34
Moreno
Paige’s car is nowhere in sight. Sawyer drives us back to the compound, and I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread.
Something is wrong.
I want to be overreacting, but I can’t fathom why she wouldn’t have returned when she explicitly said she was coming straight back to the compound.
Flinging the door open, I unbuckle Nova as she hops out of her car seat, skipping up to the front door, oblivious to my concern.
It’s probably for the best.
Sawyer unlocks the front door and opens it for us.
“Head into the playroom,” I say to Nova, pointing for her to go and do as I instruct.
Her shoulders slump. The skip in her step vanishes as she strolls across the hallway and into the playroom, out of sight.
“Where’s Paige?” Rhys is the first guard I laid eyes on, other than Sawyer, who was with me.
“She isn’t here.”
“What do you mean, she isn’t here?” My voice booms.
That’s not an acceptable response to my question.
I stare at Rhys, expecting an answer.
“She hasn’t returned, Sir.” Rhys looks terrified.
I want to be wrong. That I’m worried for no reason, and she’s okay. But she wouldn’t have gone off on another adventure without me, would she?
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I open the tracking app, revealing that her location is turned off.
Shit.
Why is her phone off?
Where the hell is she?
Everything inside of me screams that Vance DeLuca is responsible for her disappearance. I want to be wrong. I hope I’m wrong. But I know deep down that she wouldn’t run away. Not again.
* * *
Nikki, Luca, and Nova are locked in the panic room. We can’t trust Vance won’t show up with Paige as a hostage, throwing demands on us.
Standing over Dante’s desk, my fingers grip the edge of the wood table. Dante stands across from me. The capos, Sawyer, Caden, and Halsey, are in the room to discuss our options.
Rhys stands guard by the front door; in case anyone shows up. He’s notifying us immediately if Paige enters or anyone else uninvited. The guards at the post also have identical orders.
Although I suspect that we’ll hear gunfire before anyone radios us.
“Do we have any idea where Vance has set up his new base?” I ask.
It’s no secret that Vance moved back into town. His warning weeks ago wasn’t forgotten.
Sawyer points on the map spread across the desk. “I’ve got surveillance putting Vance in this area, but if he’s back to his old ways of trafficking women and children, his office is not going to be at the same location as the auction.”