55. Where Is She
Where Is She
CARTER
The sun dipped low in the sky, setting blazing red streaks across the horizon as we quietly waited, hidden in the foliage of the Bishop’s apple orchard. It was almost eerie, considering the carnage that was about to unfold in a matter of minutes.
Next to me, Liam shifted impatiently, muttering, “What the hell is taking them so long?”
The comms in my ear were a quiet flurry of commands and updates as we waited the torturously long minutes for each unit to clear its respective section.
Theo’s team was sweeping the outside of the manor, while his cybersecurity team hacked into the security system from the comfort of the tactical vehicles.
“Almost there.” Someone murmured an update, and I could hear their fingers flying over the keyboard. “Likewise.” One of Theo’s men responded.
We had confirmation that Sara was inside the manor, but we didn’t have confirmation that she was unharmed or even alive. It was only my tactical training that kept my feet in place, knowing that every precious minute that passed was a minute Sara could be injured, in mortal danger, or worse.
“Any day now,” Liam muttered .
“She’s strong; she’ll pull through this.” I shifted, fingers pressing into the soft earth beneath me, willing my words to prove true.
“You don’t know that,” Liam murmured. “People do terrible things when they’re desperate.”
“Well, let’s hope she’s the one doing them.” I countered, my chest feeling tighter than ever. “We both know she’s capable of raising hell when she wants to.” Liam huffed a heavy breath that might have been amusement.
Sara was resourceful, yes, but Tag—I worried about the lengths he would go to prove himself, in whatever larger picture was playing out.
He’d threatened her at gunpoint and then proceeded to empty an entire clip into me—that reality left every cell in my body drenched in fear, and it was a luxury I couldn’t afford.
So, I returned to my box-breathing in an effort to steady my panic as I watched the sun melt beyond the horizon in blood red hues.
“I don’t know how I didn’t see this coming.” Liam admitted quietly. “I should have known the lengths my father would go to save his own skin—should have seen the signs, the way he was pillaging the estate, I should have known something was up.”
I exhaled a long breath, thinking the same. “I don’t think anyone could have predicted this.” I added, “It’s not your fault.”
“Is it yours?” Liam asked, no vitriol in his voice, as he finally turned to look at me.
I looked down, jaw fanning. “Honestly, it might be.”
He hung his head, giving it an exhausted shake. “It’s not.” After a moment, he added with such disgust, “What a fucking cocksucker—trying to buy a wife.”
“Liam, I need you to know she wasn’t just a fling.” I admitted quietly, and he shot me a glowering look. “I love her.”
“Why the fuck did you break her heart, then?” He demanded softly, keeping his eyes on the manor rather than looking at me.
“Back then?” I swallowed hard. “You made it very clear that I’d be dead to you if I ever made a pass at her.
And when my parents died, you, your family, her, it was the only thing that kept me alive.
” I felt his gaze on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him as I admitted something I was incredibly ashamed of.
“You think I was going to jeopardize the only family I had left by making a move? You’re practically my brother, Liam.
You can be pissed at me all you want, but back then, no matter how I felt, I stayed away because of you.
I couldn’t admit it to myself that I loved her, because I was terrified of alienating you.
Terrified of losing your parents’ support.
” I studied the dirt beneath me. “You don’t know what it’s like to be all alone—to have no one. ”
“You’ve never had no one.” Liam huffed.
“Because I played by the rules, you set up for me. Read between the lines when your father warned me.”
“You ever think that was for a good reason?” Liam’s eyes were dark, unforgiving. “You went behind my back with her and then decided to break her heart anyway. Just like I knew you would, from the very beginning.”
“Liam, they drugged and beat the shit out of me and then turned around and threatened to do the same for her—worse, actually. What the hell was I supposed to do?” He stared at me for a long minute.
“I stepped back for her own goddamn safety.” I huffed, lowering my voice further.
“Because no matter how much I love her, keeping her safe is always going to be my top priority—no matter the cost.”
“So I’m supposed to believe you broke her heart for the better good.
” He asked quietly, as if that’s what he wanted to believe, but couldn’t.
“How can you love her if you’ve never been able to hold down a serious relationship?
” He muttered. “Do you even know what love is? What commitment really means?”
