Page 76 of Dangerous Devotion

As soon as Goofy brought the Jeep to a stop, I yanked open the door with more force than necessary before I realized it was welded shut. I vaulted over it, my feet hitting the pavement before the others even moved, and hunkered down, myweapon trained in the opposite direction. Hero was the second one out and crouched down beside me.

There was no movement, no sound, nothing to disturb the sounds of nature.

I waited until Goofy tapped my back twice.

I sprinted to Dom’s and Dante’s SUV, its doors wide open, as fast as I could.

I reached my brother’s side and searched for the pulse on the side of his neck with trembling fingers.

For a moment, I couldn’t feel anything, and my world threatened to collapse. Then, faint but steady, I felt the pulse beneath my fingertips. I let out a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

My gaze met Hero’s, who felt Dom’s pulse. “Strong and steady,” he whispered.

I nodded.

We moved quickly to the next vehicle, finding Hawk and Max in similar states. I checked them both, my movements becoming more frantic with each passing second. Alive but unresponsive.

What the actual fuck?

But my relief was short-lived and evaporated entirely when I looked into the back. Phantom and Rey. No Jemma, no Bella, no Mira.

A knot of dread grew in my stomach. Where were they?

I looked over to the last vehicle. Donnelly and his men—also unconscious but breathing. No Birdie, no Milli. Not a single woman.

I observed the tree line, but there was no sign of anyone—just complete and eerie silence.

“They’re all alive,” I announced to the others, my voice sounding hollow even to my own ears. “But the women are gone.”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I surveyed the scene before me. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

“Jemma!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the silence. “Bella! Mira!”

No response. Just the mocking silence of nature.

I moved frantically between the vehicles, searching for any sign of where they might’ve gone. A scrap of clothing, a dropped phone, anything. But there was nothing. It was as if they’d vanished into thin air.

Or were taken.

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. They were gone. Taken. My wife, my sisters—all snatched away while I sat on my ass, twiddling with a knife, thinking I was being smart by sending them away.

I stood in the middle of the road, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps as I fought to maintain control.

My vision turned narrow as hot rage bubbled up inside me, threatening to overwhelm everything else.

How could this have happened? Who could’ve known? And who could have pulled this off?

My mind raced, trying to connect the dots between the poisoning attempt and this attack.

“This was fast, coordinated, professional, and almost too precise,” Goofy said next to me.

I nodded. Stared at my incapacitated friends and family, feeling more helpless than I had in years.

The woman I loved was gone, along with my sisters. Taken right from under my nose.

This was too good, almost too coordinated for my father. But who else could’ve done this?

But I wouldn’t put it past him to use the women as leverage.

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