Despite his apprehension, Louis agreed to help Riley rescue Flora Ambrose.
Louis, Riley, and Dangles stood in a circle in the middle of the living room of Alex's house, the very same living room that needed to be rebuilt after Riley's super soldiers had destroyed it not even a month prior.
Louis scratched his head as he looked at the two men. "Okay, so what's your plan?"'
Riley leaned toward Louis. "Have you heard of Seaport Storage?"
Louis nodded. "Of course. It's the most popular storage facility chain in Baltimore."
Riley cupped his hand around his mouth as if he were telling Louis a secret. "Lincoln owns the business. He operates it secretly under a pseudonym."
What did Seaport Storage have to do with Flora Ambrose? Louis scrunched his face. "Good for Lincoln, I guess. Cut to the chase. Tell me the plan."
Riley grabbed the man by his shoulder. "Louis, that is the plan. A few years ago, Lincoln was obsessed with kidnapping all of the Ambroses and locking them up in a storage unit. Seaport Storages started popping up all around town. He never pulled it off, but I'm positive that if he took Flora–"
Louis interrupted. "He would have locked her in his storage facility."
Riley pushed Louis's chest with his pointer finger. "Exactly. I have a suspicion of which facility he's operating out of. He's been spending a lot of time by Tide Point recently. Seaport Storage has a location near Pier 8, right by the waterfront."
Louis tilted his head to the side, taking in all of the information. "So you think he took Flora to that Seaport Storage?"
Riley looked Louis directly in the eye. "It's our best bet."
That plan wasn't outrageous, which was a surprise, considering Riley had conceived it.
With a set jaw, Louis crossed his arms. "I hate to cut this party short, but we should get out of here. When Alex finds out you two were here, he's going to flip out."
Riley shrugged. "Fair enough."
Louis guided the two men toward the front door. "Okay, let's head out."
While Dangles and Riley shuffled out of the house, Louis lingered behind.
Seconds before Riley burst through the door, Louis had reassured Alex that everything was fine. He had told him to relax. In reality, everything was bad. Very bad.
Lincoln was a dangerous man, a man who wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone, even his family. He would surely take advantage of Flora's kindness.
Louis shuddered as he imagined all the things Lincoln could do with Flora in his grasp. He called Alex back immediately.
With each ring of the phone, Louis grew more anxious. "Come on, Alex. Pick up."
It went to voicemail. Louis let out a shaky breath. "Hey, Alex. Update on the situation, turns out, Flora did, uh, not go shopping. Lincoln kidnapped her. Dangles, Riley, and I are going to rescue her right now. I will let you know when she's back safe."
Louis squeezed his eyes shut as he hung up the phone. After taking a deep breath, he left the house. "Someone should call Ken Stokes. We need backup."
As Louis closed the door behind him, Tom Sawyer appeared in the hallway, holding a bowl of tortilla chips and a side of guacamole. "Did they all leave already?"
Louis hopped into the back of Riley's car.
Riley checked his phone. "I don't have Ken's number."
Louis whipped out his phone. "I'll call."
He dialed Ken's number and waited for his friend to answer.
"You're a go for Stokes."
Louis let out a sigh of relief. "Ken, it's me."
Ken smirked. "Louis! Hey, man. What's going on?"
Louis pulled a seat belt over his torso. "Long story short, Alex's mom has been kidnapped."
Ken gasped. "Flora? Not my sweet dear friend!"
Louis nodded. "Yes. It's true."
A sob caught in Ken's throat. "Why do bad things always happen to good people?"
Louis shrugged. "I don't know, Ken, but I don't think we have time to get philosophical. As of right now, all I know is that we need your help."
Ken fumbled around as if he were looking for something. "Of course, I'm going to help. What's the plan? What are we doing to do?"
Louis's shoulders tensed. "Riley, Dangles, and I are leaving Alex's house right now. I'll send you the location to meet us at."
Ken swallowed, hard. "Okay. I'll be there. Should I bring the film crew?"
Everyone in the car responded in unison. "No."
Ken pursed his lips. "Alright, alright. Fine. See you soon."
Louis hung up the phone. He leaned forward in between Riley and Dangles in the front. "Alright. Let's hit the road."
Riley slammed his foot on the gas, and the car flew forward.
The three were on their way to save Flora.
***
People were packed like sardines in the small Parisian cafe. Alex maneuvered through the crowd, carrying two plates.
Debbie sat at a small bistro table, flipping through her notes. She stopped when Alex slid a plate with a sandwich in front of her.
She stuffed her notes in her purse and grabbed the sandwich. "Oh! This looks delicious."
After sitting across from her, Alex smirked without saying a word.
After his face twisted into a frown, Debbie glanced up from her meal. "What's wrong?"
Alex rested his head on his hand. "Louis hasn't heard from my mom, either."
