Chapter
Thirty-Five
Max pulled into the driveway after he got off work. He saw there were several motorcycles, Jose, Tiny, and Teddy’s trucks were all in the driveway.
When he walked into the house, everyone turned around and then looked at him in confusion. Something was wrong.
“Where’s Desiree?” Max asked as he walked toward Jose and Teddy.
“We were thinking she was with you since she’s not here. Her truck isn’t in the garage either.” Andrea spoke up as she walked into the room.
“No. I just came back from a meeting with my commanding officer. They are declaring Daniels’s AWOL as of seventeen hundred hours. He’s not answering his phone nor is he at his apartment.” Max informed the room.
“Oh shit!” Nightshade said softly, yet loud enough for others to hear.
“What?” Max looked her way in concern when he saw she went pale.
“What’s wrong?” Andrea rushed to Nightshade’s side along with Jose and Tiny.
“Daniels has been talking Olly and I for a few years now. She was witness to an altercation and assault from Daniels just before she left the Army. We really didn’t think much of it because nothing major happened. Just him showing up and waving at us like he was saying, “I know how to find you” kind of deal. We dismissed the issues with Desiree being him since Max and Teddy could always account for him. We didn’t think he even knew that Teddy was her brother or that she was involved with Max.” Nightshade broke down and told the room.
Max watched the woman sink onto the sofa with his older brother holding her hand. Interesting.
“She told me about everything last night. I honestly don’t know what all he knew. He’d never mentioned it. But then again, I didn’t even notice my own team didn’t like the fucker. That’s why I was called into the base today. I had requested a meeting with the commanding officer to get him kicked off our team and placed with another if the team he was supposed to be assigned to wasn’t ready.”
“What did he say?” Teddy sounding hopeful.
“Called him around noon time, asked him to come in for a meeting about his transfer to the new team. Supposedly Daniels told him that he’d be there in an hour as he was running errands and then never showed up. We checked his apartment and did a gps search for his phone and came up empty.”
Max sighed heavily as he rubbed his face with his hands. He was getting furious with the fact that they had no clue who was messing with Desiree and now she was missing.
When the knock sounded on the front door before it opened, all hands went to their weapons, ready to draw should the need arise. Luckily for the person entering the door, it was someone everyone knew.
“Hey…uh, hi. Why is everyone’s hands on their weapon? Did I do something to piss you people off?” Iris asked as she walkedinto the living room, looking around in confusion at everyone’s expressions.
“No. Desiree is missing. And now so is Daniels.” Andrea let out the breath she had been holding.
“When was the last time anyone saw her?” Max looked down at his watch waiting for someone to respond.
“Around three. She was leaving to head to the grocery store to grab stuff for dinner tonight and a few other things.” Andrea looked towards the others who all nodded at the agreement of time.
“Fuck. It’s five thirty now. Whoever took her could be anywhere with her by now.” Max punched the wall, his anger and worry warring with each other.
He didn’t think that the big man upstairs would be so cruel as to let him finally have his dream come true with her only to snatch it away the very next day. He refused to believe that bullshit.
“Iris, get Wizard on the phone. Have her backtrack the tracker on Desiree’s phone. Max, do you have Daniels’s cell number? She can backtrack his gps as well. If we can find the last known location she was at, such as if she actually made it to the grocery store, then we can get the camera feed from the store and parking lot to see if it shows anything. Jose, mobilize your SWAT team. Max, pull in your squad. We’re going hunting. Jose, you take the house to the garage. Max, your team will take the house to the grocery store. The club and I will take the garage to the store.” Andrea ordered, making a decision on what needed to be done.
“Shouldn’t someone stay here in case she comes in while we’re searching?” Teddy bit his lower lip in debate.
“I’ll do it. I can use my laptop to coordinate with Wizard while you guys are searching. Reach out to me when you guys have an update so we can either expand our search or lookcloser at a specific area.” Iris decided as she went to the kitchen table with her bag and pulled out her laptop out, along with her phone.
“Roll out, people.” Andrea ordered again as she headed toward her motorcycle. “Max, we’ll find her. Come hell or high water, we will get her home to you so you two can officially celebrate being married.”
Max closed his eyes when he climbed into his truck and pulled out his phone. Before sending the mass text to his team, he leaned his head back and sent a small prayer for the big man upstairs to let them find Desiree alive and unharmed.
He knew he wouldn’t last in this world without her. He would take any and every mission he could until one of them sent him to the ever after just so he could be with the woman who held his heart in the palm of her hand.
He knew that if anything happened to his wife, he would burn this fucking world down trying to find the bastard who harmed her and he wouldn’t care who was hurt in the process. He was no Prince Charming.
