Page 76 of Rescued Hearts

“Tell him you’re ready to give him the diamonds. Set up a time and place to meet. But tell him it took you a long time to pack up after the festival and you’re delayed.”

She nodded and brushed her hair off her face. “I’m ready.”

Fear still lingered in her eyes. He felt it too. That wouldn’t fade until they got her sister back.

When he dialed and put the call on speaker, he could hear a pin drop in the office. No one moved or even seemed to breathe.

When Sully answered on the third ring, he sounded a little out of breath.

Gray’s gaze shot to Carson’s. It was clear that his brother had the same question running through his mind with a dozen possibilities about why her ex might be winded.

She quickly gave Sully the script as Gray had coached her.

A long pause throbbed by.

Too long.

Honor reached out for Gray, and he steadied her against his side.

“Text me in an hour,” Sully finally roughed out. The line went dead.

A soft wail spilled out of Honor. She clapped a hand to her mouth and twisted into Gray’s hold. He cupped her face to his chest and looked at his brothers. “Two teams. One goes to the location where the tracker says Felicity’s phone is. One goes to wherever the asshole says to meet.”

His brothers nodded in agreement.

“And while we wait, I’m going to make Honor some tea.”

Chapter Eighteen

The ranch’s kitchen seemed like the only place in the world that wasn’t spinning out of control.

Honor stepped through the doorway, trailing behind Gray. The soft glow of the lights over the space and in the center of a big wooden table grounded her in ways she hadn’t expected.

Willow already had the kettle going, a whisper in the background. For one moment, everything stilled inside Honor. The sharp edges of fear dulled despite the fact they were waiting for the hourglass to run out.

One hour until she could text Sully and find out how to get her sister back.

Gray led her to one of the wooden chairs and saw her settled before he crossed the kitchen to an open shelf stacked with mugs. He shifted a few around and finally chose two.

She watched him, the way his broad shoulders moved, his long, callused fingers setting tea bags into the cups and draping the strings over the sides. He didn’t speak. None of the Malones did. The silence was thick but not empty, each of them deep in thought. She could almost hear the gears of the minds of every member of Black Heart Security as they thought ahead and examined the crime from all angles.

Gray glanced at his phone and pocketed it once more.

The kettle let out a low whistle. Before it grew shrill, Willow switched off the burner and carried the pot over to the mugs Gray had prepared.

She poured the hot water into them. They stood shoulder to shoulder, their relationship as close as she and Felicity’s. Her throat tightened.

Willow twisted her head and looked at the wall clock. It was old, with a group of butterflies circling the face in place of numbers. The piece seemed both out of place in the ranch house’s modern touches, yet as at home as the array of mugs on the shelf.

When Gray carried their tea to the table and set one down in front of Honor, she wrapped both hands around the cup, grateful for the warmth in her chilled body. One by one, the family all gathered in the kitchen as if they knew there was strength in numbers.

In family.

They all grabbed their drinks of choice. Colt had a bottled water, Carson coffee and Oaks an energy drink, while Willow also had tea.

Colt set his phone on the table and swiped a finger across the screen. The time flashed up in harsh relief. Forty-eight more minutes to go.

How was she ever going to survive this cruel waiting game?

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