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A shadow hovered over them as Luke approached. “Hey, did you find Julia?”
“I did, you bastard,” Grant spat at him. He grasped the lapels of his tuxedo and slammed his against the wall. “Did you know about this?”
Luke held his hands up as Grant smashed him against the wall. “Know about what? What happened?”
Kyle clapped his hand on Grant’s shoulder as his eyes darted around. “Easy, Dad, the last thing we need is more attention on this.”
Grant let go of the man, straightening his own jacket as he stretched his neck. “Your good friend, Lydia, has Julia hostage and is demanding a top-secret project from my company to let her go.”
Luke’s eyes went wide. “What? No, there must be–”
“Some mistake? I doubt it. Lydia’s been trying to destroy me and everyone around me for almost two years. And if Julia becomes collateral damage…”
“That’s not happening,” Kyle said. “We need a plan and fast.”
“I want to help,” Luke answered.
“No,” Grant and Kyle said at the same time.
“Look, I know we’re not usually on the same side, but Julia’s important to me, too. I’d never let anything happen to her. I can help.”
“How do you figure that?” Grant asked.
“Maybe I can talk to Lydia. She didn’t seem unhinged during any of our conversations. A little strange, sure, but not crazy enough to take Julia hostage.”
Grant shook his head at the words. “No, because she wanted you to do something for her.”
Luke lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
“Oh, come on, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? She wanted you here to drive a wedge between me and Julia.”
Kyle wagged a finger at him. “And you fell right into her trap. And now we’re all paying the price.”
“Fine, okay, I fell into her trap. But that doesn’t help Julia. We need a plan. What did the police say?”
“We haven’t called them.”
“Haven’t…” Luke huffed out a sigh. “Are you kidding me?”
“Sorry, the last time we dealt with cops they weren’t so great,” Kyle shot back. “Julia’s sister is the reason people don’t like police.”
“Ally was just doing what she thought was best, okay? Look, that’s beside the point. Ally doesn’t work for the New Orleans PD.”
“Fine,” Grant said with a slice of his hand through the air. “Then you call them. That’ll be your contribution. Just…don’t let them ruin my chance of getting Julia back.”
“Speaking of, you should go get the flash drive,” Kyle said. “Oh, before you go…what does the roof look like? Is the door visible from the helipad, or can we all sneak up there?”
Grant shook his head. “I don’t know. I think you can see it. I’m going to get the flash drive.”
He ran a still-trembling hand through his hair as he approached the front desk and made his request. He drummed his fingers against the marble top as he waited for the woman to return. What was taking her so long?
“We’re going up with you. We’ll wait in the stairwell if we have to, but if something goes down, it’s better to have backup,” Kyle said as the clerk finally returned with his prized possession.
He stared at the small black piece of plastic for a moment. He didn’t care what was on it as long as it held the key to Julia’s freedom.
“Fine, just…stay out of sight unless things get…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish that statement. “Don’t do anything that’ll make this worse or endanger Julia’s life.”
“No,” Kyle said, “we’re just there for backup. There is no way I’m letting Lydia hurt Julia.”
