Page 35 of Azrael

“What about the blood?”Ashes asked, picking up the small baggie and holding it to the light.

“Not much of it,” I replied.“Single drop in the kitchen.We’ll need to get it tested to confirm it’s hers.I’m sure Doc could help us out, or a contact in the police department.”

“And how will you know it’s hers?”Ashes asked.

“Compare it to Zara’s?If there’s roughly a fifty percent match, then we know it belongs to a parent, right?”I asked.

Charming leaned forward, placing both hands flat on the table.“Here’s what we know: Mazida Quadir is missing.Signs of struggle but minimal blood.No forced entry.Nothing of value taken.A warning postcard received recently.”He looked at each of us in turn.“What we don’t know is who took her, why, or where Zara fits into this.”

“The phone might tell us something,” I suggested, gesturing to the cracked device on the table.“Text messages, calls, emails.”

Ashes nodded.“I’ll get it to Shade immediately.If there’s anything on it, he’ll find it.”

“Locked?”Charming asked, eyeing the phone.

“Password protected,” I confirmed.“But that won’t stop Shade for more than a few minutes.”

Ashes collected the phone, tucking it into his pocket before standing.“I’ll take this to him now.Want me to bring him back when he’s got something?”

Charming nodded.“We need to move quickly on this.If they’ve had her for three days already, time isn’t on our side.”

“Longer,” I said.“Zara has been with me for three days now.Her mom has been gone since before then.Not sure exactly what day she went missing.Could have been closer to a week by now.I think Zara said it had been a few days since her mom had disappeared.”

As Ashes left, Charming turned back to us.“Gator, I want you to reach out to your contacts in south Florida.That postcard origin might not be coincidence.”

Gator nodded, already pulling out his phone.“On it, Prez.”

“Havoc,” Charming continued, “get some of the brothers together.Start canvassing hospitals and morgues.Discreetly.We need to know if Mazida has turned up elsewhere.”

“Will do,” Havoc responded, his face grim with determination.

Charming’s gaze finally landed on me.“Azrael, I want you to stick with Zara.Until we know who took her mom and why, she could very well be a target.”

I nodded, already planning to do exactly that.

“Good.”Charming sat back, his fingers steepled beneath his chin.“One more thing -- this stays close.Club business only for now.We don’t know who we’re dealing with or what their reach might be.”

“You thinking this might connect back to Mazida’s past?”I asked, voicing the question that had been nagging me since we’d found the postcard.

Charming’s expression darkened.“Mazida left the Middle East for a reason.Fled, more accurately.She’s kept a low profile for decades, but some enemies have long memories.”

“And they have a longer reach,” Havoc added ominously.

“How do you know she was laying low?”I asked, genuinely curious.

“Because those types of men would have gone looking, and I doubt her being married would have stopped them from retaliating.”

The door opened, and Ashes returned with Shade trailing behind him.The club’s hacker looked as he always did -- slightly disheveled, his hazel eyes sharp behind his glasses.At sixty-four, Shade remained the best technical mind in the club.

“Got something already?”Charming asked, surprised.

Shade nodded, adjusting his glasses.“Phone wasn’t as locked down as it could have been.Simple six-digit code.Took less than two minutes to crack.”He sat at the table, placing a small notebook in front of him.“Last received call was over a week ago, duration four minutes, twelve seconds.Caller ID listed as ‘Unknown.’”

“Any texts?”Gator asked.

Shade flipped a page in his notebook.“Several, most mundane.Shopping lists, reminders for appointments.But there’s a thread with an unknown number that’s interesting.”He looked up, meeting Charming’s gaze.“Your time is up.”

A heavy silence settled over the room as the implications sank in.Did that mean Mazida was possibly dead?Or had they meant something else?

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