Page 85 of Hunted Hearts
Juliette was gone. And now they were threatening hishome.
They knew where his family lived.
Theo’s knees nearly buckled.
“Willow, lock all the doors and windows,” Denver barked out.
“I did. And Decker’s with me. He’s got a rifle. No one’s getting past him.”
“Copy that. Stay safe.”
He met Denver’s gaze. A hundred things transmitted between them.
“I’ll track the call, Theo. We’ll get her back.”
Theo exhaled through his nose. His world was spiraling.
“We have to act fast.Fuck.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the emotions on the verge of erupting. “I can’t believe I let this happen.”
Gray strode in. “They’re trying to scare us. Make us back off. Cause mistakes.”
“It’s working,” Theo growled. “But we’re not going to make this easy on them.”
“We got this. We’ll get her back, brother.” Gray’s voice pitched low with the vow.
Denver met his stare. “It’s not over yet. I can get my guy on my SEAL team on a trace,” Denver said. “The phone’s a burner, but if we can get the signal again—”
“I need him back on the line,” Theo interrupted.
Seconds later, the phone rang again with a different number.
Theo snatched it out of Denver’s hand. “You want us to comply? Fine. Give me your terms.”
“Tonight. You bring everything, every file on a drive, to the coordinates I’ll send you.”
“How do you know we won’t copy it?”
“You think we don’t have ways of knowing? I’ve been watching you, Malone. You want her alive, you’ll do what we say.”
“I want her alive,” Theo said, deadly calm. “But you so much as fuckingbruiseher and you’ll see just how far I’ll go.”
He hung up.
Denver rubbed the back of his neck. “We need his coordinates faster. If my guy can’t track the number, we’re flying blind.”
Theo turned to Gray. “What if we make it look like we’re complying?”
“You’re thinking bait?”
“I’m thinking war.”
Gray’s lips thinned. “You know what that’ll take?”
“Every one of us,” Theo said. “And then some.”
His heart was pounding, but not in fear.
Inrage.
