Capturing Victory (PAPERBACK)

“Sir,” Keane’s voice came through the speaker, cool and professional. “We have the hacker, we have XSource.”
Ivan allowed the corner of his lips to curl slightly in satisfaction. “Excellent.”
“She was preparin’ to run.”
She? A woman?
He turned to his screen, the smile leaving his face. “Show me.”
An incoming message popped up on Ivan’s screen. He tapped it, sitting down for a better view. He was stunned when her image filled the screen. He recognized her, of course. She was the lovely woman in the pink sari he’d attempted to converse with at the Athens ball two weeks before. Even in the overly bright light cast on her squinting features by the camera phone, he could tell it was her. Thick, dark brown hair swirled around her shoulders, forcibly hunched forward from the man standing behind her, holding her arms behind her back.
Suddenly a bag was shoved over her head, blocking her from view. He watched with disinterest as she fought her captors, screaming and kicking until someone slapped her in the side of the head so hard she was knocked off her feet. When she was righted, it was clear the fight had drained out of her. She leaned limply against one of the men her small hand clutching his forearm like a lifeline.
Ivan felt a tweak of annoyance at the way these men were handling his merchandise. The hacker belonged to him. No one else had earned the opportunity to punish her. He wanted to tear the bag from her head and shoot every man in that room for touching her. But she was still several thousand kilometres away from him. There was little he could do, but calmly, coolly wait for her arrival.
Salazar spoke to his men in rapid Spanish. “Load her up. Take as much of the equipment as you can. Don’t damage anything.”
Once the woman was taken from her shadowy basement home and out of view, Ivan placed his fists on the desk and leaned, making absolutely sure his next instructions were clear. “Keane.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No one touches that woman again. Understood?”
“Understood, sir.”