Chapter 23
The room spun, reality tilting on its axis, as Grant grappled with those three words. They’ve been kidnapped. A cold dread cascaded through him, his heart pounding, each beat echoing the terror growing inside him.
“What?” he choked out.
“Someone took them. I couldn’t stop them. I’m shot…I…”
Grant’s eyes went wider at the news. “Shot? James…” The call cut off before he could ask anything further. “James?”
A growled curse escaped his lips as he stared at the dead display before he revived it and placed a call to Max Stirling. The man’s line rang twice before he kicked up. “Mr. Harrington, did you get my report–”
“Max, listen carefully, this is urgent. Sierra and Julia have been kidnapped. We need to find them now. Whatever it takes.”
There was a momentary silence before the man responded. “Yes, of course, Mr. Harrington. What details do we have?”
Grant’s stomach lurched. “None. I don’t…James was shot…he called and told me what happened, that’s all I know.”
“I’ll send someone to meet him at the hospital.”
“I’m heading there, too, then I’ll be home. I want everyone on this. Find them, Max. Now.”
He jabbed at the phone before he leapt from his seat, grabbing his suit jacket from the back and whipping it on.
“Mr. Harrington, heading out?” Evie asked as she scurried back into the office with another set of folders.
“Uh…” Grant froze, the words not coming.
Evie stopped midway through her folder dump, snapping her gaze to him, her usual cheery composure morphing with concern. “Mr. Harrington? What’s wrong?”
“Julia…”
“Has something happened to Mrs. Harrington?”
“Someone kidnapped Julia and Sierra,” he finally choked out.
Evie’s features twisted with shock. “Oh, my word. Go, Mr. Harrington. If you need me to contact the authorities, I can do that.”
“Yes,” Grant said with a nod. “There was so much chaos at the scene…please call them.”
Evie reached across the desk for the phone. “It’s done. Be safe, Mr. Harrington.”
With a curt nod, he raced from the office and punched the elevator button until it opened. The ride down seemed to take forever. He opened his phone, scrolling through his newsfeed. Nothing reported so far. No new information.
When the doors opened, he sprinted to his car and sped through the streets to the hospital. As he waved through traffic, his mind raced, juggling countless possibilities. Who would take Julia and Sierra? Was this a random act or tied to something more sinister? The questions piled, each one weighing heavily on his already strained thoughts.
He skidded to a halt outside the emergency room, a blue of scrubs and flashing lights. Handing his keys to the valet with a shaky hand, he plunged into the frenzied atmosphere of the waiting room, each step heavy with dread.
“James Bennett?” he asked the woman at the desk.
“Mr. Harrington!” James shouted as they wheeled him in from the ambulance.
Grant’s heart pounded as he spotted the bloody bandage slapped against his shoulder. If James looked like this, how did Julia and Sierra fare?
Grant closed the distance between them. “James. How bad is it?”
“Not good. Old van, nondescript. Three masked men, one masked driver. They were gone in seconds–”
Grant offered a slight scoff. “James, you need to focus on yourself at the moment. How bad is your wound?”
“Hurts like hell, sir, but I didn’t get the worst of it. I’m going to ask them to patch me up, and we’ll get right out looking for them.”
“No, James. You need to let them do what they need to to help you. Okay? Max is on this already.”
James shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“It’s not your fault. Is there anything else you can tell us?”
James pressed his lips together, offering Grant a sheepish glance. “I don’t know if this is related or not, but if I don’t say something…well…I’d feel remiss if it mattered later.”
Grant crinkled his brow. “What is it?”
“Before I took Mrs. Harrington to shop…” His voice faltered, attempting to shape words that refused to come.
“What, James?”
James heaved a sigh. “She insisted I take her to see Kyle Carter. She said something about him saying he had more information. She wanted to know what it was so she could warn you.”
Grant’s eyes went wide. “You took her?”
“She said if I didn’t, she’d go alone. I couldn’t let her do that.”
Grant’s grip on the railing of the bed tightened. “She really needs to stop taking all these risks.”
“I tried to talk her out of it. I told her you’d fire me if I took her.”
Grant shot him a sideways glance. “Not quite, but I am going to have a long talk with her when…”
“We’ll find her, sir,” James assured him.
“Right,” Grant answered as a few medical professionals flitted into the room to begin tending to James.
“Sir, if you could wait in the waiting room…”
“Actually, I’m going to head home to keep tabs on the search. I’ll send someone to wait with you.”
“No, every second counts. Keep everyone on the search,” James insisted.
Grant nodded, his mind still whirling as he stepped into the night air. The weight of the situation settled on him like a shroud. He had to find them. Failure was not an option.
When he arrived at Harrington House, it was already abuzz with activity. His private office had been transformed into a command center. Laptops and electronics glowed and hummed, casting harsh beams across the intense faces of his security team.
“Mr. Harrington,” Worthington said as he entered, his expression grim, “I am so…”
The man found himself unable to finish the statement.
“We’re going to find them, Worthington.” Grant’s voice projected a confidence he didn’t feel.
“Of course, sir. They have already begun the search.” Worthington motioned toward the office.
Grant strode inside, tugging his jacket off. “Where are we on this?”
Max took the lead with explanations. “Police are tracking the van through CCTV and informing us of anything they find. They were grabbed outside of the Dolce store. Kidnappers left their purses at the scene, we retrieved both. No messages on either cell phone that seem threatening. No warning. No notes in either with instructions.”
Grant processed the information. “Who is the van registered to?”
“We’re working on that,” Max said, “still waiting for the plates from the police.”
Grant loosened his tie as his mind sorted through the information. “They were wearing ski masks, James said.”
