Chapter 17
Pid was exhausted by the time he pulled up to his house.
It had been a long, stressful day. They were preparing to be sent on another mission, this time to Tajikistan.
The country was just beyond Afghanistan’s northern border, and they’d gotten word of a possible high-value Taliban target hiding there.
The Tajikistan government asked for assistance in raiding the suspected hideout, so the SEAL team would be heading overseas fairly soon.
But details of the purported hiding place were sketchy, so they’d spent the day poring over reports and satellite images of the area.
It wasn’t anything Pid or the rest of the team hadn’t done before, but Aleck was obviously stressed that they might be sent before his wedding and it would have to be postponed.
During a break, Jag had also admitted that he was more and more worried about Carly, and the fact that Luke Keyes was nowhere to be found.
This was an island; it shouldn’t be that hard to locate someone.
And the fact that her ex’s son had most likely been the one who was supposed to pick up his father and Carly the day of the attack at Duke’s, and take them who-knows-where, was extremely concerning.
Jag knew it. Carly knew it. And everyone was on edge about that situation.
Mustang and Midas were naturally always concerned about leaving Elodie and Lexie.
Hell, even Slate wasn’t as enthusiastic and impatient to leave for a mission.
Pid knew it was because of Ashlyn. He worried about her almost as much as Jag worried about Carly.
Ashlyn was outgoing and friendly and often didn’t think twice about putting herself in questionable situations when it came to her safety.
And, of course, Pid was nervous about their pending departure because it would be the first time he’d been deployed since meeting Monica.
He worried about her state of mind while he was away.
He so desperately wanted her to trust him, but breaking down walls she’d spent years building to protect herself wasn’t easy.
And certainly wouldn’t happen within the short time they’d known each other.
But he was chipping away at that wall every day.
He could sense it. He wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman, but he was willing to wait until she believed he wasn’t going to do anything to hurt her.
Pid was well aware he had a hard road ahead of him, and it was likely Monica would need more therapy to help her get past what her asshole parents had done. But she was brave and capable.
Not thrilled about telling Monica that he was likely going to be deployed, but looking forward to seeing her, Pid unlocked the door to the house and called her name.
“Monica? I’m home.”
The house was unnaturally quiet. Pid’s well-honed instincts immediately kicked in, and he froze, listening. For what, he wasn’t sure. Some sound that the woman he was falling in love with was there. But he heard nothing.
Pid crept forward quietly, his head on a swivel, as he searched for some sort of clue as to what the hell felt so off. The second he stepped into his living room, he saw his refrigerator door standing open. Then he caught the scent of the plumeria tree in his backyard…
Looking at the sliding glass door that led to the deck, his entire body tensed as he realized it wasn’t open—it was shattered. Glass littered the floor of his home, as well as the deck itself.
Without thinking, Pid spun around and ran toward the hallway and his guest room.
The door was open, and he spotted the clothes he’d last seen Monica wearing in the laundry hamper in the corner.
She was the neatest person ever, and if it had been any other day, he would’ve smiled at seeing the evidence of her tidiness.
But the door to the safe room he’d built, standing open, had already drawn his attention.
He walked toward it, not sure what he’d find.
The area between the two walls was empty. The blanket he’d placed in the room was half inside and half outside the small space…as if it had been dragged out. The door that led out to the yard was still latched.
The possibilities of what could’ve happened ran through his head, and Pid felt sick.
He hoped he was just being paranoid. Maybe she’d put something in the safe room and had forgotten to close it.
Maybe she’d accidentally smashed the back door and had gone to a home store, hoping to fix it.
Maybe this was a random break-in, and Monica didn’t even know about it yet because she and Elodie had gone straight to Kenna’s to help with wedding stuff.
But the second those possibilities went through his head, Pid dismissed them.
He was one hundred percent sure Monica wouldn’t leave without at least writing him a note or texting him to let him know what was going on, let alone leaving the fridge open.
And if she’d broken the door, the last thing she’d do was leave the house unsecured with glass everywhere, even if she somehow hoped to replace it.
When Pid pulled out his phone, he realized that his hands were shaking. He hit Mustang’s name and waited for his friend to pick up.
“Hey, what’s up?” Mustang asked.
