16. Chapter Sixteen #2
I knelt beside Hades, "What is it, boy?"
He barked once, sharp and urgent, then turned in a circle, clearly distressed. Anubis appeared beside him, equally agitated.
"Hold on," I said into the phone, a sinking feeling settling in my gut. "Something's wrong."
I strode quickly to the playroom, the dogs at my heels. The door stood open, the room empty. No Emily. Just Barnaby sitting abandoned on the chair.
"Emily?" I called, moving rapidly through the house, checking each room. Nothing.
"Shit," I muttered, into my phone. "Emily's gone."
"What do you mean, gone?" Gideon’s voice sharpened instantly.
"I mean she's not in the house." I fought to keep my voice level despite the panic clawing at my chest as I checked the security app on my phone. "The garage door didn't open," I said half to myself.
I heard rapid typing. "Negative, and your alarm would have sounded,” Eric answered. “No exterior doors or windows have been breached except... wait. Your back patio door opened fourteen minutes ago." I swore knowing because I'd been on the call to the team I'd missed the alert.
"She walked out," I realized, already moving toward the back of the house. "Track her phone. Now."
More typing. "Got her. She's moving east in a car, about half a mile from your place. Looks like she's heading toward the commercial district."
I grabbed my keys, whistling for the dogs to stay.
"Keep tracking her," I ordered, already moving toward the garage. "And check her recent calls. Someone contacted her." She was pissed at me, but she wouldn’t just leave on foot.
I jumped into the SUV, backing out with enough force to leave rubber on the concrete. The tires squealed as I took the corner at speed, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"She received a call from Vivienne Carter approximately seventeen minutes ago," Eric reported in my earpiece. "Duration one minute, seven seconds."
"Her mother," I growled, accelerating toward the main road. "What the hell does she want?"
"I can't access the content of the call without—"
"Just do it," I snapped. "Whatever it takes."
The silence that followed told me Eric was working his magic, likely bending several laws in the process. I didn't care. Emily was out there alone, vulnerable, after we'd just confronted the people trafficking children.
"Got it," Eric said moments later. "Vivienne asked Emily to meet her at Riverside Café on Fifth Street. She sounded distressed, said 'they' were watching, told Emily not to tell anyone where she was going."
My blood turned to ice. "It's a trap."
"Gideon and Walker are already enroute," Eric confirmed. "ETA eleven minutes."
I checked the GPS. I was still fourteen minutes out, even driving like a maniac.
I pushed the SUV faster, weaving through traffic with single-minded focus. Every second felt like an eternity, my mind racing through worst-case scenarios. Had Emily's mother knowingly led her into danger? Or was Vivienne herself being used as bait?
"Gideon's on scene," Eric reported just as I turned a corner, the cafe in sight.
"No sign of Emily or Vivienne. The café staff says a woman matching Emily's description arrived about seven minutes ago, spoke briefly with an older woman, and then both left together in a black sedan. Her mother's car."
"Goddammit!" I slammed my palm against the steering wheel. "Did anyone follow them?"
"Negative. I'm checking traffic cameras now."
I pulled up outside the café with a screech of tires, barely remembering to put the vehicle in park before leaping out. Gideon met me at the entrance, his expression grim, just as Walker's car peeled away.
"We're too late," he confirmed. "But we have the direction they went," Gideon continued, already guiding me back toward my SUV. "East on Fifth, then north on Maple. Eric's tracking traffic cameras, but they're moving quickly."
"What else did the staff say?" I demanded, sliding behind the wheel as Gideon took the passenger seat.
"The older woman—Vivienne—was already seated when Emily arrived. She appeared agitated, kept looking over her shoulder. When Emily sat down, Vivienne immediately stood up, said something that made Emily's face go white, and then they both left. No drinks ordered, no conversation."
"A setup," I growled, pulling back into traffic and following Gideon's directions. "Her own mother."
"We don't know that for certain," Gideon cautioned, though his tone suggested he believed it too. "Vivienne could be under duress herself."
My earpiece crackled. "I've got them," Eric's voice came through. "Black Lexus sedan, turning onto Riverside Drive toward the warehouse district."