“This was a coordinated strike, sir, not a quick grab. I imagine they’ll have demands. The important thing to remember is as long as they think we’re playing ball, they have no reason to hurt either of them.”
Grant’s mind whirled at the statement, his jaw tensing. He imagined the two women in his life frightened, possibly hurt. Helplessness washed over him as he sank into his chair. “So we do what? Wait?”
“For the time being, yes. We wait for information or a contact from the kidnappers.”
“Did anyone check on Kyle Carter? James said Julia spoke with him before she went to shop.”
“Again, sir?” Worthington asked.
Grant slid his eyes to the man. “Yes. She met him. James said she insisted on going. Something about figuring out what information he was planning to spring on us.”
“I had two men head to his place just after the incident. After a little…persuasion, he claimed to have no knowledge of it. Said he spoke with Julia at the park, she left, he didn’t follow because she’d made it clear she didn’t want to speak to him.”
“Well, isn’t that magnanimous of the good doctor,” Grant shot back.
“We had a tail on him. I can check in with them.”
“Do that. I don’t trust him.”
Max nodded as he pressed his phone to his ear and retreated across the room.
Grant’s eyes fell on the silver frame holding the wedding photo. He imagined the smile gone from her face as terror set in. And all because of him. One of his enemies took both her and his daughter. Would either ever forgive him?
“What?” Max’s voice barked. “Well, find him, now!”
“What’s going on, Max?” Grant asked as the man ended the call.
“Tail lost Carter as he left the city. They’re trying to find him now.”
Grant slid his eyes closed as he shook his head and cursed under his breath. “Find him.”
The buzzing of his phone sent his heart thudding again. He stared down at the unknown number before he glanced at Max.
“Put it on speaker.”
Grant nodded and swiped to accept the call. “This is Grant Harrington.”
A chilling robotic voice filled the air. “This is the party that currently has your wife and daughter.”
His breathing turned shallow. “What do you want?”
“Harrington Global. Turn over all shares to us or they die. More instructions will be coming.”
“Wait,” Grant said as Max spun a finger in the air, asking him to keep the caller on the line. “I want proof they’re alive.”
“We’ll send it.” The line clicked as the caller ended the call.
A collective groan went up through the room as the man manning the trace shook his head. Grant leaned back in his chair as he processed the demand. His entire company, his entire fortune, gone.
But he would give anything to ensure Sierra and Julia came home safe. “Call Mitchell.”
Max shook his head. “Sir, we shouldn’t–”
“Call Mitchell. I’m not bargaining with their lives.”
Worthington lifted the receiver on the desk. “I will contact him immediately, sir.”
Grant sat back in his chair, his mind twisted and turned as he tried to figure out who would do this. Worthington gently replaced the phone in the cradle. “He is on his way.”
“Thank you, Worthington. Max, keep on the search. If we can get them back, we go for it. Until then, we make arrangements to meet their demands. Nothing is worth Sierra’s or Julia’s lives.”
Max bobbed his head as he dialed a number on his phone and pressed it to his ear again before stalking across the room.
Grant rubbed his forehead as he waited for the phone to ring again or for the proof of life to come through. His trembling hands drummed out a shaky rhythm on the desk. Why haven’t they sent the proof yet?
He tried to push the obvious reason from his mind. They didn’t have it. No, that would never work for a ransom. They must be alive. Maybe they were being difficult, fighting.
He hoped they were, but he prayed above anything they were safe.
As the team continued to bustle around him, Grant let his eyes slide closed, feeling the weight of the situation settle on his shoulders. He tried to brace himself for what was to come, but he wasn’t certain anything could prepare him.
When his phone rang again, it split his thoughts and twisted his stomach. He glanced at the display. Another unknown number. This one different from the last. They must be using a series of burner phones.
Max raced back across the room. “Answer it. Speakerphone.”
Grant nodded, swiping to answer the call and placing it on speaker. “This is Grant Harrington.”
Silence met his words for a moment. He held his breath as time slowed. Just as he was about to prod for a response, a breath gasped on the other end. “Daddy?”
His eyes went wide, and his heart hammered. “Sierra?”
“Daddy,” she sobbed, her voice quivering.
“Sierra, where are you? Can you tell me where you are?”
He expected the robotic voice to cut off her words. His mind thought ahead in the chess match. Where was Julia? He needed to hear her voice, too.
“Umm, I don’t know where I am. He just…left me here.”
“What? Honey, are you safe?”
“I think so,” she cried. “I’m just on the side of the road. I don’t know where I am. I can see the city, but I don’t know where.”
“Keep her on the line,” Max said, “we’re tracing her.”
“Honey, honey, don’t hang up. We’re searching for you, okay?”
“Okay.” Her voice was heavy with upset. “Daddy, I don’t feel good.”
“I know, baby, we’re coming to get you as soon as we can, okay?”
“Okay.” She sniffled. “Okay.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No,” she answered. “I’m okay.”
She hadn’t mentioned Julia. Why? He had to know. He asked the question that had burned through his mind since the start of the call. “Sierra…I need to know if Julia is with you.”
“No.” The question started her crying again.
“Do you know where she is?”
“No,” Sierra answered, her voice cracking. “He took her. He just…he left me here and took her.”
“Who, baby? Who took Julia?” Grant tried to steady his voice, but it came out just above a whisper as dread coiled in his stomach.
“Kyle Carter.”
The name hit him like a physical blow. Flashbacks of the terse exchange in the police station and Kyle’s unsettling gaze flooded his mind, filling him with anger.
The world spun for the umpteenth time as the words smacked him in the face. Kyle Carter had done this. And now he had Julia.