Debbie picked a pickle off of her sandwich. "I'm sure there has to be a logical explanation for this."
Not convinced, Alex shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that, Debbie."
Debbie shrugged. "Don't be so pessimistic."
Alex clenched his jaw. "Debbie, I'm being realistic. God only knows where she could be."
Debbie took a big bite. "She could just be shopping."
Alex pursed his lips. "When does she ever let her phone go to voicemail?"
Chewing her food, Debbie looked up as if she were lost in thought. She swallowed. "Alright, I know she always answers her phone, but maybe she went on one of those technology cleanses."
Alex let out an exasperated sigh. "The chances of that are slim to none."
Debbie wiped mayonnaise from the corner of her mouth. "Eh, I wouldn't fuss about it. Did you find out what Louis was calling about earlier this week?"
Alex glanced up at the woman. "What?"
Debbie took another bite. "Louis called you about a million times at the beginning of the trip. I was wondering if you found out what he wanted."
Alex shook his head. "No, we just talked about my mom."
The two sat in silence. While Debbie shoveled her food into her mouth, Alex didn't touch his lunch. As Alex stared off into the distance, Debbie cleared her throat. "Alex, if you're that worried, why don't you call her again? Then, call Gideon."
Alex pulled his phone out, seeing a missed call. "Louis left me a voicemail right after I called him." He held the phone up to his ear.
Debbie nibbled on the crust of her sandwich. "What did he say?"
The expression on Alex's face grew serious as he listened to the voicemail. By the time he hung up, his jaw was wide open in shock.
Debbie shot him a puzzled expression. "What?"
Alex's face went pale. "Lincoln kidnapped my mother."
Debbie covered her mouth with her hands, dropping her lunch onto the table. "No."
Alex held up his hand. "That isn't all. Louis is going to go save her."
Debbie's shoulders relaxed. "Oh, thank god."
Alex shook his head. "He's going to save her with Riley and Dangles."
Confused, Debbie leaned forward. "Wait, I don't think I heard you."
Alex grasped at his hair. "I think you did. Louis is going to rescue my mom… with Riley and Dangles."
Debbie ripped the phone out of Alex's hand. She searched through his messages and emails. She dropped the phone. "Alex, Louis has been helping Riley this whole time."
Alex squinted at her in disbelief. "What?"
She shook her head restlessly. "Riley told Louis he wants to be good, and Louis believed him. Louis has been helping him train at the dojo. Now they're going to save your mother."
Alex collapsed over the table. "What's wrong with Louis? How could he trust them?"
When Debbie opened her mouth, nothing came out. She searched through Alex's phone again. Countless unread messages from Louis sat in his inbox, most of which were questions about what to do with Riley. Debbie's hands started to shake with nervous energy.
She drew in a deep breath. "Alex, that's what he was trying to tell you at the beginning of the trip. He wanted to ask your opinion of Riley changing for the better."
Alex's eyes went wide with fear. "How could he ever question that?"
Debbie swallowed, hard. "You know Louis's past. He sees the best in people, but Riley? I mean, we were all tortured by him. That's a bit of a stretch."
Alex propped his head up on his head. "How long has this been going on?"
Debbie scrolled through the phone. "Since the day we left."
Alex shot up. "How could Louis be that foolish? Of course, he tried to infiltrate our crew the minute we left, and they fell right into the trap!"
Debbie raised her hand. "Okay, but Riley isn't the one who kidnapped Flora. Lincoln did."
Alex clenched his fist. "Debbie, Riley is probably working with Lincoln still."
Debbie's jaw dropped. "You're right."
Seething with rage, the vein on the side of Alex's head throbbed. How could Louis do this? This is the ultimate betrayal. He can't truly believe that Riley wanted to turn a new leaf. What's wrong with him? He thought.
Debbie's hands trembled as she looked through the phone. "Oh, gosh, Alex. I wish you saw this earlier. He kept asking for your advice."
Alex gripped the sides of his head. "You don't need advice to realize that Riley is a sack of shit."
Debbie's eyebrows shot up. "They've been training with Stefan."
Alex could barely contain his anger. "Who?"
Debbie drew in a shaky breath. "Riley and Dangles."
Alex stared into the distance, in utter disbelief at the situation at hand. "Are they all dense? Why would take two madmen and give them training in martial arts? When I get back home, I'm going to teach them a lesson."
As he clenched his fists, Debbie quickly shook her head. "No. Right now, we need to focus on finding your mother."
Alex squeezed his eyes shut. "This is too much at once."
Debbie's whole body shook. "Alex, this is really bad."
Alex shot up from the chair. "We need to go back home. Now."
Debbie gave Alex a curt nod. "I agree."
She handed Alex his phone, and he took it, immediately sending a message. "I'm calling the private jet. We'll go pack, and we'll be home in no time."
Debbie raised an eyebrow. "Private jet?"