Page 82 of Daddy's Arms

“I’m sure she’s fine, James. Probably just had a wardrobe emergency or something.” From her seat at the kitchen table, Shannon sent him what was probably meant to be a reassuring smile, but she didn’t quite succeed in hiding the worry in her eyes.

“She would have called me. At the very least to let me know she was running late.”

Frowning, she tapped a finger on the table. “Don’t you have like a ‘Find my phone’ thing? I thought she downloaded an app or something because she was always losing it for a while.”

“I thought that app just made the phone ring.”

Shannon shook her head. “Most of them give you a location. Worth a shot, right?”

Since it was at least worth trying, he opened the app on his phone and tapped the icon for Olivia’s device. The spinning circle in the middle of his screen seemed to taunt him as he waited. And waited. And waited, until it finally pinpointed his wayward wife’s location.

“That’s odd. It says she’s stopped somewhere. I know that address,” he mumbled, moving to the laptop he’d set up on the counter.

The small ball of fear in his stomach became a boulder when the address popped up as one of their available listings. “Fuck! Shannon, call Bryant and give him this address.” He thrust the laptop at her before heading toward the front door.

“Wait! I’m coming with you!”

“No!” He felt like an asshole when she visibly flinched, but he didn’t have time to play nice. “I need you to cancel the open house and let Bryant know what’s going on. I can’t handle that and help Liv.”

“You think he has her.”

“Yeah. I think he has her.”

Shannon’s eyes seemed huge in her suddenly pale face. “Okay. I’ll take care of this. Go save her.”

Running out the door, he pulled up a contact he’d hoped he’d never have to use and hit the button to call.

“Detective Rogers.”

“This is James Monroe. Olivia is in danger.”

“Where is she?” The detective’s voice was instantly alert.

“Why the hell don’t you know? Aren’t you supposed to be watching her?”

“Yes, and I promise you whoever dropped the ball will be handing me theirs on a silver platter.” Her tone even more so than her words held a dark promise. “After we make sure your wife is safe.”

Yanking open the door of his SUV, James gave her the address. “I’m on my way there now.”

“No! Mr. Monroe, I need you to stay where you are.”

“Fuck that. This is my wife, Detective. I’ll see you there.” Without giving her a chance to argue further, he hit the button to end the call and started the car. When the Bluetooth connected, he called Bryant.

“He has Olivia.”

“I know. I’m still fifteen minutes away.”

“Fuck. I’m almost twenty out. I’ll kill him, Bry. If he so much as lays a finger on her, I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Not if I get there first.”

The twenty minutes felt like hours, but he finally arrived at the house. Olivia’s SUV was parked in the driveway alongside a similar, but much more worn-looking vehicle. James drove past the house and parked his car by the curb behind Bryant’s sensible sedan.

As soon as James was parked, Bryant jumped out of his car and made his way toward the house carrying a crowbar. James opened the door of his vehicle and nodded at the weapon. “Good idea. Got a spare?”

“I don’t just keep weapons lying around, James. I’m a lawyer, not a fucking Green Beret.”

The enormity of the situation hit James in the gut and he had to lean back against the car to steady himself. “How the hell do we get her out, Bry? We’re not trained for this.”

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