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“I’m not going to apologize for that,” Marcus said flatly.

Alaric nodded. “This is a bit too polished for Enzo. I agree that someone else is behind this abduction. My guess is the bank. Mara had notified the leadership of her finds. That group must have included those orchestrating this fraud.”

“If that’s true, they’ll want to question her to find out what proof she has. She won’t come to any undue harm before they’ve had that chance. We’ll figure out where they are long before that can happen,” Marcus assured Darius.

Darius was aware that many techniques to extract information could be painful and damaging, so the words didn’t reassure him.

When the red dot came to a halt on the map. Bram switched the monitor back to a live feed of the van parked outside another dock. Four men could be seen getting out of the van, unloading the cart, and wheeling it into the building. Bram’s fingers moved as if they were on fire over the keyboard as he searched for a connection inside and hacked a path into the system.

By the time he gained access to the interior, the hallways on all fifteen floors were empty. Darius realized Mara could be in any room.

“Bram, those guys plowed their way through a big puddle by the door. The wheels of that cart have to be wet. Go to the camera by the elevator. Let’s see if we can spot tracks coming out on one of the floors,” Marcus said.

“On it.” Bram started on the second floor. Nothing. Minutes passed at a snail’s pace as he methodically eliminated each floor.

On the seventeenth floor, Donovan pointed at the screen. “There! Something is glistening on the metal threshold. Go to the left, past the guard desk. Looks like we’ve stumbled upon someone who protects their privacy. See if they went that direction.”

“Nothing. The hallway doesn’t extend that way,” Bram said and connected with a camera at the opposite corner. He searched for another view on that floor.

Everyone leaned closer to the screen. The grainy condition of the video made spotting the trail a difficult task. Farther down the hall, a light fully illuminated the flooring. At the only door in the short hallway, the wet lines left by the wheels turned and disappeared behind the barrier.

“Gotcha,” Bram announced.

Darius couldn’t wait anymore and turned to Bram. “Where?”

Bram handed him a sticky note. “7309 East Locust. The Belvedere. Apartment 760. The penthouse.”

Marcus keyed in the address as he headed for the door. “The car’s waiting in the garage.”

Darius was already fading into the shadows. “Good. You can be cleanup on this one.” He disappeared.

Chapter

Ten

The man stationed at the Belvedere’s top floor abruptly stood up when the elevator doors opened. He put a hand to the gun in the holster at his back as he scanned the area.

Darius clung to the shadows. He’d eliminated the light inside the car as well as the annoying sound announcing the arrival to the floor. He held down the button, keeping the metal panels from closing. Patiently Darius waited, even though everything inside him screamed to find his mate. Finally, the guard stepped close to the opening to look inside.

Like a rattlesnake striking, Darius grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him inside. In a moment, Darius stepped out into the hallway, leaving the elevator car parked on the top floor. His clansmen would have no problem climbing to the penthouse floor.

Hugging the darkened sides of the corridor, Darius stepped from shadow to shadow. The door didn’t provide any security for those hiding inside. Darius needed to find his mate before deciding how much pain those men would face for harming his mate. Their death would be a foregone conclusion after Darius got the information he wanted.

Leaving the door untouched, Darius slid into an interior shadow. Three men huddled in the living room space, celebrating their successful mission. In front of each rested an empty shot glass. He inhaled, catching a whiff of the blend. They’d celebrated terrorizing his mate with a glass of whiskey. The scent of the brew told him their bar was stocked with mediocre alcohol. Bypassing them without a whisper of sound, Darius searched the rest of the space.

Two guest bedrooms lay empty. The double doors at the end of the hallway signaled this must be the owner’s bedroom. Darius stepped from the gloom into the huge penthouse room and spotted a still figure on the bed. She was breathing. He relaxed slightly and reached out to his clan to update them.

She’s here. In the main bedroom at the far end of the hallway.

Marcus answered him, Almost there. Be careful. Get her out of the penthouse.

I left trash that needs to be dealt with in the elevator.

We’ll handle it, Marcus said.

He scanned the area for any threats before rushing to her side. From the noise coming from the living room, the remaining kidnappers had decided to pass the time waiting for someone to arrive by playing cards. He could hear the clink of chips. The assholes were gambling after endangering his mate. A spike of anger flashed through him.

Stifling that rage, Darius dropped to one knee on the carpet beside Mara and quickly assessed her condition. She appeared physically unharmed, with only her clothing rumpled from the experience. Her breath was slow and even. Mara seemed to be fast asleep, snoring softly. He brushed her hair away from her face, and her eyes fluttered open momentarily.