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Someone spoke, but it was a language I didn’t understand, and then the word fuego was used, and I knew that. I remembered someone using it at school, and they said it was Spanish. Were these guys Spanish? Why would Spanish people want to take—
“Ah good, you found her.” I bent my head back to see who the newcomer was, but all I could see were shoes—shiny shoes, to be exact. “My, my, I’ve waited a long time to see you in the flesh.” He halted a couple of feet behind my head but was too close for me to see his face. “Well? Pick her up, then.”
Two hands grabbed me under the arms, and I realized it didn’t matter how much of a fight I put up, I wouldn’t get away, not with four men now surrounding me and my hands tied behind my back.
The newcomer turned, giving me his back, and I took in every inch of him. His suit looked a little big on him, but it was designer for sure. You could tell by the way the material moved with each of his steps. The barn stretched longer than it had looked, and when we were in the middle, he moved to the side, revealing a lone chair.
“I took the liberty of getting you a seat,” the man said, and finally, he turned. His face looked bored, his tan skin showing signs of aging, and I had no idea who the hell he was, but I knew one thing—this guy was the boss. He waved his arm at the chair, and I dug my feet into the floor, trying to stop any momentum the guy holding me had.
His fingers bit into my arm, pinching, and he whispered, “Move, or I’ll slap you again.” He could have slapped me a thousand times, but it wouldn’t matter. I’d been through worse.
“Now, now, no need to be violent,” the boss said, tutting. “Take a seat. I just want to talk.”
“Talk?” I asked, frowning at him. “You don’t kidnap someone who you want to talk to.”
“I know.” He huffed out a breath and shook his head. “But I feared it was the only way to get close to you.” He tilted his head to the side, staring at me like I was a puzzle he was trying to work out. “Sit. I won’t let them hit you. I promise.”
My nostrils flared as I glanced around. There were more guys now scattered around the edges of the barn. There was no way I could put up a fight and win, so I stepped forward and slowly sat in the chair.
“Good.” The boss clapped and shooed the people who had brought me here away but clicked his fingers at the last second. “You understand? Correct?” I had no idea what he was talking about, not until I felt cable ties being wrapped around my ankles and my legs tied to the chair. “A precaution,” he finished, acting like it was nothing.
Another chair was placed in front of me, ten feet away, and he slowly lowered into it, not moving his almost black eyes off me. They looked familiar, and yet, so foreign. He sighed, his chest heaving as he did. “I fear I don’t know where to start.” He tapped his fingers on his thigh. “Maybe with my son? Yes, that’s as good a place as any.”
* * *
FORD
Time was of the essence, which was why I broke almost every traffic law on the way back to the office. I didn’t bother parking my car in a space. I just pulled up outside the
front doors and got out. My legs burned as I ran into the building, and although I wanted to take the stairs, the elevator was faster.
I jammed my thumb down on the button to our floor and clenched my hands by my sides. “I can find out where she is,” I told Brody, watching the numbers as we went past each floor.
“What?”
“I have a tracker on her.” I ground my teeth together and turned to look at Brody. “I gave it to her when she moved in.”
“You have a tracker on my daughter?” he asked, but he didn’t sound so surprised.
“Yeah.” I pushed my shoulders back. “I have several for Leo too.” I stepped forward as we passed the floor below ours. “I’m not taking any chances. Not with the people I love.”
Brody nodded but kept silent, and I wondered if he would have done the same as me in my situation. I could feel the danger lurking on the outskirts, no matter how much I’d wanted to believe it was gone, and the reality was they weren’t safe, not entirely. So I’d taken measures to keep them safe without their knowledge. I just hoped Belle still had her bracelet on that I’d given her. She’d been wearing it this morning, I’d made sure to check. But anything could have happened between then and now, which was what I was afraid of.
The elevator doors whooshed open, and we both rushed out and onto the floor. Several of the team were gathered, waiting for us, and Brody didn’t waste any time in allocating them all jobs. I may have had a tracker on Belle, but that didn’t mean we could rely on it.
I ran across the floor and to my desk, Lottie at my heels, and moved my mouse to bring my computer to life. I cursed as it asked for my password and jammed my fingers on the keys. The screen came to life, but the first thing I saw was an email, the same email which had pinged as I’d left the office.
I clicked on it, my brows furrowing as I read the cover letter, and then I opened the image attached to it with a copy of the birth certificate. And then it all made sense.
Everything clicked and locked into place. The path clear now. A hand clasped my shoulder and spun me around. Brody’s pale face was the first thing I saw, and then his lips were moving, but I couldn’t catch what he was saying.
“What?”
“Garza,” he whispered. “Garza escaped at three this morning.”
I stumbled back, my legs feeling like jello, but my desk saved me from crumpling to the ground. “Why the fuck weren’t we informed?”
“I don’t know,” he gritted out. “But it has to be him. It has to be.”
