Page 72 of Deserving Maddie

The terror she first felt was long gone. Since the plot involved her, she had a right to know. He wasn't the MC, so he wasn't going to have his men gang-rape her. She could handle whatever he threw at her because nothing about this man scared her.

"I'm not the only person who Ray has pissed off lately. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Over the years I've had the pleasure of working for some, let's say,unsavoryfellows and it would seem there's a certain group who would love nothing more than to get their hands on you and teach Ray a lesson. I believe they're looking for a clubhouse whore …" The former senator's eyes darkened and turned into slits. "Ray is going to meet my demands, or he's going to get his woman back after she's been properly used and abused."

Once again, Maddie couldn't force herself to swallow. Her throat was closing up. She had spoken too soon. Shantae's father was far worse than she thought.

Chapter 33

"Somebodyhastoknowsomething!" Ray slammed his palms against the table.

Everyone on his team looked at him with a mixture of pity and shock. He wasn't one who normally lost his cool, but this was Maddie.HisMaddie. He was supposed to protect her, and now he had no idea where she was.

"I can promise you I have my ears to the ground, but no one is talking. I've checked with my guys and Wraith hasn't made any moves out of the ordinary. I'm sorry."

Agent Franklin had agreed to stay and try to help them. Despite disliking the man purely because of his job, the agent was turning out to be an alright individual.

"Captain Matthews checked out. He hasn't so much as said a word to Maddie since she moved to Texas. Anthony's former department is looking into the incident, but that appeared to start internally. For all we know, the claims Maddie made to the captain back when it happened were overheard by someone," Arlo explained.

None of that was what he wanted to hear. If it wasn't Wraith and it wasn't because of Anthony, then why was Maddie taken? Wes tried to convince him that maybe it was some random kidnapping, but the timing of the email and how she was pulled into the abandoned storefront were too coincidental.

The security feed showed nothing except a hand reaching out to snatch her in. Ray went through hours of footage but no one was seen entering the store. The windows were covered with paper and the back alleyway for those businesses didn't have security cameras. It gave him nothing to work with.

"Kyle just called," Missy informed him, upon entering the situation room. "He said he'll be back in five minutes. Where do you want me to bring the kids?"

"Here for now. I want them to know we are doing everything we can to find their mother."

His phone on the table beeped with an incoming text. Ray pounced on it, in hopes it was Maddie, but his hope deflated when he saw the message was from her best friend.

Kat: My flight is boarding now. Any news?

Ray: No, not yet but we are doing everything we can.

It wasn't enough. That's all he kept telling himself every time they hit a dead end.

Kat: Find her. I can't lose my best friend. I will see you when I get to Texas.

Maddie's friend made fast work. In under two hours, Kat managed to purchase a flight and get there to board. It was now going on almost five hours since Maddie left to get coffee, and still he had no leads.

A few minutes later, Kyle walked into the situation room, followed by Gabe and Charley. Maddie's daughter ran into his arms and held on to him so tightly, he feared she was going to hurt herself.

"What happened to my mom?" Gabe wasted no time asking. "Kyle only said she was missing."

Ray promised himself he would tell Gabe the truth, but he was finding it hard to get the words past his lips.

"Your mother was kidnapped on her way to get coffee a few hours ago."

"By who?"

This wasn't going to win him any favors with the boy. The two of them were making some great progress, and now he felt like he was about to lose that.

"We don't know. It's not the original threat. The one that brought me to your house. I have confirmation." He nodded to the agent.

"Mom doesn't have enemies. She's nice. Too nice."

"I agree, Gabe. Your mother is nice and we all want her back with us, so we are doing everything we can to make that possible." Ray looked Maddie's son right in the eyes when he made his following promise. "I will do whatever it takes to ensure your mother returns home to you two."

"And you," Gabe added.

Ray was slightly confused. "And me what?"

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