Rage and fear started running through my veins when the ladies told me that the man who had taken Ruby said his boss loved her, that she was going to model for him, and also become his plaything. I wanted to tear these guys apart. As much as I hated every word, I was hoping if that was so that maybe he wouldn’t harm her physically. But mentally or sexual were another story.
I needed to find her.
Whoever the ringmaster of this charade was, he had set up a tricky diversion out front that had Rowan trying to help. The driver, another paid goon, was told to run his car into a parked vehicle a few homes down from Alley’s and pretend to be hurt.
It was a good thing they didn’t let me near him because he wouldn’t be pretending to be hurt anymore, he would be in severe pain.
He’d been arrested but sang like a bird when a scare was put in him about how much longer his sentencing would be if he didn’t tell the police everything.
All this was staged while the asshole slipped in the back door. Any one of us would have tried to help someone we thought was injured, especially if we thought the girls were safe in the house. But Rowan wasn’t forgiving himself right then. He paced back and forth, anger burning off him, and I knew he felt like he’d failed.
Not only had all the women been scared out of their minds, but his pregnant wife had a gun pointed at her stomach where their unborn child grew. Kace then told us guys that he and Teal were expecting also. Something she’d just revealed to her friends earlier that evening.
I was so happy they were okay but my girl wasn’t.
She was gone.Vanished.
There was no sign of her or any clues after searching the yards and streets around Alley’s home. As we scoured the neighborhood my gut clenched with worry. Knocking on doors turned up nothing either, nobody had seen anything that late that helped.
I felt helpless, but we were not giving up.
Ever.
With police at the house with Gramps and the others, they were safe. Gemma had arrived shortly after things went down and she was upset she hadn’t been there for her friends. Wanting to help she agreed to head to the condos and stay with Bodie who was watching his girls, and all the other kids too. That allowed us to have more hands on deck.
Landon took his daughter there but he had come back to the house to be with the ladies, along with the police who were stationed in front and back of his and Alley’s place. We had things locked down and our families protected, but I was scared we didn’t need it.
Because whoever this man was had what he wanted.
And she was the love of my life.
ChapterThirty-Two
RUBY
Stay strong.
Lyric and the guys would come for me or I’d find a way on my own. I had to believe that or I would crumble into tiny pieces and become a shell of myself.
I’d been locked in a room for two days.
The lunatic who nabbed me had blindfolded me when we got outside of Alley’s home and forcibly led me through bark dust, over rocks, and also rough pavement without care for my bare feet. Then he tied my hands behind my back and dumped me in the trunk of a car for a terrifying ride to God knows where.
Panic set in and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
It was the t-shirt I had on that calmed me. The girls and I had changed into comfy clothes after dinner. All I wore was a pair of yoga pants and an oversized shirt. But it wasn’t just any shirt, it belonged to the man who meant everything to me.
I bent my head toward the fabric to bring it as close to my face as I could and inhaled.
Before I left the house and knowing I wouldn’t be in Lyric’s arms that evening, I stole the shirt he’d had on earlier that day and stuffed it in my bag. It still smelled like him and it was the only thing that had gotten me through the terror-stricken ride and the couple of nights I spent alone in a house and bed I didn’t know.
When we arrived at our destination, I was pulled from the trunk and led through what I assumed was a very large house based on how long it took to get to where I was being taken and the number of stairs we had to climb. And then, I was tossed in a room, ties removed from my hands and left standing alone after the creep slammed the door, leaving without a word.
Once I felt it was safe I removed the blindfold and glanced around the room. It was massive, with an enormous bathroom and everything in it looked expensive. That was when I remember Mabel talking about the man who paid our bill at the diner and his nice suit and looked like he came from money. Was this his home?
I still hadn’t found out whose home I was in after those first two days. I hadn’t seen anyone except for a woman who brought me food and wouldn’t speak to me. There was always a man outside the door waiting for her to hurry in and right out.
Eating hadn’t even been appealing. I was sick to my stomach, but I forced myself to get some food down to keep up my strength. I needed it so if the right time arose for me to get myself out of the situation I was in, I could give it my best shot.
