"I'm on my way." Flynn's voice sharpens instantly, all traces of sleep gone. "Where are you?"
"Home. I'm heading out now. I need you to start making calls. Everyone. I don't care who you wake up or what favors we have to call in. Find her."
"Sean." Flynn's voice is careful. Too careful. "What happened? What did you fight about?"
“I fucked up.” The words are bitter on my tongue. “I slipped up. Said some shit about marriage not feeling like the punishment the Council meant for it to be after all. I never told her about…” I swear in Gaelic, crushing the phone in my hand. “Fuck, Flynn?—”
There's a pause. Then Flynn says, very quietly, "You're a fucking idiot."
"I know."
"We'll find her. I'm leaving now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I can’t just sit here and wait on Flynn. I head out, stalking the streets as I look for her, calling out her name despite the occasional odd look from a passerby. I go as far as I can without getting too far away to be back when Flynn arrives, and I’m just circling back toward my street when Flynn pulls up and throws the passenger door open.
I jump into the car, the engine growling as Flynn jolts forward. “Where could she have gone?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“I don’t know. I have no idea how she got far at all. She was barefoot and wearing flimsy clothing, and?—”
Every second that passes is another second she's out there alone. Another second something could be happening to her.
I can't think about that. If I think about that, I'll lose my mind.
But I can't stop thinking about it. About all the enemies I've made over the years. All the people who'd love to hurt me by hurting her. All the ways a city can swallow a woman whole andnever spit her back out. And most of all, I think about Brennan, and if he’s been watching, if he knows she left the safety of the apartment and has her.
Brennan. The slick politician with blood on his hands and a smile for the cameras. The man who used his own wife and child as human shields, keeping them in the car with him because he knew I wouldn't take the shot if there was a chance of hitting them.
I gave him Maeve. I might as well have.
When there’s no sign of her after we’ve driven further out than I expect she could have gone, we go back to the apartment to try to figure out what to do next. I take the stairs three at a time, hoping desperately that I’ll find her inside, that she came back, and everything will be all right.
But she’s not there.
Flynn follows me inside. “I made calls on the way here,” he says. “I’ve got people checking hospitals, police stations, anywhere she might have gone." His voice is steady, as if he’s trying to calm me. "I’ve got a friend calling our contacts in the taxi companies, seeing if anyone picked her up. I've also got someone checking CCTV footage from around your place."
"Not fast enough." I can't stand still. "We need more. Call everyone. I don't care what time it is. Wake them up. Tell them the Wolf's wife is missing, and I want every eye in this city looking for her."
"Sean." Flynn moves toward me. "We'll do everything we can. But you need to stay calm. We need you thinking clearly."
"Calm?" I round on him. "My wife is missing, Flynn. The woman I—" I stop, swallowing hard. "I can't lose her. I can't."
Something shifts in Flynn's expression, and it softens slightly. "I know. And we're going to find her. But I need you to focus. Think. What happened?”
“Brennan.” His name sounds like a curse as I spit it out. “It has to be. He probably has eyes on the apartment. He must have grabbed her.”
Flynn's quiet for a moment. Then he says, "If it's Brennan, he'll want you to know. He'll want you to come for her. It'll be a trap."
"I don't care."
"Sean—"
"I. Don't. Care." I meet his eyes. "If he has her, I'm going to get her back. I don't care what it costs. I don't care if it's a trap. I don't care if I have to burn this whole fucking city down. I'm getting my wife back."
Flynn studies me for a long moment. Then he nods. "All right. Then let's find out where he's keeping her."
The next four hours are a blur of phone calls filled with both threats and promises. I call in every favor I've ever been owed. I offer money, protection, favors, anything and everything to anyone who might have information.
Connor McBride assists, with the other members of the Council, as the night turns into early morning, and I manage to get hold of them. They want Brennan dealt with as much as I do, maybe more. But I don't trust them to move fast enough. I don't trust anyone but myself and Flynn.
