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At first glance, Bethany appeared refined and icily gorgeous with her long, stick-straight blonde hair and impeccably tailored suits, but once she dug into something, she was like a pit bull in a china shop. Normally I loved her for her rabid protectiveness, but not today.
I patted her hand. “I just want to get my sister back. I don’t care if it’s illegal. In fact, I hope it is—maybe we’ll actually get something done before it’s too late.”
“Sorry, Lauren, but we’re a perfectly legal operation.” Levi turned to face my attorney. “We’re a legitimate private security company. We’re licensed, and all our men are properly trained and licensed. We handle a lot of government contracts. We get called in on cases like this all the time.”
Bethany raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s the name of your firm?”
“Betts Security.”
“Never heard of you,” Bethany said. She seemed unimpressed by Levi, no matter how pedigreed, muscled and well-dressed he was.
“And what’s your name, again?” Levi asked.
She crossed her arms. “Bethany O’Donnell.”
“I’ve never heard of you either,” he said under his breath. “But let’s get back to the matter at hand. I wouldn’t expect a lot of cooperation from the Chinese government. Even with the FBI involved, she’ll never be extradited. Corporate espionage is a big game in China these days. The government itself is involved in hacking North American companies.”
“So what can we do?” I asked. With every second that passed, I felt as if Hannah was slipping further from my reach.
Levi watched me. “Li Na wants Paragon because the patch is more sophisticated than anything else on the market, right?”
I nodded. “She’s stolen from me before. But it didn’t do her any good—she couldn’t get the technology to work with just her own team.”
He looked grim. “So she’s failed at that, and she wants more than your sloppy seconds. That’s why she keeps coming back. What drives Paragon is the force behind it—you. Your company is built around you, Lauren. She needs you in order to dominate the market the way she wants to.”
“What are you saying?”
His gaze held mine. “When she says she’ll hold you until the sale goes through, it’s a lie. If she gets you, she’ll never let you go.”
Li Na’s obsession with my technology was like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. “I don’t care. I just want my sister to be safe. She shouldn’t have to suffer because of me.”
“It’s okay,” Levi said. “We’ll get your sister back, and we’ll keep you safe.”
“How?” My scientific brain needed details, not assurances.
“We’ll tell her that we’ll do what she wants and go from there. I’ll figure it out with my team, and I’ll keep you and Gabe involved in the details.”
“And what about her—Li Na?” I asked. My voice sounded flat and faraway to my own ears, as if I were underwater, sinking.
Levi’s eyes, so much like Gabe’s, brightened at the question. “I’ll take care of her, eventually. I think it’ll count as a public service.”
“I’ll call you if I hear from Agent Marks again. I told him to go through me for now,” Bethany said.
“Okay. I appreciate that.”
Bethany packed up her things. “He doesn’t have any useful information anyway. And listen to what Gabe’s brothers are saying. They know what they’re doing.”
“You didn’t seem too impressed by them earlier.”
She shrugged, pulling the strap of her briefcase over her shoulder. “I had to do that—I have to vet the people around you. Protecting you is my job. But I researched Betts Security before I came over here, and they’re legitimate. They have the experience necessary to help.”
“Then why did you say you’d never heard of them?”
She shrugged. “Because I like to make people sweat.”
I shook my head—that was classic Bethany.
“I just want you to sit tight, okay? I’ll field any calls from the police. Don’t speak to anyone without telling me first. I want your involvement with this as limited as possible—we need to keep things on an even keel since the product launch is still so new.”
