Page 64 of Niall

Had she stayed in Heidi’s room?

Evan didn’t respond. He cut to the main floor, and I watched as Heidi stopped at the front desk, spoke with Una, then headed out the front door. A car waited, the same one as the other day, only this time, the driver got out and helped her stow the bag in the trunk. I frowned, staring at the screen. He still had a beard, but his hair wasn’t long. And the suit jacket he wore was too big—he was much slimmer than I had originally thought.

Clarity hit me, and I turned to Evan.

“It was shortly before that when the signal died,” he confirmed. “It came back as the car started to move, then disappeared again.”

“She’s in the suitcase,” I said, stunned and horrified. “They stuffed her in a suitcase and took her out of here with everyone watching.”

Just then, the driver turned, faced the camera, and smiled.

And my blood ran cold.

“It’s Juan!” I shouted. I turned to Finn. “He’s fucking alive, and they got her.”

Finn grabbed my shoulders.

“And we’ll get her back.” He shook me. “I fucking promise.”

Around me was chaos. Evan was typing away, trying to find camera angles and search for the signal. Finn phoned Roman, telling him what happened.

“It’s Juan,” he muttered. “He’s alive.”

I heard Roman’s shouted reply. “Jesus fucking Christ! We’re on our way.”

Una showed up, Finn telling her what we had discovered. She burst into tears, collapsing against his chest. He pulled her out of the room.

I was numb.

I promised Anna I would keep her safe. I insisted there was no better place than right here in this hotel. I had her watched. Finn had extra men.

And still, she was taken.

Simply the thought of how terrified she must be caused a chasm to split my chest in two. Knowing what a sick, twisted man Juan was, I was stagnant with fear. I watched the images on the screen over and over. My Anna, my darling, had been shoved into a suitcase and wheeled out of here like yesterday’s soiled laundry heading to the cleaners. My anger began to boil inside me, the rage bringing me to my feet.

“Give me a job. Now.”

Evan looked up just as it happened. My phone lit up. My watch vibrated. In my bag I had flung on the floor when I rushed in, a signal sounded from my laptop.

Anna’s SOS.

“Holy shit, it’s still working,” Evan muttered, grabbing my phone. “It’s weak.”

“Can you locate it?”

“I’ll try.”

He sat down at the computer and started typing. Finn and Una came back, her red-eyed and Finn holding a sheet of paper.

“Una had a thought, Evan.”

“What?” he asked, not looking up.

“When you check in, we require a cell number. I have hers—if it’s real,” Una said.

He held out his hand, and Finn gave him the paper. Evan turned to another colleague. “Ben, check this out.”

Ben grabbed the paper, sitting down and typing fast.