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“My apologies for arriving without phoning first, Mr. Frazer,” Sheldon White shuffled on the spot as Kaden led him into the study where the three brothers were having a meeting. “But I didn’t know who else to approach.”
“You know you’re always welcome here, Sheldon.” Kaden smiled encouragingly at him.
Sheldon was well-liked by everyone in the community. He was part and parcel of the town. Born and raised here, he knew every nook and cranny of the land.
“Is there a problem on Splendor Orchard, Sheldon?” Keith asked. They all noticed the concern that presented itself in a worried glimmer in his eyes.
“I’m not exactly sure, but my gut tells me there is.”
“Spit it out, Sheldon. What is going on?” Kevin prodded him as a feeling of doom settled heavily on his shoulders.
“Aria... Ms. Harper, she’s gone.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?” Kevin’s voice rumbled with suppressed violence as his eyes turned razor sharp.
“No one has seen her for the past two days. Have either of you perhaps spoken to her on the phone?” Sheldon didn’t hide his concern when the two younger men shook their heads.
“We’ve been out of town on business. We were about to head out to Splendor Orchard after the meeting to have lunch with her,” Kevin said, annoyed at himself for not making the time to call her while they were in Cuba extracting the kidnapped son of Congressman Bower. Not that it would’ve been possible since it was a flash operation. They flew in on a military-issued Sikorsky S-97 Raider helicopter, did the extraction, and came right back. There had been no time since the entire operation was time sensitive. They had received an anonymous tip of where the boy was kept, but the window to get him out without him getting hurt or killed in a crossfire fight had been very narrow.
“When exactly did you last see her, Sheldon?” Keith asked. The concern for Aria’s safety was painted in bold strokes across his face. Ever since the fire, they had been very worried about her, especially since they couldn’t identify who had caused it.
“Last I saw her was when we headed to the mess hall two days ago for lunch. She was at the stream behind the house. I remember, because she still waved at me, twirling around like a real silly billy at the time. That’s one thing about her; she can be a firecracker, but deep inside, she’s just a sweet and caring little chit.” He shrugged as he sat down and accepted the drink Kaden offered. “When we came out, she was nowhere to be found.”
“Are you sure she didn’t go out to check the trail route and the cabins along the route?” Kevin asked as he chucked down the last of his drink.
“We’ve checked everywhere, Kevin. If she was anywhere on Splendor Orchard, we would’ve found her by now. We scoured every acre of the land. She’s not there.”
“Let’s go. I want you to take us to the exact spot where you last saw her.” Kevin got up and headed toward the door. “Kaden, get the team to log into the GeoEye live feed. Footage is usually available to retrieve for forty-eight hours before it’s stored in the cloud, so they should be able to track it back to the time Sheldon said she was last seen.”
“Will do.” Kaden walked them to the door. “Let me know if you find anything.”
Later that afternoon...
“There is evidence of a scuffle on the banks of the stream as well as tire marks, which we matched to a 2020 Mercedes model van. Aria was definitely taken, and she didn’t go willingly.” Kevin poured himself a stiff drink and chucked it down in one swallow as he looked around the room. Everyone was there, adamant to help search for their baby girl—Kaden and Sage, Tanner, and Sera, as well as Slade and Jessica. “Did the team find anything on the GeoEye system?”
“You’re right, it was a Merc van. She was abducted. The footage shows her talking to a man by the stream before the van sped toward her. She took flight but was knocked out by another perp hiding behind a tree.” Kaden sat down and patted his lap for Sage to join him. His wounds were healing nicely so, she did so without hesitation. “They left Louisiana on a private jet, destination, Quebec.”
“Hold on,” Slade said, looking at Tanner. “If my memory serves me correctly, Salvitore Sanchigo had property in La Malbaie, Quebec.”
“You’re right. A mausoleum of a house hidden between the lakes. Perfect place to get rid of bodies.” Tanner brushed his thumb over Sera’s palm. She had suffered the most in Salvitore’s quest for revenge.
“Why would they take Aria there?” Sera interjected with a frown. “Or do you think... For fuck’s sake! If anyone tells me that motherfucker survived two headshots and ten bullets to the chest, I’m going to have a stroke!”
“Salvitore Sanchigo is as dead as a doornail. I was in the morgue when the autopsy was done,” Slade drawled. “But we all know how the Sicilian Mafia operates. They never stop until the fealty they swore has been fulfilled. So, whoever knew about Salvitore’s war against us would continue with his quest to kill us all.”
“And since the bastard was dead, we stopped being careful,” Keith said in a dark voice. “We put Aria in danger, Kevin. Anyone who saw us together would know she is important to us. That’s why she was taken. They’re either going to kill her to get to us, or they’re going to use her to get us to come to them.”
“Let’s not leave the choice in their hands, Keith. We’re going there to bring back our Babygirl.” Both brothers headed for the door.
“Not so fast.” Kaden’s voice stopped them in their tracks. “They’re not in Quebec anymore.”
“You just said...” Kevin dragged in a deep breath. “So, where the fuck is she?”
“I think you better sit down. You’re not going to like what I’m about to show you.”
Kevin and Keith knew their older brother well enough not to let their pent-up frustrations show by demanding he spit out what he had to say.
“Get to it, Kaden,” Kevin eventually spat irritably.
