Everyone froze.
Theo stepped closer to look over Alexandros’s shoulder.
Unknown number.
Alexandros answered on the third ring with lethal calm. “Kallistratos.”
Demetrius handed him an earpiece connected to Alexandros’s phone so they could all listen in to the call. What came through the line was not what Theo expected.
“Took you long enough,” barked a gruff American voice. “You don’t keep an old man waiting. I’m Stuart. Dani’s grandfather. Where’s my granddaughter? I know she was with you last night, but she’s not answering her phone this morning.”
Theo blinked. So, Dani was American. That explained the fire in the old man’s voice.
Alexandros straightened. “Mr.—Stuart. Dani… she’s been taken. She was kidnapped last night off her trawler after I left.”
The room stilled again.
Alexandros’s voice cracked—just slightly—when he said her name.
And Theo felt it like a blow to the gut. The moment his brother’s heart slipped further from his chest.
There was a long beat of silence on the other end of the line.
Theo stiffened when Stuart spoke again. “Dani wears a tracker—hidden in jewelry. She can activate it manually. The battery lasts twenty-four hours tops.”
Theo surged forward. “Can he access it?”
Alexandros put the call on speaker. “Stuart, can you access it?”
“One moment. Let me check… Hang on…”
Theo paced like a lion in a cage, every muscle taut, eyes glued to his brother’s face. Each second crawled.
The entire room waited with bated breath. Monitors flickered as the tension thickened.
A minute passed before?—
“I’ve got it,” Stuart said, his voice coming fast now. “She triggered itabout thirty minutes ago. I’m sending the data now. Give me a second to patch it through.”
One of Demetrius’s techs called out. “Signal received. I’ve got the beacon.”
The map on the wall updated in real-time. A pulsing red dot appeared.
Theo leaned in. “That’s near the fishing wharf. East side. Warehouses.”
Demetrius cursed. “That area’s a goddamn labyrinth. Half those buildings haven’t been occupied in years. Perfect place to vanish.”
Stuart’s voice returned. “You tell me—can you handle this, Alexandros? Or do I need to call in favors of my own?”
Theo glanced at his brother.
Saw the fire behind his eyes.
The fury under control.
“No,” Alexandros said quietly. “I’ll bring her back.”
Theo nodded once, solidly. “We’ll bring her home.”
