Sophie Oak - Siren in Bloom

“In one of my many safe places,” Julian admitted. “I didn’t look at it. I have to admit, I didn’t have the stomach for it at the time. Kitten had just shown up on our doorstep. You were in a depression. Danielle was trying to get pregnant. It kind of slipped away, and then it seemed like a bad idea to get into it.”

Wolf stood. “We need to look at those files. We need to figure out who’s after Shelley. This is about her, and Holder is involved.”

“If I find out he’s the one who killed Ada…” Ben began.

“Do what you need to do,” Julian said. “Just be smart and let me know what the alibi is. I’ll make sure it holds water.”

That was Julian. He was a law in and of himself.

“I want to talk to Shelley,” Wolf said. There was a deep crease between his brows. Leo understood what was going on in his brain. He wanted to find her, hold her, make sure she was safe.

Leo wanted it, too. “She’s in complete lockdown. She doesn’t go outside of this building.” He pulled out his cell to call Chase.

No signal.

What the hell ?

“Wolf? You have your cell?”

One of the bouncers called out for Julian as Wolf pulled his cell. He held it up as though trying to find a signal. Julian waved the bouncer over.

“I have nothing,” Wolf said.

Ben was the same.

“Mr. Lodge, we’re having a problem in security. Everything went black. Harry is working on it, but the cameras went out ten minutes ago, and we can’t get them back on. We tried to call you, but the cells don’t work.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Leo got to his feet, adrenaline pumping through his system. This was how he’d felt when he was going into a mission. “Someone is jamming the whole building.”

Wolf was right behind him. “Shelley.”

Julian began barking orders. “Get everyone you can here now. Find that goddamn jammer and turn it off. I want to know where everyone is. I mean everyone. Every member, every employee, every guest.”

Leo ran, praying the elevators still worked. He was in luck. Ben followed Wolf. Not a one of them had a gun. They weren’t allowed in the dungeon. Wolf’s SIG was in his locker. Wolf reached into his boot and came up with a wicked-looking pitch-black knife. Leo had a similar one in his own boot. He felt naked without some form of weapon on him.

He prayed it would be enough.

The doors opened to the sixteenth floor, and Leo saw it. The door to the condo was wide open. Chase would have secured the door.

“Fuck,” Ben breathed. “They’ve got Chase. I didn’t feel it. How could I not feel that? We’re connected. How could he be gone?”

Chase wouldn’t have hidden. If someone had come for Shelley, they would have had to get through Chase. Though it gave Leo a sick feeling, he had to agree that something very bad had happened to Chase Dawson.

Wolf moved forward, sinking into a standard stance. He kept near the wall, moving with a silent, deadly grace. For the first time, he had to admit that he was willing to follow his brother’s lead. Leo had joined up because he’d wanted out of Colorado, and he’d wanted to help out his mother.

Wolf had joined up because he truly believed. Wolf was a soldier, deep down to his soul. Leo followed him, though his first real instinct was to run screaming into the room. Wolf was right. Leo had been out of the game for far too long.

Wolf entered the condo, his face completely blank. It was only after he realized no one was there that he broke down. The living room was in shambles. The couch had been knocked over, and there was a streak of blood on the coffee table. Two of his lamps had been broken.

“She’s gone.” Leo felt his fists clench. Helpless. He was totally helpless. Shelley was gone. She was out there somewhere. He didn’t know if she was dead or alive or being hurt. His heart clenched.

He’d wasted time. He’d wasted so much fucking time. He loved her. He’d never loved another woman the way he loved Shelley McNamara. She was in his heart, and if she was dead, it wouldn’t matter if his body walked the earth, he would bury himself with her.

“Leo,” Wolf’s calm voice cut through Leo’s panic. “They took her. They want her for something or we would have found a body. Chase, too.”

Ben had made a sweep of the whole condo. “I can’t find any of them. Kitten isn’t here. The living room is the only place that shows signs of a struggle. They took Chase down in here.”

Wolf pointed to a bloody handprint about halfway up the door frame. The fingers trailed as though someone was pulled out of the doorway. “They carried Chase out.”

Leo walked to the master bedroom. He had some guns in a case in his closet. Having his SIG Sauer in his hand might make him feel less helpless. He needed to think. He had to get into those files that Ben and Chase had taken off her computer. The key was buried somewhere in there. Holder had her. With his connections, Holder could get out of the country and disappear very quickly. He could change identities and never miss a paycheck.

But Holder obviously wanted something, and Leo would bet his life that whatever he wanted or his client wanted was in those files.

Bet his life? Fuck all. He was being forced to bet hers.

Wolf walked in, a grim look on his face. He held his spare gun, the one Shelley had stolen earlier in the day. It looked like the third time had been the charm for those bastards.

“Come on, we’re not going to get anything here. We need to track Holder down.” Wolf checked his piece and slid it into the holster he’d put on.

Finding Holder was their only shot. She was out there in the city somewhere.

“All right.” Leo went to open the closet door, and he heard a soft sound.

Wolf went silent.

“Seventy-two. Seventy-three. Seventy-four.” The sound was so quiet he’d almost missed it, but it was soft and feminine. And not Shelley. He opened the door and found Kitten, her arms wrapped around her knees. She held herself in a tight ball, her eyes closed and her mouth moving in her almost silent count.

“Kitten?” Leo felt Wolf move in behind him. Felt his deep disappointment that she wasn’t Shelley. But if Kitten had survived, she might be able to tell them something, anything.

Her eyes flew open, and her lips trembled. “You made Kitten lose count.”

Oh, god. Kitten could be fragile at the best of times. “It’s all right. You don’t have to count.”

Tears squeezed from her eyes. “Shelley told Kitten to. Shelley saved Kitten, and Kitten will do as Shelley said. She told Kitten to count to one hundred after the bad men were gone. But Kitten lost count. Three times. Kitten was never good at math.”

Leo got to one knee in front of her. “Bad men? Do you know how many there were?” Any information would help.

She sniffled. “I think there were four.”

It was the first time since he’d known her that she’d referred to herself in anything but the third person.

“I heard steps, lots of steps, but only four voices. They were cool. They weren’t angry. They had Tasers. They Tasered Kitten’s keeper.” Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. She was so young, and Leo knew how hard this must be for her, yet she was trying.

Wolf got to one knee, his deep voice gentle. “Kitten’s keeper is in danger. Shelley is in danger. Is there anything else you can remember, sweetheart, anything at all? You would make everyone so happy if you could recall even the smallest detail.”

“Did they say anything?” Leo asked, holding his hand out.

Kitten sniffled again and took it. “They told Shelley they would kill Kitten’s keeper if she didn’t show herself. But they were not smart. They thought Master Chase was Master Ben. How could they make that mistake? Master Chase is much different than Master Ben.”