In Bed With Her Shithead Boss (By Ellie Wynters) novel Chapter 254

Blair grabbed her phone. "What do I say to buy time?"

"What's the ransom amount for Keira?" Rogers knew the Wystovian team wouldn't share that information.

"10 million for Keira." Roman was the one to answer.

Rogers whistled. "Tell them you're working on securing the funds but need proof they're still unharmed before proceeding," Rogers instructed. "Banking hours, liquidating stocks, transfer limits, they are all reasonable delays they'll expect from someone trying to gather ten million dollars."

Blair typed quickly; her fingers hadn't stopped shaking since the first message came through. She showed it to Rogers before sending.

"Working on the money. Need to see both Keira and the prince alive today before we can proceed with transfer. We have meeting with bank 10 am tomorrow morning for money."

"Good, send it." Rogers approved. "Now we wait, but not idly."

Everyone moved to the map on the table. Mitchell and his Wystovian team clustered around them, marking potential locations.

"The eastern harbor has three main sections," Mitchell explained, circling areas with a red marker. "Industrial active zone here, mid-harbor with mixed-use facilities, and the abandoned sector farthest east."

Roman studied the map. "That's still too many buildings to search before the deadline."

"Maybe not." Sutton's voice cut through the tension. She hadn't looked up from her laptop where she'd been working silently. "I've been running the photo through additional analysis. The angle of light through the window gives us the room's orientation. Their in a room with east-facing windows."

Rogers moved to her side. "That helps, but we need more."

"I'm not finished," Sutton continued, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "There was a reflection in the window glass, barely visible but there. I've enhanced it and isolated what appears to be a company logo on the crane."

She turned her laptop around, showing a blurry but recognizable insignia. "Eastside Shipping. They went bankrupt three years ago."

"That narrows it down to four potential warehouses," Mitchell said, immediately marking them on the map.

Blair's phone buzzed with an incoming message. Everyone froze.

She opened it. "They want proof we have the money ready to collect before they'll send another photo."

"Negotiation tactic," Rogers explained. "Take a screenshot of a bank account showing your details. We can mock it up."

Blair's phone buzzed again. This time the message contained two photos: one of Keira sitting against a wall, holding today's newspaper, and one of Prince Alexei, looking pale with a visible head injury.

"Oh God," Blair gasped, hand flying to her mouth. "Prince Alexei's hurt."

Mitchell didn't react, telling them he already knew.

"But they're alive," Rogers pointed out, "And the newspaper is today's. Good sign."

Roman studied the new images over Blair's shoulder. "Sutton, can you get anything from these?"

Sutton took the phone straight away, connecting it to her laptop. "Sending them through facial recognition software first to confirm they're not manipulated." After a moment, she nodded. "They're genuine. Now let's see what else these photos can tell us."

The room fell silent as she worked, the only sound her fingers on the keyboard and the occasional murmur between Mitchell and his team as they coordinated their surveillance units.

Sutton was leaning closer to her screen. "Nothing. I can see boxes but nothing on them."

Rogers looked around everyone in the room. "Okay, we go with what we've got. We have just bought ourselves 24 hours."