Page 88 of Carte

“Same as the first round of check, she comes back clean,” I could hear Chace’s frustration through the phone.

“There has to be something,” I bit back. It didn’t make sense otherwise. “Did you check her family? Harley said that she was raised by a single mom.”

“I’m going through it right now,” Chase muttered. “There’s no father listed on the birth certificate. Mom has worked at her current job for over fifteen years. She’s a file clerk for the Department of Social Services. Her phone number is not listed, and she’s been living at her current address for ten years. Never married, as far as I can tell, never even had a serious relationship. Has a Facebook profile, but it’s not very active. The last post is from two years ago when her daughter graduated. 672 credit score. Nothing stands out.”

“Look deeper.” I barked.

“It’s gonna take me a few.

“Chace,” I growled. “We don’t have time. This bitch is hauled out here somewhere waiting for an opportunity.”

“I’ll work fast,” he promised and ended the call.

I followed the line of people trickling into the venue, trying to look into each face, see if they were twitchy or trying to hide something.

“Anything,” Trevor walked up to me from the stage.

I shook my head, grabbing a fistful of my hair. “Nothing.”

I looked around again.

“Fuck,” he hissed. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to end this. I want this threat out of Harley’s life.”

“But, should we cancel the concert?”

My brows pulled, “It would be a smart thing to do, but Tim was coming to get Harley as I was walking out. There’s no way in Hell she would back down from this. Not now.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this, brother.” Trevor shifted on his feet.

“Neither am I, but we have to be.”

I jerked up my chin to the stage, indicating the men positioning there, “Make sure they don’t move even an inch from their spots.”

Trevor nodded. “I called up my guys to do a sweep of the crowd. Do you have anyone who can look at the back? Once the show starts, it won’t be crowded back there, so it should be easier to spot her.”

“Yeah, I’ll get someone right on it.”

I grunted, turning in place. I was restless, couldn’t stand still. The need to protect Harley was burning in me, and I wouldn’t be able to breathe until Cassie Shaw was found.

“Good, come with me to the entrance and we’ll start searching again.”

We moved through the crowd. Searching.

The space filled up fast. Bodies were pushed together. It was almost impossible to see anything.

But I didn’t give up.

Soon, the stage lit up, then it went completely dark.

I could see shadows moving on it. The band taking its place.

Then, the beams of lights flashed in the air, the drummer counted down the beat, and the sound hit me just as those beams slowly lowered to the center of the stage.

And then, she was there. Her eyes shining, hand in the air, a brilliant smile on her lips.

God, she was made for this.