Page 39 of Oblivion

“We believe it was immediately prior to her being removed from the house.”

Randall piped up. “That’s got to be someone she knows, right? Surely that’s a positive? If she was harmed already, chances are whoever took her would have sent a picture of her banged up.”

Jackson hummed. “I’m on the same thought process, Ran. However, it may be a method to lure us into complacency. As always, the sooner we find her, the better. So far, the only correspondence has been through that one email, and since this hasn’t hit the media yet, our best bet is to set up surveillance at the Prescott residence for the time being, and also run traces on the email.”

I exhaled forcefully. “Does the father have any known enemies, aside from the usual political bullshit?”

Jackson pursed his lips. “No. However, four months ago, Penelope received a document on her twenty-first birthday, indicating that Paul is not her biological father. As of this morning, it is still unclear if the two incidents are related.”

I thought back four months. I knew for a fact that Penny’s birthday had been the weekend before their girls trip to Vegas. The realization that I’d been nothing more than a means to escape actually fucking stung a bit. Ironic, really, since I’d used her body for the same purpose.

Tate leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think the incidences are related. They’re four months apart. Unless the kidnapper has the patience of a saint, I say it’s purely coincidental.”

He had a point. However, the speculation was pulling us off task. I was impatient to get on with finding her already.

“Any known hangouts or criminal associates?”

Jackson set his forearms on the table and shook his head.

“No criminal associates. Hangouts include the bar she and her friends frequent, multiple restaurants along the eatery strip, and the mall. No other places of interest. She keeps a tight friend circle and isn’t prone to reckless behaviour.”

I caught the snicker just in time. The Penny I’d encountered in Vegas definitely didnotfitthatdescription.

“Other questions?” Jackson asked. He then rose to his feet. “Tate, I’ll leave you to it. I don’t need to tell you guys what to do; you know your shit. But, I will say that Dante has vast experience with extraction and high-risk personal protection. Use his skill set to our advantage.”

“So, about you not telling us how to do our job...” Tate drawled, then smirked.

Jackson waved a hand. “Yeah yeah, I’ll fuck off already and be back later—sooner if it’s urgent. And urgent means we have a location and are gearing up to move in,” he clarified, already half-way out the door.

I shifted closer to Tate. “So, how are we going to play this?”

He quirked his lips to the side briefly, then he addressed us as a team. “History suggests the next correspondence will also be via email, but there’s also a potential direct threat at the Prescott home. I suggest we divide in half. Put one team on street surveillance while the other pulls as much background information about Prescott as we can. We might find something that links both occurrences. Lars, work on tracing that email. Randall, you’re on scouring local security footage.”

“I’ll stake out,” I stated, giving zero room for him to blow me off.

I wanted to be the first to get my hands on the bastard who took her. My fingers already twitched to make contact with flesh.

“Good. You take Makka. I’ll leave it to you two to set up surveillance at the Prescott residence. It’ll be an all-nighter, so CJ and Laser will take day shift tomorrow. CJ, today, I need you to work with Randall. Find out where the girls were partying. We’ll need to pull the security footage to see if they were followed home. Laser, you check in with Penelope’s place of work, and I’ll go to her house to have a look around. See if her friend remembers anything else that could help.”

Happy to finally have direction and the bare bones of a plan, I pulled Makka aside and got to work.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Penny

I huddled in the corner of an unfamiliar room, precisely where I had been since waking from one of the deepest sleeps in my life. I vaguely remembered falling into my bed at home and Vivi flicking off the lights, but what happened between then and now remained blank.

I took stock of myself and my surroundings, desperately trying to assemble some sense of order among the chaos inside my head.

Still clothed in my party dress, I was unscathed as far as I could tell.

Pale morning light pushed its way through the narrow gap at the top of the curtains. The room was bare aside from the bed I found myself in. The air was eerily silent and smelled surprisingly clean—disturbingly clean. Fear locked me to the spot. Even if I’d wanted to stand, my body refused to move. Lingering exhaustion nagged at me and eventually dragged me back into sleep, completely against my will, where I sat with my arms wrapped around my bent knees.

When I roused the second time, I fought through rolling nausea to rise on shaky legs. Once upright, I reached for the curtains with a trembling hand.

Fuck.That wasn’t good.

Jumping from a high-rise wasn’t on my bucket list, and I wasn’t about to add it. My bare feet silently turned on the short-piled carpet. I crept to the closed bedroom door, scared shitless over what I’d find on the other side.

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