"Send coordinates," I ordered, pushing the SUV faster.
"Already did. And Dion? There's another vehicle following them. Dark SUV, tinted windows."
My hands tightened on the wheel. "How many inside?"
"I can only see the front. Two at a minimum."
"I'm betting Rice's people," Gideon said grimly. "Making sure they go where they've been told."
I floored the accelerator, the SUV's engine roaring as we raced through the industrial district. The familiar weight of my sidearm pressed against my ribs, but it felt inadequate against the crushing fear that Emily was walking into a trap I couldn't protect her from.
"Eric, any word on the Bennett house?" I barked into my earpiece.
"Still monitoring. Three vehicles remain on site, but no movement." His voice was tight with concentration. "Maddox is maintaining visual on Zoe."
At least one child was still safe. But Emily—Christ, Emily was out there because she'd been angry at me for trying to protect her. Because I'd handled our argument like a commanding officer instead of a partner. No, like a Daddy .
It was like a punch to the gut. I’d been a Daddy with her. Or the type of Daddy that I was. I didn’t give a shit if she didn’t want pacifiers. The changing table could be thrown in the firepit for all I cared, but I would never be able to alter who I was.
Someone she couldn’t have made any clearer she didn’t want.
She'd put herself in danger because she didn't trust me.
We would never work and deep down I should have known. There was no way anyone as precious as Emily would put her trust in a killer. Because, after all, that’s what I was. I almost felt the tear as my heart cracked.
I’d make sure she was safe and then I wouldn’t see her again.
"Turn left here," Gideon directed, his own phone pressed to his ear. "Walker's got eyes on the Lexus. They've stopped at the old Morrison warehouse complex."
I knew the area—abandoned industrial buildings that had been slated for demolition for years. Perfect place for someone to disappear.
"How many hostiles?" I asked, taking the turn hard enough to make the tires hiss.
"Still assessing," Walker replied through the comm. "The Lexus is parked outside Building C. The SUV that was following them is nowhere to be seen, but that doesn't mean they're not there."
I pulled up two blocks away, killing the engine. Through the windshield, I could see the skeletal remains of the warehouse complex with its broken windows.
"We all know Rice is using Emily and her mother as bait," I said, checking my weapon. "He wants to eliminate the threat we pose."
Gideon nodded grimly. "Classic trap. Lure us in, take us all out at once."
Walker's voice came through our earpieces. "I've got movement at the east entrance. Two armed men."
"Any visual on Emily?" I demanded, scanning the building's broken facade.
"Negative."
I closed my eyes briefly, centering myself. This wasn't just another mission. This was Emily—my Emily—who'd walked right into danger because I'd failed to be what she needed.
"Dion," Gideon said quietly, reading my expression. "We'll get her back."
"Damn right we will." I turned to him. "Standard extraction. I'll take point, you cover the rear. Walker, maintain position and watch for reinforcements."
"Copy that," Walker confirmed. "Xavier, Trevor, and TJ on their way. ETA four minutes."
We moved silently toward the warehouse, keeping to the shadows. The building loomed before us, a hulking monument to urban decay. Perfect for an ambush.
"Two hostiles at the east entrance," Walker reported. "Another patrolling the perimeter. Looks like they're expecting company."
"They're expecting us," I corrected. "Let's not disappoint them."
We approached from the west side, where the building's dilapidated loading dock offered cover. I could feel my training taking over, my senses sharpening as adrenaline coursed through my veins.
"On my mark," I whispered, signaling to Gideon.
We moved in perfect sync, years of working together making words unnecessary. The first guard never saw us coming. Gideon took him down with a silent chokehold while I secured his weapon.
"One down," I breathed into the comm. "Moving into position."
We entered through a broken window, glass crunching beneath our boots despite our care. The interior was a maze of fallen beams and debris, shadows stretching like grasping fingers across the concrete floor.
We found the stairwell, checking corners as we ascended. At the top, voices drifted through a partially open door.
"—told you she'd come alone." A woman's voice, tight with fear. Vivienne.
My blood froze. Emily wouldn't ever be alone. As long as I was alive.