Paul leads me to an office in the back, and when I walk in, I see Luna on the screen approaching a cat.
Paul hits play, and I watch the scene unfold. My hands fist at my sides when I see the man come up behind her and lift her up. She’s screaming and fighting, but she’s no match for a man twice her size. He carries her down an alley to a car. The video only shows half of it, but it’s enough to see the license plate and watch him drop her into the trunk and slam it shut.
My voice is calm even though I feel anything but. “Has someone called my father?”
“Robert is on his way.”
Paul has his phone held up. “Your father said not to call the police.”
If we call the police, we will have to do everything by the book. And I won’t want to turn these dirtbags over to them. I shake my head. “Don’t. We’re going to take care of this on our own.”
Stone comes into the office and hands me an envelope with my name on it. “Some kid handed me this to give to you. He said some guy gave him ten dollars to make sure you got it.”
I rip into the envelope and pull out the letter inside. I scan the letter and then reread it out loud. “We have your fiancée. You want to see her again you will send one million dollars to this account in the next two hours. No money and she dies.”
Underneath is the routing and account number for a bank account.
“Fuck!” I scream and then punch the wall to my side.
My father walks in and grabs my arm before I punch the wall again. “Son, stop. Punching things is not going to fix anything.”
I mutter out the words. “Is this the Sterlings? Did they take Luna?”
“We’ll know soon. I sent Bennett and Knox over to Victor to talk to him, but I don’t think so.”
I ram my hand through my hair. “I have two hours to find her.”
My father grabs the letter from my hands. He takes a picture of the account number. “I’m going to send this to our tech guys and find out who that account belongs to.”
He types into his phone. “We’re going to find her.”
I shake my head. “You were right, Dad. You told me she was innocent and that by marrying her, I’d be putting an x on her back. I didn’t… I shouldn’t have…”
My dad firmly shakes his head. “We’re going to find her, son. I promise.”
My mom comes to the office. “I’ve gathered Luna’s clothes and purse. What can I do?”
My father walks toward her. “Go to the house with Paul.”
She instantly shakes her head. “No, I’m not leaving until we find Luna.”
My father puts his hand on her shoulder. “Eleanor, we don’t know what we’re up against, and I need to take care of this. I can’t do that with you out on the street.”
I walk over to my mom and dad. “Mom, I know you wanna help, but Dad is right.” I let out a breath. “When we bring Luna home, she’s going to need you.”
Mom lets out a loud sigh. “Okay, but you promise you’ll let me know as soon as you find her.”
My dad nods. “I do. I promise, sweetheart.”
The men around us seem surprised by my father’s softness, but I’m not. Yes, he’s a hard-ass, but he’s always been soft with my mother. She’s the only one he’s like that with.
“Paul. Take my wife home, and don’t let her out of your sight.”
Mom opens her mouth to argue, but she nods. “Fine.”
She looks between my father and me. “You two be safe.” She looks around the room full of men. “Where is Bennett?”
My father tenses. “I sent him, Knox, and some others to the Sterlings to see if they had anything to do with this.”
