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Chapter five
Silas
Therewasamoment, a single heartbeat, where I let myself panic. I let myself consider every terrible outcome that could possibly arise from the words my best friend had just spoken. I felt, for that brief moment, all the pain and heartache and utter devastation that would rain down upon me if those terrible scenarios were to come to pass, and for that single solitary moment in time, I wanted to die.
In the next instant, I shoved it all aside. There was no possible way I was going to let anything like that happen. I thought living in a different state from her was difficult? There was no way I could ever survive in a world where Daphne Pennington did not exist.
Before Stone could even speak, I was on my phone, dialing a number that had become distressingly familiar in the last two years.
“Hey there, brother. Didn’t expect to hear from you till next week.”
“Hack,” I said briskly. “Daphne has been kidnapped.”
“Holy fuck. Are you serious?” I could already hear the keyboard in the background clicking a mile a minute.
“Yes. I need a last known and a trace. As fast as you can.” I raised my eyes to see Stone frowning at me. I didn’t have time to explain, so I simply shook my head. How did you tell your best friend that you had been having your motorcycle riding ex-Army buddy illegally cyber-stalk his little sister on your behalf for the last two years and not have him punch you in the face?
To avoid Stone’s uncomfortable scrutiny, I shifted my gaze to Gideon. He hadn’t moved from his chair, but he was also on his phone. I guessed I wasn’t the only one with contacts and a list of favors a mile long. I assumed that eventually the FBI would get involved, but I planned on finding Daphne long before law enforcement even got their heads out of their asses.
“I’m on it.” I listened while Hack worked his magic, and focused on pushing back those feelings. The overwhelming feelings of helplessness that I experienced whenever things seemed to be spiraling out of my control. I closed my eyes, seeing nothing but flames and blood in my vision, and took a deep breath.
There was no way I would let history repeat itself. I couldn’t.
“Okay.” Hack’s voice drew me out of my darkness. “She was in Yonkers about two hours ago, but her phone’s been turned off. I can’t get a trace until she turns it on again.” I appreciated his assumption that she’d be able to.
“Keep tracking her. If she turns it back on, I want to know immediately. In the mean time, you got anyone in New York that can hook me up with a kit?”
“You thinkin’ about goin’ after her?”
“Damn right, I’m going after her.” As if anyone could stop me. Stone approached me, his eyes wide and his face tight. “I’ll need a full rescue kit, as well as enough weaponry and ammo to do the job. I don’t care what, just have me loaded.”
“Hedge, man,” Hack started warily, and I blinked at his use of my old nickname. “You can’t go off half-cocked here like some glorified Captain America. Not alone. Let me—”
“No,” I cut him off, not prepared to listen to him try to talk me down. “Just get what me what I need. I don’t want to have to waste anytime once I get there. I’ll owe you.”
“You will not, brother. This is what we do. I’ll be in touch.”
He disconnected the call, and I turned to Stone. “How quickly can you get us in the air?”
“I’ll make the call. Gideon, can you hold down the fort here while Silas and I go to New York?”
“Of course,” the big man said, his face looking like it was carved from granite. “I’ve also contacted someone at the bureau. You should be hearing from her shortly. Agent Eve Styles. We worked together, and she handles…delicate situations like this all the time. I assure you, there will be no leaks to the press from her.”
Shit. I hadn’t even considered that.
“You think this is a ransom thing?”
The blood drained from Stone’s face. “They haven’t contacted anyone yet. I—I don’t know what they want, but whatever it is, I’ll give it to them.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Stone.” Gideon was the picture of calm, his voice smooth and his posture relaxed. It was exactly the way I should have been behaving. It’s what I had trained to do; be calm in the face of chaos.
But I couldn’t be. I felt as if I had lightning in my veins. The need to be moving, heading to Daphne was so great, it was as if my skin would burst open any minute. “She has not been gone that long,” Gideon continued, doing his best to reassure Stone. “It appears that Silas has his own methods of tracking her, so I would say you already have an advantage.” He looked to me, his face full of wry amusement. “I wish I could be there when you have that conversation.”
I just stared back, not willing to feel an ounce of shame for my behavior. It would help us find her faster, and I fucking knew it.
“Give me all the shit you want, but I refuse to apologize,” I growled. “I did what I did, and you can all shut up about it.”
Gideon only nodded, and I felt my defenses lowering, which was a good thing. I was like a ticking time bomb; one wrong move, one look, and I was likely to blow. And I wouldn’t care who I took with me.
Stone was busy typing on his phone, and appeared to have missed the exchange between Gideon and me, raising his head and stating, “They’re readying the jet now. We can be wheels up in under an hour.”
“Let’s go, then.” I was itching to move, do something, anything, that would get me to Daphne faster. “I have Hack looking for her, and you know he’s the best, so if something comes up, we’ll be the first to know.”
“And the FBI is going to be working the more traditional channels.” Gideon rose and placed his hand on Stone’s shoulder. “We will get her back.” He looked to me, his gaze full of understanding. “You can count on it.”
I wish I had his faith. I wish I could stand here and know that I had the power to bring Daphne safely home. But for all my skills, all my training, and all Stone’s money, the only thing I could see was the blank, dead-eyed stare of the last woman who had relied on me to save her.
The memory of that failure left me cold.
