“Then that’s where we’re going.” Charles is already pulling out his phone. “I’m calling local security teams, getting them positioned around both locations just in case.”
“Wait.” I hold up a hand, still staring at my screens. “If Ryan has lookouts, if he sees a convoy approaching, he might panic. Might hurt Parker.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“We go in quiet. Just the four of us for initial reconnaissance.” I’m pulling up building schematics now, trying to find the property layout. “Confirm Parker’s location, assess the threat, then bring in reinforcements for extraction.”
Charles considers this, and I watch the calculation happen behind his eyes. Brother versus leader. Emotion versus tactics.
“How long until we land?” he asks.
“Twelve minutes,” I say, checking our flight time.
“And from the airport to the rental property?”
“Twenty-five minutes if we push it. Maybe thirty.”
“She’s been on the ground for almost an hour,” Silas says quietly. “That’s a long time with Ryan.”
The words hang heavy in the cabin.
I turn back to my screens, pushing down the fear, the worst-case scenarios trying to claw their way into my consciousness. Focus on the data. On the logistics. On building the tactical picture.
Because that’s what I do. That’s my role.
“Cal,” Charles says, and his voice is different now. Careful. “Explain something to me.”
“What?” I’m running property tax records, looking for any additional information about the rental.
“Why would Ryan use you as bait? You, Jace, and Silas specifically.”
My fingers pause on the keyboard. Just for a second. Then resume typing.
“He knew Parker would trust us,” I say, keeping my voice neutral, my eyes on the screens. “We’re her security. Her protection detail. Makes sense she’d respond to a call from us about a security matter.”
“That’s not what I asked.” Charles’s voice is calm but there’s steel underneath. “I asked why you three specifically. Why not me? I’m her brother. I run this organization. If someone wanted to lure Parker somewhere, pretending to be me would be more believable.”
I’m pulling utility records now, checking internet bandwidth usage at the rental property. High data usage yesterday.Someone uploading or downloading large files. Video files, maybe. Like the deepfake they used to impersonate me.
“Charles, can we table this until we find her?” I ask, not looking up. “Every minute we spend talking is another minute she’s with Ryan.”
“No.” His voice is flat, absolute. “We’re not tabling this. I want to know why my sister would trust a call from you three over a call from her own brother.”
Of all times for him to finally pay attention…
I don’t stop working. My eyes track data across three screens, my hands continue typing, algorithms running, searches executing. But I allocate mental processing to this conversation because Charles isn’t going to drop it. Because he deserves the truth. Because we’re past the point of hiding.
“Because we’ve been in love with Parker since we were kids,” I say, not looking up from the screens. My left hand pulls up traffic camera footage while my right hand runs facial recognition protocols. “Well, I have. Jace and Silas will have to give you their own time lines.”
The cabin goes quiet except for the hum of the engines and my keyboards clicking.
“I told her already. We all told her,” I continue, my eyes tracking data streams, my brain processing multiple information channels simultaneously.
“We told her when she came for your wedding,” Jace finally takes over. Were they expecting me to do all the damn talking? “Nothing happened until you and Sienna left after your reception. We spent that night together and then shedisappeared the next day back to California. We didn’t know she was pregnant and didn’t see her again until she came back home with Noah, and Liam.”
I find another camera angle. Better view of the Suburban. I enhance the image, run it through filters, and try to see through the tinted windows.
“And since she came home?” Charles asks, his voice dangerously calm.
