Elias put the shoulder holster on. He grabbed his flannel shirt off the seat beside him and put it on over his tee, concealing the gun. He slipped quietly out of the truck and dashed into the trees to the right. Under forest cover, he quickly and silently approached the house until it came into view. He stopped just inside the trees lining the manicured yard, about thirty feet from the end of the driveway. No movement, no voices, no obvious sign of a break-in. No drone case in the front yard, though she’d told him she usually flew them from the back.
Keeping just inside the protection of the trees, Elias ran around the near side of the house to the back yard where Wren would normally be?—
Will be. Shewillbe there. Sheisthere.
—and stopped. A lush lawn stretched green and empty to the edges of the forest surrounding the house.
No Wren.
No Chase.
Seven minutes since he’d called.
The drone case lay at the edge of the lawn beside the round red launch pad, opposite Elias’ position. He spotted something small resting on the grass about two feet away from the case.
The drone controller with Wren’s phone still attached.
Fuck.
Nine minutes.
Who has her?
The possibilities flashed lightning-fast through his mind.
Weisser?
No. He was under house arrest with an ankle bracelet, so he wasn’t going anywhere without the police tracing his ass and catching him real quick.
He could have hired someone.
No. How would he even know who Wren was? He only knew Brooke Greene, who worked for Barbie Gillis, had black hair,dark brown eyes, and stood three inches taller than his chestnut-haired, hazel-eyed Wren.
Senator Robbins?
No. This wasn’t even a slap on the wrist, though he was losing plenty of money. And again, he didn’t know Wren, had never even met her as Brooke.
Someone from the lenders?
No. They knew even less about Wren’s involvement than Weisser.
She had no other enemies.
Could it be…
Chase?
Did he secretly want her? Was he obsessed enough to kidnap her before she could marry another man?
Elias checked his texts and watched three dots bounce. A new group text from Ben appeared.
At your truck. SITREP.
Elias responded:
Backyard. Scrubs gone. Check roads.
He watched the three dots.
