Duke sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Of course, the cameras were down. Why was he even surprised?
“I talked to the desk clerk, along with a few guests,” Ranger added. “No one saw anything. He’s just . . . gone.”
Mariella pressed her lips together. “It’s not like Rupert to quietly disappear.”
“Rupert’s in danger.” Andi finally voiced what they were all thinking. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Matthew’s fingers flew again. “I’ll expand the search—nearby traffic cams, toll roads, license plate readers. If he left the property by vehicle, I might catch a trace.”
Maybe. But Duke felt doubtful.
His gaze found Andi’s, and he saw the hurt still lingering there—hurt that he had caused.
There were a hundred things he wanted to say.
But he couldn’t. Not now. Not with Rupert missing.
The person who’d been toying with them had just escalated the game.
Duke squared his shoulders. “We need to find Rupert. Now. There’s no time to waste.”
CHAPTER
SIXTY-ONE
They thinkthey’re smarter than I am.
I felt it the moment they changed their schedule. The ripple. The adjustment they thought would rattle me.
They believed shifting the board midgame gave them leverage.
It didn’t.
It only proved how predictable they are.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and glanced at the rearview mirror.
The man in the back flinched when our eyes met. He’d been whimpering since he’d been taken.
I’d known he’d be a headache. From the moment I’d chosen him, I’d understood that. Loud people always were.
But he was the logical choice. Accessible. Observable. Tied tightly to them.
Removing him was efficient.
Necessary.
They wanted me to feel pressure. To rush. To make mistakes.
The truth was, they had managed one thing.
They’d disrupted my preparation.
I’d had to scramble to line a place up. I didn’t have the advantage of a controlled environment. There was no familiar geography waiting for me.
These people might have actually gotten the upper hand.
Just the possibility of it made my blood burn.
