Page 12 of Sebastian

“Brother, you need to calm down, or I’m gonna leave your ass on this jet,” said Chief. “You won’t risk my daughter’s life. I need you to focus. Hear me?”

“Hear you,” nodded Sebastian. “Sorry.” Hex slapped his son’s back, knowing exactly how he was feeling. Hell, they all knew.

Off the plane, they piled into the waiting SUVs and headed toward the location. Chief could feel the pull at his gut. Two daughters in danger in one year was more than he signed up for. Yet here he was.

The neighborhood appeared quiet and typical for a suburban neighborhood. The SUVs nor the men in them were not in the mood for subtle, pulling right up onto the lawn. Sebastian was the first off, weapon ready, as he stormed into the backyard. The metal shed wasn’t even locked. He prayed that was good news, not bad news.

Tearing the door open, Em was huddled against the wall, blinded by the sunlight.

“Em. Em, baby, it’s me,” he said, cutting the zip ties.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her, carrying her outside. The group of men staring at her made her want to cry, but she tried to hold it together.

“Are they in there?” she asked.

“Who, honey?” asked her father, kissing her forehead.

“Ed and Myrtle. The old couple I came to interview about the masks. They were this sweet little old couple. She offered me a cup of tea, and I foolishly accepted it. I never once thought that anything would be wrong with it. She drugged me, and they locked me in that damn shed. Are they there?”

“No one is inside,” said Hex, walking toward his soon-to-be daughter-in-law. “The place is empty. No clothing, nothing. You must not have gotten further than the front room. There was only living room furniture and a few sparse pieces of furniture and paintings throughout. It’s almost as if it were being staged for sale or something.”

“It’s a front,” she whispered. She realized that Sebastian still held her in his arms, not allowing her feet to touch the earth. “You can put me down, Sebastian.”

“Like hell I will.” He gave her a dark glare, and she could only shake her head, knowing it was futile to argue with him.

“I need to get to the office. They said that they killed my partners. I need to see what happened.” Sebastian frowned, staring at the others. Chief nodded, looking at Hex.

“Alright, honey. Let’s go. But you don’t make a move without us. Clear?”

“Clear,” she smiled. “Everyone? Thank you for coming.” She was met with a dozen middle fingers.

That’s when she cried.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Emelia didn’t even realize that it had been twenty-four hours since she’d been taken. Walking into the bureau offices, she was surprised that it was already mid-afternoon the following day.

With a herd of mammoths behind her, everyone stopped, standing to watch as she made her way toward Frank’s office.

“Emelia,” he whispered, standing from his desk. “Shit, we’ve been looking for you.”

“Looking for me? Why didn’t you go to the house you sent me to?” she snapped. Chief, Hex, and Sebastian stared at her. That’s their girl.

“We did,” frowned Frank. “We went to the house I told you to go to.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, looking at her friends and family. “What was the address you guys went to? Where did you find me? I wasn’t paying attention.”

“We went 18233 Cranberry Cove,” said Leif.

“That wasn’t the address,” said Frank. “The house I sent you to was 987 Crabapple.”

“Damn. They moved me. How did they move me?” she muttered.

“You’re not that big, Em. It wouldn’t take much to drag you to a car,” said Major. “Did you find anything at the other house?”

“Nothing. There weren’t any clothes, nothing to identify the owners. We found Emelia’s car out front, but that was all. Em, Tara, and Cord didn’t make it. They knocked on the front door, and it appears they were both shot right there on the porches of the homes. Neighbors heard the shots but nothing else.”

“Why didn’t they shoot me?” she whispered. “Why let me live?”