Page 18 of Shadowed Vows: Ghost
I hold up a hand as the others arrive one by one: Damian, his hands clean but his eyes still cold from the interrogation; Jax "Nitro" Ryder, restlessly pacing; Remy "Saint" Vance, finding a spot near Cole; and finally Xander "Chaos" Holt, his powerful frame filling the doorway before he closes it behind him.
I look at each of them—my team, my family. The confession I'm about to make presses down on my heart like a concrete slab.
"We've got a situation," I begin, voice deliberate, each word weighted. "Roman's missing."
The reaction is immediate. Jax stops pacing. Asher's eyes narrow. Cole pushes off the wall.
"What do you mean, missing?" Cole's voice is sharp.
"He's been gone for three weeks. No contact, no trace."
"Why are we just hearing about this now?" Damian's voice is a low growl.
"Because officially, he's on his annual 'off-grid' vacation. But he was supposed to check in once a week through our secure channel. He's missed three check-ins."
Asher's eyes narrow. "And you kept this from us why?"
"Because Roman's contingency protocol was clear—investigate quietly first, full team mobilization only if there's confirmed trouble." I meet each of their gazes. "And because I hoped he'd resurface. But now we've got bigger problems."
"What kind of problems?" Xander asks, his deep voice rumbling through the room.
I take a deep breath. "Before he disappeared, Roman told me he suspected one of our clients might be involved in human trafficking."
The room goes deathly silent. Shock and anger ripple through my team.
"Who?" Remy's voice is tight with controlled fury.
I shake my head. "He didn't say. He wanted to be sure before he brought it to the team."
"And now he's gone," Asher says quietly, his sniper's eyes sharp with understanding.
"Our priority is locating Roman and exposing the facts about this client. We've got to move with precision. If this information leaks..."
"CPG goes down," Jax finishes.
"And Nightfall with it," Cole adds, his tactical mind already churning through strategies.
I look at each of them, these men I trust with my life. "I need your full focus on this. Whatever it takes, we find Roman, and we shut down this trafficking operation."
"Until we hear otherwise, I'm taking the lead." The words taste bitter. I don't want to believe the worst has happened, but we can't afford to be rudderless.
"Any leads on where he might be?" Jax asks.
"Roman was tracking unusual shipping containers coming through Pier 70. Manifests listing electronics that weighed far more than they should. Financial records showing payments to security personnel at times when no official shipments were scheduled."
"Why didn't he bring us in?" Remy asks, voice tight with concern.
"He wanted to keep it off the books. Protect us if things went south."
Damian steps forward. "The leak's been contained. Thompson was the only one compromised, as far as we can tell."
I nod at him, face impassive. One problem solved—permanently. "Good. But we need to stay vigilant. If Roman's suspicions are correct, we could be in deep shit."
"What's our next move?" Asher asks.
"We keep digging. Quietly. I want every scrap of intel on our high-profile clients. Anything that might point to what Roman was investigating."
The team nods, conviction replacing uncertainty.
