“Let’s get this to the estate,” Isaiah said, his voice tight. “We’ll put together a team to track them down.”
As we left Liza’s parents’ house, my heart clenched with the need to find my mate. I was supposed to protect her and keep her safe from harm. Now she was gone, and her family was suffering. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let the guilt consume me. I had to do whatever I could to find Liza and bring her home.
“Isaiah, gather all the security footage,” I said before I climbed into my car. “I have to go to check on Dad.”
“Understood.” Isaiah nodded, his face set as I shut my door and drove off.
I hurried through the estate to my parents' home. Five minutes later, I watched my father struggle to sit up in his bed. As much as I wanted to be there for him, my only concern now was Liza and her safety. My gut churned with anxiety, but I needed answers.
“Ty,” he croaked, his voice hoarse. “I’m so sorry.”
“Tell me what happened, Dad.” I tried to keep the growl out of my voice. I needed him to focus on the facts, not self-pity.
He winced in pain from the movement. “Liza rushed inside to check on Rory after we heard her scream. I was right behind her, but someone ambushed me before I even sensed them.” He averted his eyes, and I could see his self-blame eating away at him.
“Did you see who it was?” I knew who it was, but I wanted him to remember it all. “Did they say anything?”
“No, I didn’t get a good look at them, but they must have been skilled to get the drop on me like that,” he said shamefully.
“Hey.” I met his gaze, our eyes so similar in their stormy-gray hue. “This isn’t your fault. We’re going to find out who took Liza, and we’ll bring her back home. Safe.”
He nodded, swallowing hard. “I just… I let you both down.”
“Stop that. Right now, we need to focus on finding Liza.” I kept my voice firm but not unkind.
“Okay.” He managed a weak smile. “You’re right. We’ll find her.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, cutting through the tension in the room. I glanced at the screen. Scott, Liza’s father.
Swallowing past the tight anger in my throat, I answered the call. “Scott, what’s going on?”
“Rory’s been rushed into surgery.” He sounded like he was on the last threads of sanity. “The injury to her head was worse than we thought. There’s bleeding on her brain.”
“Shit.” The situation just kept getting worse and worse. Not only was Liza missing, but now Rory was fighting for her life.
“Ty, focus on finding Liza,” Scott pleaded. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose them both.”
“I promise we’re doing everything we can to find her,” I assured him. “We won’t stop until she’s back home, safe and sound.”
“Thank you,” he said before ending the call. As I slipped my phone back into my pocket, I turned back to look at my dad.
He was out of bed and already halfway dressed.
“You sure you should be doing that?” I asked.
He grunted. “Scott shouldn’t have to wait alone, and I’m already healing.”
He wasn’t a man to argue with. “Let’s go.” There wasn’t a second to waste. He told my mom he’d be back soon, and we walked outside.
The cold air bit my skin as we climbed into the car, but it was nothing compared to the icy atmosphere inside the vehicle.
I gripped the wheel tight enough for my knuckles to ache while Dad stared out the window, my thoughts a whirlwind of anger and fear.
“Are you going to be able to keep your emotions in check when we get there?” Dad asked.
“I’ll try.” My anger would only make things worse for everyone involved. “But I can’t promise anything.”
Dad exhaled slowly. “You’re not the only one who’s hurting here. We all love Liza and her mother. We need to focus on finding Liza and making sure Rory is okay.”
