Page 66 of March 5

Wire blocked her way in. She stood between the two men. They were looking at each other as if she wasn't even there.

A chill went through her, and she shivered. "What's going on?"

Worry about her dad hit her first. She'd lost him before when he went to prison.

Her dad pushed past Wire and stepped outside. She sagged in relief.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" She slipped her phone in her back pocket. "I've never been locked out before."

Her dad cupped her face and ran his thumbs over her cheeks. She gazed into his pained eyes. Her heart raced and the bottom of her world fell out. Something bad had happened.

"Wh-where's Aunt Brooke?" she asked.

"She's working." Her dad let his chin drop to his chest. "Skye. Baby."

She shook, grabbing onto her dad's vest. "Dad? No. No."

He cleared his throat and kissed her forehead. "Dio's missing."

Her spine snapped and she pulled her head back to look up into her dad's face. "What do you mean missing? H-his bike is here. He has to be here."

"Let's go inside and talk and get out of the rain." He smoothed her wet hair off her face. "Cord's bringing Brooke and Mariah over to be with you."

She walked inside, holding onto her dad. "Why aren't you out there looking for him?"

But Dio's Harley was here. He always rode his motorcycle.

"We're getting crews organized to go out." Her dad looked over her head at Brett.

She hated it when the bikers spoke without saying anything. There were too many shared looks and exchanged glances passed around as if Havlin members had their own silent language. She'd seen it before, and she hated it every time.

The Havlin members surrounded the large table they used for meetings. She couldn't follow the conversation. Her stomach flipped. The stiffness of their bodies and the stern expressions sent a chill down her spine. They were acting like Dio was gone forever.

"He's coming back." She nodded violently. "He'd never leave me."

"We're going to find him." Her dad put his arm around her.

She leaned against him. Nothing seemed real. Dio never went missing. He was always there for her whenever she needed him.

"I'm going to check in." Brett walked to the table and left her with her dad.

She grabbed her dad's vest and made him look at her. "Dio would never leave on his own. How can he go missing?"

Her dad's lips thinned. Her vision blurred. She wanted the truth.

"We were after some bad men." He paused. "Dio was, uh, taking them away from Seaglass Cove. He left in their car. We heard gunshots—"

"What?" Her knees weakened, and she hung on to her dad. "He got shot?"

"I don't know, baby." He raked his fingers through his hair. "We don't know if Dio was hurt. He was in the alley, out of our sight."

She wildly looked around the room. "Y-you said there were gunshots. Everyone must've heard them, right? What do the police say?"

"No." He grunted. "The shots were suppressed. There were many people in town but ifyou're not familiar with the muffled sound, most people would think a car backfired or someone nearby used an impact tool. Ruger and I recognized the sound and found the bullet casings in the alley. Dio and the car he drove were gone."

She pressed her hand to her head. "Okay, so you heard. You know where he was. How can he be missing?"

Her dad gripped the back of her neck, holding her in front of him. "Because they took him."