A noise behind made me stop. Before I could turn around, there was a sting to my neck. I struggled to keep my eyes open and my legs turned to jelly. Then my world was black.
CHAPTER 16
Rafe
The Rescue
Where hadshe gotten to now? Rory had been busy the entire evening. I wanted to find her and make sure had taken time to eat something but she had disappeared.
It took me longer than I liked to leave the tent. Every person I passed had words of encouragement or congratulations they wanted to convey. If it was me, the first place I would’ve looked was the main house since I wanted to escape the rowdiness from the very beginning. But that was not Rory.
She was comfortable making conversation with strangers. Maybe she wanted a quieter word with someone and stepped out of the tent. At least, that was how I reasoned it.
I checked around the area outside the tent and there was no sign of my woman in her sexy green dress. Oh, it wasn’t revealing at all, but the prissy vibe it gave off did it for me.
Maybe she needed something from the barn. Both Calvin and I had been using it to set things up for the evening. I walked in that direction, wondering what could be so important she had tobe gone for so long. Darkness had started to fall and my instincts kicked in. My eyes caught on something in the ground. I bent down and knew immediately it was Rory’s cellphone.
“Rory.” I called loud enough that if she was in the barn, she would’ve heard me. When no answer came, I ran to the barn and looked around. “Rory, are you in here?”
When no answer came, panic started to rise. I quickly scanned the stalls, making sure she hadn’t fallen and was unconscious before I ran back to the tent. I stomped toward Calvin, not paying any attention to anyone who wanted to talk to me along the way.
Calvin was talking to Joel Pederson. The man may have been a snob but he was a good business man, and could spot bullshit a mile away.
“Sorry to interrupt.” I looked between the two men but my eyes settled on Cal and I showed him her cellphone. “Rory’s missing. I found this outside the barn.”
“Did you check the barn itself?”
I know my friend was trying to be practical but what the actual fuck. I glared at him but said nothing.
He held up his hands in a stop motion. “Okay, just checking. You drive up to the main house, I’ll check the rest of the buildings. We’ll find her.”
“Cal. I haven’t seen Vance in a long time.”
Joel took that moment to interrupt. “Vance Steiner. Surely, you cannot think he has anything to do with this. I mean the man is slimy, and I intend to cut all business dealings with him and The Argent Group, but he doesn’t have the balls to do something truly dangerous.”
Calvin shook his head. “Never underestimate a desperate man.”
It took me less than twenty minutes to make sure Rory hadn’t gone back to the house.
Allie was discreetly warning the guests we had a crisis to deal with and the evening needed to come to an end while Calvin and Abe were in heated discussion.
I walked up to them. “Well she’s not at fucking home. Cal, I’m getting worried.”
“Abe has called Tex.” Calvin watched as people slowly left the tent. “This is why we do favors for the man. Because when we need him, he’ll be there. He’ll have a drone overhead in no time and back-up on the way if needed.”
I frowned and faced him. “It's needed. My woman is fucking missing.”
Shouting at my best friend was not going to make Rory suddenly reappear, but I needed to get the frustration out somehow.
The rumble of guests saying goodbye was interrupted by my cellphone ringing.
The name on the screen confirmed my worst case scenario.Vance Steiner.I had his number saved since he had been calling me daily to nag me for my signature and I wanted to ignore his call. Not once had I thought his name on my cellphone screen would fill me with so much dread. “Hello.”
“Vierra.” His thin voice echoed over the line. “You have been dodging my calls for a long time. I figured the only way to get your attention would be to take the woman.”
“If you fucking hurt her.” Rage filled me, but Calvin’s hand on my shoulder kept me sane. “What the fuck do you want?”
The man actually had the audacity to chuckle. As if the situation was somehow amusing to him. And maybe it was. Maybe kidnapping to get his way was a normal part of doing business for the asshole.