“Are you even hearing me?” I demanded, “They kidnapped her, sold her like it was nothing—Liam, they threatened to kill her, and I believe them, because they murdered my parents .” I barreled on even as his eyes snapped to mine in realization.
“This organization, this Society your father is so proud to be a part of, they’re not playing fucking games, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want.
I get that you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but tell me you wouldn’t have done the same damn thing for Gina—if you thought it’s what would keep her safe—keep her alive . ”
“This is not about me and Gina.” He grumbled, “Sara’s just too fragile for this. Everyone just hurts her, over and over again. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders all the goddamn time, and I just want to see her happy, safe. ”
“I think she’d say the same about you—and she’s not fragile, Liam.
She feels deeply, yes, but give her credit where it’s due, for Christ’s sake.
She’s strong, and determined, and resilient—not to mention, she’s a grown-ass woman who’s perfectly capable of deciding who she’s allowed to love.
” He glared, but I kept on going. “And if you really do care about her happiness, when I ask her to marry me, don’t be the one that stands in the way.
” He opened his mouth to object, but I didn’t stop.
“I’ve always loved her, and that’s why there wasn’t anybody else, because it was always her.
She’s my forever, Liam, and if she’ll take me back, I can’t step aside for you or anyone else.
Not ever again. Don’t draw a line in the sand when it doesn’t have to be that way. ”
“And when you’re done playing house?” Liam demanded softly. “Marriage means something to her.”
“The day I’m done with her is the day they put me in the dirt.” I looked back towards the manor cooly. “And even then, I’ll never stop loving her.”
Liam stiffened as he returned his gaze to the manor. “She’ll be the one to decide, then.”
“And Liam?”
“What?” he snapped roughly.
“When we get in there, I need you to get her out because when I get my hands on him,” My blood went red hot as the sound of Tag’s hand meeting Sara’s cheek rang through my memory, the feeling of metal biting into my wrists, the helplessness I felt as she crumpled to the ground. “ I’m gonna kill him. ”
Liam opened his mouth to argue, but just then Theo murmured, “Alright kids, put your seatbelts on, we’re in, and it’s time to raise hell.”
Liam and I pulled our masks down over our faces, and the next several minutes were quick and precise as we took the mansion room by room. The house staff was quarantined in the kitchen, the security staff subdued by whatever means necessary, and still no sign of Sara or her captors.
As we moved to the next wing of the house, Liam handled his firearm with far more skill than I would have expected, but I didn’t waste a precious second to demand an explanation.
I combed the upstairs bedrooms, feeling more and more panicked as each yielded no sign of Sara.
At the end of one wing, my pulse spiked as I approached the only room with an open door—a bent butter knife was discarded at the threshold, and just inside was a puddle of oil leaking from a tipped bottle.
I lifted the bottle to my nose, realizing it was a fragranced bath oil, and I smiled grimly, piecing together what she’d done.
That’s my girl. Resourceful. In the ensuite bathroom I found a few telltale strands of dark curly hair, and a quick smell of the pillows in the bedroom confirmed my suspicions.
She had been in here at one point, but how long she’d been gone, I couldn’t say.
Over the comms, “I’m upstairs. It looks like she greased up the door and pulled it off the hinges to get out.” I eyed the old door, knowing how difficult that must have been for her—it was solid wood.
“Clever girl.” Cade muttered in the comms.
“Are you a hundred percent sure she didn’t leave the estate?
Are there any blind spots she could have slipped through?
” I asked, dangerous hope filling me, as I wondered if she’d actually gotten away, and then the anxiety that she might be somewhere in the woods all by herself swept over me in the next instant.
I felt like I was going to puke, hoping she wasn’t injured.
“There’s no sign of that.” Theo commented before murmuring instructions through the comms to sweep the grounds again. “But that doesn’t mean there aren’t alternate routes out.”
Liam’s voice echoed across the hall and in my comms, frustration drenching his voice as he asked, “ Underground? ”
“It’s not on the schematics.” Theo grunted. “But that’s certainly possible.”
“ Fuck! ” I muttered, biting back my panic as I continued my sweep of the upstairs bedrooms. “Does anybody have eyes on Deadwell ?”
“Nothing here.”