area—and it isn’t good news. It looks like they’re being held in the middle of the Peruvian jungle. As far as I can tell, they’re nowhere near a road, or a town.”

Callum did that rumbling thing he liked to do when stuck in an enclosed space with other human beings. “Harvard, what are the chances your man will try to escape with Belinda?”

“Pretty damn high.” Harvard ran a hand over his bald head, sounding as grim as everyone else felt. “I don’t see him sitting around waiting for the ransom to be paid. Even if we had the money to pay it. Beast might have squirrelled some cash away, but it sure as hell isn’t anywhere close to the ten million they’re asking.”

Callum let out a huff. “Tell me your guy has experience in the jungle.”

“Wish I could. He’s city, all the way. There’s no better man to have at your back, but he doesn’t have any experience with this terrain. Don’t underestimate him, though. He’s a mean son of a bitch. When he isn’t touring the MMA circuit, he works as a bodyguard. He knows how to fight, and he’s street smart.”