“Is Monica with Elodie?” Pid asked, knowing he was panicking, but not able to stop himself.
“No. Why? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t find her. She’s gone. And my glass door is shattered. Someone took her.” The last three words were almost whispered, as if by saying them out loud, it would make them true. But Pid knew in his gut that’s what had happened.
“I’m on my way,” Mustang said, and Pid had never been as grateful for his team leader and friend as he was right that second. “What do you see? Was she hurt? Do you see any evidence of blood?”
Pid almost stopped breathing. Shit—he hadn’t even thought about that. His gaze flew over her bedroom, and he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not when he saw no evidence that Monica had been injured in whatever altercation had happened there. “None in her room. Hang on.”
He struggled to focus. He’d been in the worst situations that anyone could imagine.
He had to think on his feet all the time while doing his job.
Many times, plans A and B turned into plans D, E, or F.
And he’d always been able to pivot without any issues.
But right now, Pid felt as if he were walking through a thick fog, trying to see more than five feet in front of him but not having any luck.
He stood at the edge of his living area and eyed the room. He looked for anything out of place. It was frustrating as hell when he didn’t spot anything other than his broken door.
“No blood,” Pid told Mustang. “The knives are all still in the block and nothing’s knocked over. It’s as if someone broke the door, walked in calmly, somehow subdued Monica, and walked out the way he came, cool as a cucumber and without disturbing anything else.”
“Shit,” Mustang muttered.
“What?” Pid asked, torn between wanting to know what his friend was thinking and absolutely not wanting to know.
“Could this be Bull?”
The four words made the hair on the back of Pid’s neck stand up. “Fuck.”
“I’m calling Huttner,” Mustang said.
Pid nodded, not even caring that Mustang couldn’t see him.
“Stay calm,” Mustang ordered. “I’m already on my way. We’re gonna find her.”
Pid didn’t respond.
“Pid?”
“Yeah?” he replied, already on the move toward his front door.
“Did you hear me? We’re gonna find her.”
“I heard you.”
“Call Midas and Slate. After I talk to the commander, I’ll call the others. Okay?”
“Okay,” Pid said, his mind racing about where Bull could have taken her.
“Later.”
Pid clicked off the phone as he walked out his front door, not even bothering to lock it behind him. If someone wanted to go into his house and take shit, let them. The most important thing in his life had already been stolen.
He strode toward his minivan, hating that it wasn’t a faster, sleeker sports car that would get him to where he needed to be faster.
As he sat, he clicked on a name in his contact list. It wasn’t Midas. Or Slate.
“Baker,” the man’s deep voice said through the phone connection.
“Bull’s got Monica,” Pid said in lieu of a greeting.
“What?” Baker asked.
Pid supposed he couldn’t blame the man for being confused. It wasn’t as if they talked a lot. And this was the first time Pid had ever called him, even though he’d had his number since he’d assisted with Elodie’s situation.
“I came home and the back door’s shattered, just like it was in Algeria. Monica’s nowhere to be found. Bull’s got her. I know it.”
“Fuck,” Baker said. “Where are you now?”
“I’m about to head north, toward you,” Pid said. There was no way he could just hang around his house waiting for Mustang to get there. He needed to be doing something. And since Baker was the only person who knew Bull, really knew him, that was who he needed.
“No,” Baker barked.
Pid tensed. If Baker refused to help, he was going to lose his shit.
“I’ll come to you,” Baker continued. “If I—” His words cut off abruptly. “Hang on, my other line is ringing.”
Pid wanted to yell. Wanted to tell the former SEAL that if he took another call while Monica’s life was in danger, he was an asshole, but he didn’t get the chance before the line went silent.
He sat in his vehicle and stewed. His adrenaline was so high, his entire body was shaking.
He’d never felt like this before in his life. Ever.
He heard a click and then Baker was back.
“That was him. You’re right. He’s got your woman.”
Pid’s hold on his phone tightened so hard, he was afraid he was going to shatter the thing. “Where is he?” he asked. “And what does he want with Mo?”
“He doesn’t want her,” Baker bit out. “He wants me. She’s bait.”
Pid didn’t know whether to be horrified or relieved.
“I’m on my way to you.”
“It’s gonna take too long to get here from the North Shore,” Pid said.
“No, it won’t. Trust me.”