Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“She was put in a car and left.”
My ears rang as I stared at the kid. “She what?”
Looking really nervous, the kid licked his lip and glanced at his phone. “She left.”
One of his buddies with cornrow braids said, “Yo, they put her in a car and left.”
“What car? Who put her there?”
The blond shrugged. “I don’t know, man. I wasn’t really paying attention. Our boss was yelling at us, trying to figure out where the fire was.”
Another one, this one with black hair and slightly harder eyes, lifted his chin. “She was carried out of here by some big dude, bigger than you, and another woman. I only noticed ‘cause he was flashing her business to the world with the way he was holdin’ her. She wasn’t wearing no drawers.”
“He was carrying her?”
“Yeah. Her eyes were closed and shit. I thought she fainted.”
“And you didn’t stop them?”
“Why would I?” He lifted his chin higher, but his fear was obvious. “There was another chick with them, and they got into a nice ass Mercedes. I didn’t think nothin’ of it.”
Pointing my finger at them, I growled, “Don’t go anywhere.”
I grabbed my phone and dialed it.
Leo answered on the second ring, “Hey Mark. How—?”
“They have Layla!” I snarled into the phone. “Someone kidnapped Layla.”
“What happened?”
I gave him a rundown, pausing only to direct Mateo to question the boys some more while I told Leo the situation.
“A man and a woman?”
“Driving an expensive Mercedes.”
He said, “I’m on it. We’ll find her Mark, I swear it.”
Then he hung up.
Vali whined, so I squatted down, wrapping my arms around the big dog. I pretended to give him comfort when, really, he was the only thing keeping me from losing my mind.
Several hours later, I paced the long floor of our command center, my eyes glued to my phone.
I called in every favor, every debt, every marker I could think of in an effort to find Layla.
Someone somewhere had to know where she was.
Everyone from bikers in Phoenix to the Russian mafia were out looking for her. Mrs. Cordova had personally taken over the search, and I was grateful. Not only did she have the experience and instincts needed to find Layla, I knew she would never give up. Layla’s kidnapping brought back bad memories for all of us of what had happened with Jason.
That’s why it surprised me to see Diego and his twin brother Fernando both there, each offering their help and support. I thought there was no way in hell Fernando could handle such a similar situation, but he was. At least somewhat. He might be pale and withdrawn, but he was focused as he looked through videos captured on various cameras throughout the city, trying to find the Mercedes that took Layla.
So far, we weren’t having any luck. Whoever took her made sure the cameras of the restaurant were shut down, and they even managed to shut off a few city cameras. The first was easy, because the restaurant had shit cyber security, but the second one would take real skill.
Which meant professionals had taken my woman.
But why?
So far, we’d heard nothing. No ransom calls, no taunts, nothing to tell us the motivations of the people that kidnapped her. We were able to get a surprising amount of details from the teenagers who’d seen her abducted, but not enough to help us narrow down who had her.
I paused, my mind fighting to show me horrible images of all the bad things that could happen to Layla in seven hours.
All the ways they could break her forever.
Sweat trickled down my back as I fought back tears of frustration and rage.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Cordova?” Daniella said from the doorway of the room. “You have someone here to see you. Someone who says she has information on Layla, but that she’ll only talk to you.”
The door opened, and I frowned as Selena Murphy strode in. With her curly bronze hair tugged back in a fat ponytail, wearing a pair of black slacks and a stylish blue shirt that made her dark tan skin glow, she surveyed the room. Her pale blue gaze caught for a moment on Diego, who stood there frozen in shock, before she found Mrs. Cordova.
Lifting her chin, Selena said, “I’d like to have a word with you—alone. I have information about Layla.”
“What do you know?” I said as I started across the room toward her. “Tell me, now! Where is Layla? Is she even alive? What the fuck did you do to her, you bitch?”
Diego stopped me before I reached her, and Mrs. Cordova snapped, “Mark, either control yourself or leave.”
“Mark,” Selena said quickly. “She’s okay. I didn’t have anything to do with her kidnapping, I swear it. My sister Caroline was behind it. She’s not right in the head—none of them are, but she really isn’t—and she’s obsessed with you.”