Page 41 of Forgotten Promise

“Talking, telling you about me, about what led me to the Trinity Masters.”

Kailani smiled softly, tiredly. “I’d like that.”

Benjamin grinned and nodded. “Me too.”

John took a deep breath…and opened a vein.

* * *

“Who?” Lachlan and Sebastian asked at the same time, both jumping to their feet in response to Rose’s declaration.

“Izabel Serra and her new trinity.”

“They were just called to the altar,” Franco said.

“I know,” Rose said. “Her family arranged a little post-binding ceremony reception, and last night the six of us went to the symphony together.” Rose waved her hand through the air, as if waving that information away as unimportant. “I was supposed to have lunch with her today.”

A grim anticipation settled over the room, everyone’s attention on Rose, except Colum’s. He’d picked up his phone and was staring at the screen.

“She didn’t respond to any of my texts about canceling. I went by her condo—she has a place here, and they were going there rather than here, the hotel.” She gestured around, indicating the suite. Normally this suite was reserved for new trinities for several nights after their binding ceremony, to give them a neutral place to get to know one another.

“Her door was unlocked. Not broken, just unlocked. But when I went in…” Rose pulled her phone from her pocket and passed it around. The probably once-elegant living room was demolished—furniture overturned and broken, paintings off the walls, and…

“Is that a tranquilizer dart sticking out of the wall?” Franco asked, handing Rose back her phone.

“Yes,” Lachlan said. “They must have missed with the first shot and forgotten to retrieve the dart.”

“They drugged them too.” Franco had to force down the memory of that needle going into Juliette’s neck.

“Who’s her new trinity?” Lachlan asked.

“Brennon Reyes and Rowan Greene,” Rose said.

Lachlan looked up sharply. “They took Rowan Greene?”

“We should assume so,” Rose said. “Why are you making that face?”

“Rowan Greene is a Night Stalker.”

Everyone looked at Lachlan, who shook his head and explained.

“He’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.”

“Shit,” Sebastian muttered. “That’s right. Fuck.”

“Explain,” Franco demanded, heart slamming against his ribs.

“Listen, Devon is certainly dangerous and skilled enough that in a fair fight, I’d put money on him. Juliette is more dangerous, but not in a hand-to-hand combat way. Rowan…” Lachlan shook his head. “Rowan is the thing you should be afraid of in the dark. The Night Stalkers are who the Army sends in when they want something taken care of under the cover of darkness. They’ll jump out of a helicopter, silently neutralize every target in a building, rescue or recover whatever their mission objective is, and be back in their Little Bird helicopter before anyone on the ground knows there’s a problem.”

Franco hadn’t thought he could be any more terrified for his loves, but if the same people who’d taken Juliette and Devon had managed to kidnap Rowan…

Lachlan and Sebastian spent the next five minutes organizing an investigative team to check if the trinity stayed until the end of the symphony and then go over to examine Izabel’s condo. A team had worked through the night trying to find Devon and Juliette, but nothing yet. Maybe there would be more clues at the condo, other clues. Maybe this was a good thing.

Franco winced as soon as he had the thought, guilt biting at him.

Lachlan cleared his throat. “We may need to take some decisive, risky actions. Which means I need to know what my chain of command is.” Lachlan looked from Sebastian to Rose, his gaze finally settling on Franco.

Franco felt everyone looking at him, but he wasn’t in charge. He couldn’t be, for so many reasons.

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