CHAPTER 1
DARIO
I slid my phone out and checked the screen again, clenching my teeth in irritation when I still had no notifications awaiting me.
I had told Arran and the head of the team I sent to meet them all off the plane from Chicago to let me know as soon as they got back to the house and Cara was safe. By my estimation, that should have happened by now. In fact, they should have returned home an hour ago, but still I’d heard nothing and I was getting antsy. Something felt off.
“I can’t believe the police didn’t show up,” Rafe puffed out as he walked over to where I stood.
It was late and fucking freezing. We were at the docks, having been called there by our men after a shipment they were overseeing the unloading of exploded just as our client’s team had gotten close enough to start the transfer. Two men had been killed and two others were injured. Our clients—a one percenter MC we were importing guns for—were less than pleased.
“Did they find anything we can use to narrow down who’s responsible?” I asked.
“Our men are still looking through the debris, but I don’t think they’ll find anything. This is happening too often. We needto tighten up security down here, and maybe even send some escorts with our cargo for the time being,” he sighed.
I knew he was exhausted. We both were. We’d barely slept in the last two days as we worked to find Gia and where the hell she was, and had been, for the ten days she’d lied. She hadn’t touched any of her bank accounts, and her phone records showed only the phone calls and messages between her and Rafe since the day she left. If any of her friends knew about her plan, they weren’t saying anything, and we literally had no leads to try and find her. I fully planned to search her room when I got back home. She had lost her right to privacy, as far as I was concerned. Rafe needed to find her, and I’d do all I could to make that happen.
“I’ll see it’s done,” I agreed easily.
“Have you heard from Arran?”
“No, and I’m getting worried. They should be home by now. I’m going to give him a ring,” I explained, my phone already in my hand.
“Maybe they just crashed when they got in. Two long flights in four days. They must be exhausted.”
I tried Arran first, and when his phone went right to the voicemail, I tried Callan. His didn’t even go to voicemail. I tried Cara next, and it just rang and rang, until that eventually switched to voicemail too.
“Rafe!” I called as I turned to look for him, and found him directing the team of guys who had arrived to help clean up the mess. He looked over to me, and must have sensed my worry as he rushed closer.
“What’s happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but Arran, Cal, and Cara aren’t answering their phones,” I explained as I hit Brax’s contact and listened to it ring. “Find out who went to meet them at the airport, and start making calls.”
“We’ll do that on the way. Let’s get to the airfield!” Rafe called as he started running to the car.
I called for two of the three teams who were now at the docks, to follow us, and watched as they ran for their cars, before I jumped in with Rafe.
“I should have gone to meet them!” Rafe cursed as he sped away from the car park and onto the quiet London roads. “This was probably a fucking distraction!”
“Probably,” I agreed, ending the call on Brax’s voicemail. “Brax’s phone rang out too. I’m trying the others.”
I continued making calls as Rafe drove like he had a death wish, towards the private airfield, which the plane had been due to land at.
We made the forty-minute drive in just over twenty, and by the time Rafe pulled onto the tarmac, I had tried every one of our guys who were either on the plane with Cara or had gone to meet them at the airport, and not one of them had answered.
“Fuck!” I cursed as Rafe brought the car to a stop abruptly.
Ahead of us I could see the company plane, and surrounding it were at least a dozen police cars, the blue lights lighting up the area. We were too far away to make out specifics, but there were bodies on the ground, and the SUVs, which our guys would have used to drive there, sat amongst the chaos.
“Dario…” Rafe said as he turned to me with a mix of fear and rage on his face.
“She’s not there. Cara is not there, Rafe! Whoever did this, they’d want her alive. She’d be no use dead. They took her and they’re going to contact you,” I rushed to tell him. I had to believe that just as much as he did, because I would not consider the alternative.
“We need to find out.” Rafe put the car into gear and started to move towards the scene before us, but the car had barely moved when his phone beeped from the cup holder between us.
Rafe braked again, and looked to me as I picked up the device. There was a notification for a message, and I clicked on it.
“Unknown number,” I told him as I held the phone between us, so we could both see the screen.
