Page 49 of Married to the SEAL
This would make everything all right, the sight of her son and knowing he would soon be nestled in her arms. She’d missed him so much while she was gone and their brief reunion before his nap this morning hadn’t filled the void that had been left by his absence.
She peered over the edge of his crib rail with a smile on her face and froze.
The crib was empty.
30
She looked franticallyaround the room, reaching for the light switch and turning it on. The window was open, a cool breeze blowing the curtains, a dresser moved out of the way, but her mind refused to acknowledge the scene.
Someone must have heard the baby crying and taken him, trying to be helpful. The maid or her father. One of the other staff. Somebody.
She walked into the hallway just as Trudy came around the corner.
“Have you seen the baby?” she heard the frantic edge in her voice, registered the concern on the maid’s face in response to it.
“Isn’t he down for a nap?”
“My father must have taken him. I’m sure that’s it.”
“No, ma’am. Your father left more than an hour ago, before the police came.”
The police. The police were here because Mason had been here, right in her room. How had Mason gotten inside?
“Matteo!”She was running now, screaming his name and flying back down the long hallway as fast as her feet would take her. All she could see in her mind’s eye was the note that had been left in the baby’s crib weeks before.
Bastard.
Matteo was in the hallway, jogging toward her. “What is it?”
“The baby! Nico’s gone. Somebody took my son.”
Then Matteo was on his phone barking out orders to close the gates, call in the security team, to stop anyone on the premises.
The light of her life was gone. An overwhelming dizziness swept over her and her vision got dark around the edges. She passed out before she hit the ground.
31
Matteo was pacing.
It had all been right in front of him the whole time, and he blamed himself for not putting two and two together.
Grace’s lover was involved in the plot to take down her father. The whole scene this afternoon was nothing more than a distraction to keep the household occupied and the baby alone.
Alone and vulnerable.
Mason Petrovich was in custody and not talking. Hell, they probably couldn’t even hold him for very long even though he was clearly involved. He wasn’t the one who had kidnapped Nico.
Matteo stared at President Vasile, suspicion getting the better of him. “Did you know her boyfriend was part of Ten Komanda?”
“I told you she needed protection.”
“Oh, my God. You knew.”
“I wasn’t certain.”
Matteo hung his head in his hands. “You should have fucking told me.”
“I couldn’t prove it.”
