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"We'd be hearing about it," Theo interrupts. "A roadside shooting isn't exactly an everyday thing in these parts. Collin would've filled us in.”
"Yeah?" Liam glances at him. "Last we heard from him, he was on his way to the shootout at Tristan's safe house. For all we know, Lucas' men could've gotten him.”
"Maybe," Theo repeats quietly.
Liam doesn't like the look on his friend's face. "Don't," he says. "Don't even think it.”
"I'm not.”
"I know you, man." Liam glances his way. "I know what you're thinking. Don't fucking say it. She's fine." But even as he says it, he catches himself wondering who he's trying to convince… Theo, or himself.
Theo drums his fingers on the dashboard, trying to heed his friend's advice and failing. If anything happens to Vivian, he'll never forgive himself. He glances at Liam, who's following the road ahead with a set jaw, his eyes narrowed. The sky's just starting to lighten, and it's a beautiful sight as the sun gets ready to creep over the horizon. “I’m calling ahead,” he says finally. ”They may have beaten us there and forgotten to check in.”
Liam glances at him. "You sure? We still don't know who sold us out. If they've got eyes on the place—"
"I know," Theo replies, looking at him, and then adds, "I'm sure." Setting his jaw, he dials the number to the safe house they're barreling towards. It rings and rings, the tension in his body increasing, and when his man at the safe house, Mark, picks up, he closes his eyes in relief.
"Mark," he says, running a hand through his hair.
"Boss," comes the voice on the other end. "What do you need?”
"We're almost to the rendezvous point," Theo replies. "I need a report on Tristan and Vivian.”
There's a long moment of silence, and Theo's heart begins to pound. He looks at Liam, who's keeping his eyes on the road but listening intently, and then says, "You there?”
"I'm here, boss. It's just…"
"What?" Theo leans forward in his seat. "What is it?”
"We're still waiting on Tristan and Mrs. Emmerico," Mark replies. "We haven't heard a thing. We were starting to think they'd met up with you two already.”
And just like that, Theo's blood runs cold. Liam, perhaps sensing the tension, glances at him and says, "What? What is it?”
Theo doesn't respond immediately. "You're saying they never arrived?”
“Never.” his agent's reply is tinged with growing worry. "Is... Are you saying they're not with you?”
"No," Theo replies. "No, they're not.Fuck."He glances out the window, fear and anger rising within him as he struggles to piece together what happened. He looks at Liam, who's still waiting for him to explain, covers the mouthpiece, and says, "Pull over.”
“Here?"
"Now, Liam.”
Liam stares at him for a moment longer before putting on his hazards and slowing down to park along the side of the road.
“Boss?"
"Get to a computer," Theo instructs his underling, switching into a state of cold calculation. It's either that or let his worry consume him. "I want someone on the police scanner, and I want eyes on the safe house. Do you have a way to check the car's GPS?”
"I think so," Mark replies, sounding worried, but to his credit, he doesn't balk at the instruction. "Give me a minute.”
Liam watches from the driver's seat as Theo undoes his seat belt, climbs out, and begins to pace alongside the car. Swearing under his breath, the blond kills the engine and follows him out, holding up his arms. "What the fuck is going on?" he demands.
"If they never checked in with the safe house, that means something happened," Theo says, not looking at him as he stalks back and forth with the phone to his ear. "Damnit.”
A jolt of fear goes through Liam at that, but he clamps down on it, telling himself to be cool. Hard to do, when the woman he's falling hard and fast for has suddenly gone MIA. "What do we do?" he asks.
That gets Theo's attention, and he looks at Liam, his silver eyes flashing in the low light. "We find them," he says. "That's what.” He looks like he's about to say something else, but then he turns his attention back to the phone as the voice on the other end says something. Liam sees his friends' jaw twitch, and then Theo says, "All right. Thank you. Keep me posted." Hanging up the phone, the older Emmerico brother taps the roof of the car and pulls open the door. "Flip a u-turn," he says. "We're heading back.”
