Page 149 of Always Be an Us

Emma gasps and slaps her hand over her mouth, her eyeballs wide and aghast.

I remain still, but inside I'm seething.

"How the fuck did you not stop them?" It takes effort to say the words without the murderous intent overwhelming me. "Isn't that what I hired you for?"

"There were too many," Monty says. "Like six of them. They got the drop on me and knocked me out before I even knew what was happening."

"Oh God," Emma whispers horrified. "What is going on?"

I don’t even know how to respond to her, because I don’t know what to say.

My ears are ringing and I feel like the top of my head is about to blow off. On the outside, I might be the picture of calm, but inside there’s a swirling mass of pure rage within me.

Everything before was child's play.

Now I'm mad.

They took my daughter.

They're going to pay for that.

"Sir?" Sandy's voice is tentative and apologetic. "Hi. This is my fault too. I wasn't there when they took Amelia because I went back to get her more ice cream. I should never have left her alone."

"I don't give a damn whose fault this is." I pinch my nose, trying to suppress the urge to scream. "Just find her. The two of you look around the neighborhood. Ask anyone if they saw her or know where the men went."

"We're already on that," Monty says. "The lobby boy said he saw them leave, but according to him, they walked out calmly so he didn't think anything of it."

"Of course." God only knows what those bastards threatened my daughter with to get her to comply.

"Just keep looking. Call me if you find anything." I hang up and shut my eyes, inhaling deeply.

This is a total nightmare.

I briefly consider calling Rachel to tell her what happened, but I immediately axe the idea.

As her mother, Rachel has the right to know but the last thing I need is her panicking and calling the police. These people are unpredictable. If we spook them, God only knows what they'll do.

Okay, think about this clearly, Declan.You know what they want.They'll probably call me any moment now, demanding the pearls for my daughter. I would hand them over in a heartbeat, except that I'm pretty sure the culprit may know that I'm onto him.

In which case, they would do everything to keep me quiet and that complicates this massively.

I need to find Amelia before they make their next move.

I face Nate again and he pales at the look in my eyes. "Where has he taken her?"

"I don’t..." He shakes his head. "I really don't know. I had nothing to do with this."

But I’m no longer willing to hear that. I grab Nate by his shirt and pull him until the bars slam into his face.

Jensen calls out behind us but I ignore him, focusing on Nate. "Let me explain something to you, kid. Right now you still have a chance, a rare chance to make things right. I can forgive you for coming to my office and messing with my equipment. Heck, I will even drop all the charges right now. I’m sure Emma will be happy to do so too."

Nate whimpers as I pull him even harder, the side of his head squeezing between the metal bars. "But let me be very clear that if anything happens to my daughter, I will kill you." I whisper the last part into his ear. "This is not a threat, this is a promise. And if I can't kill you, I will make your every living moment hell on earth. There’s no hole deep enough for you to hide from my wrath. I will go to the very ends of the earth if I have to. And I won't stop until I make each and every one of you pay. Do you understand me?"

I let him see the enraged animal in my eyes. The hotel is one thing, but going after my daughter unleashes a whole new beast.

"What's going on here?" I hear Jensen walking up from his table. "Let him go, bud. We may be friendly and all, but I can't let you harass prisoners."

I ignore Jensen watching as real fear and shame crawls onto Nate's face. When I finally release him, he falls back and his shoulders sag in defeat.

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