Page 5 of Pieces of You

“Yeah.” Fuck, my mouth was dry. “Do you know if anyone we know has been injured?”

“There’s another article. I haven’t read it yet. I’m scouring the news sources. I’ll send it. Three people have been kidnapped, Greer. There’s gonna be a press conference in two hours.”

What the fuck?

I put him on speaker so I could start Googling as well, but I started with the second link he’d sent.

YOUNG GIRL AMONG THE THREE VICTIMS WHO WERE KIDNAPPED.

Mother of fucking hell, what was going on? River and Reese had talked about their week in San Diego. They were gonna help an old friend get settled in his new house—the damn ranch in the photos—and Shay had been excited about learning how to surf. Instead, the words that came at me from the article… Targeted attack, ongoing investigation, possible link to a drug cartel, death, ambush, seriously injured victims, and yeah, three people kidnapped. A woman, a young girl, and a young man.

“A young man. That could be both Crew and Shay,” I muttered.

“I’ll get back to you—someone’s calling.” The call was dropped.

I started bouncing my knee, and I clenched my jaw. I had to think rationally here. The odds of all three Tenleys being injured or worse were astronomical. Right? And Crew was fine. Yes? Who else was there? We’d gotten to know the Quinns a bit after last year’s clusterfuck. They might be there too. Emerson and his husband, maybe. I knew Kyle wasn’t there, at least. He’d been invited, but he was off somewhere.

When the fuck did so many in my family get mixed up with PMCs?

The Tenleys were fine. River and Reese had been two of those PMCs for a long time.

While I tried to convince myself everything was gravy, I searched for more news articles, but one thing was clear. The news was still breaking, and very few details seemed to have been confirmed properly. That said, when kidnapping was involved, it was vital to reach out to the public quickly. Any potential leads had to be reported to the police.

A young man.

I sent a quick text to Reese.

I need to know that you, River, Shay, and Crew are all right.

I blew out a breath and glanced toward the warehouse. The weight settling on my chest could fuck all the way off. Instead of being surrounded by our delivery trucks, I needed this very moment to be more of what I’d had in the past. Uniforms, structured briefings, and orders. Civilian life came without a chain of command.

Thank fuck, Cullen called back. I answered it before the first ring had stopped sounding.

“Gimme somethin’ good,” I demanded.

“That was Reese.” He rushed out the words. “He still feels a bit responsible for Crew. My boy’s fine. Thank God. Crew is okay. But—” He cleared his throat.

I gnashed my teeth. Reese and I were pretty damn close. He hadn’t become friends with Cullen until last year, so for him to call my brother before he called me…?

Only one reason came to mind. Reese couldn’t handle talking to someone he was close to at the moment. He couldn’t handle follow-up questions.

“Say it,” I gritted out.

Cullen sighed heavily. “Shay’s one of the hostages. I’m sorry, little brother.”

Fucking hell.

My stomach twisted painfully, and a wave of fury washed over me, red-hot and all-consuming.

“They’ll be releasing the names with pictures at the press conference,” he went on grimly. “It was Elliott Jones’s niece—that’s Crew’s boss, Elliott—a coworker’s wife, and Shay. They were taken in the attack.”

I shook my head and scrubbed a hand over my mouth and jaw.

“They will find them, Greer. Everyone who’s battle-ready has already disappeared. They’re not leavin’ this to the authorities.”

No, I’d imagine they weren’t. But that was good. It gave me a sense of direction. I knew what to do.

“If Reese calls back, let him know I’m on standby for anything,” I told him. “I’m gonna send him a message⁠—”