Page 95 of Sweet Deception

"Sir, I never saw her leave." He pulls out and speeds past Gio, turning at the next block.

My mind races. I kept an eye on her until she entered the building, but never walked her to her door. I was too angry with what happened at the club and didn't even think twice about it. "Fuck." I run my hand through my hair, holding out hope that her mom came and got her and she's safe.

Joseph takes the next turn quickly and I slam into the door before I can brace myself. "When you got to her apartment, did you simply watch the doors, or did you greet her first?" I already know the answer since I've instructed him to watch her from a distance so she didn't know she had a detail on her.

"I stayed in the car, but saw movement behind the curtains and assumed it was her." Joseph guns it and steers around a slow moving Prius who lays on their horn when Joseph cuts them off.

"There's about a half hour between the time I left her at the building and when you would've arrived. It's likely someone came and picked her up between that time." Whether that someone was a friend or foe is what worries me.

If Kylie isn't with me, she's home or with her parents. She would have informed me of her whereabouts, even at this late hour. And if it was Talia behind the curtains, where is she now? "Did you see her roommate?" I ask.

"No. Just the movement behind the curtains when I first pulled up, but nothing since. No one entered or exited from the front entrance." He speeds through a red light since no one is coming.

That could leave the back entrance if the building has one. Pulling my phone out, I dial Rafael. As soon as he answers, I bark out, "Check for cameras at the back of the building."

"On it. I'm also retrieving the street camera footage in case she was taken before Joseph got here."

"Good. And what did Rome say about Robert?"

"He has two men on him. He hasn't left the bar, and he's getting shit faced and chatting up a woman as we speak."

"Fuck."

"Rome has his men trailing the syndicate to make sure it wasn't them, but they've seen no signs of her so far."

I take a deep breath. "Okay, call me when you hear anything or if you find anything on the footage." I disconnect the call right as Joseph pulls into a driveway and parks behind an older model Toyota Highlander.

"Do you want me to wait out here or come in?"

"Wait here."

I jog to the door and push on the doorbell before placing my hands on my hips and locking my body in place. When the door swings open, I look into a confused Kurt Davis's face.

"Please tell me Kylie's here."

Kurt scans my appearance before anger takes over his face. "What the hell happened? What did you do to her?" He turns and yells into the house. "Kathy, call Kylie and find out where she is."

"Fuck. I thought for sure she was here. I dropped her off at her apartment this afternoon to pack for our trip tomorrow—"

"What trip?" Kurt interrupts, holding the door open and grabbing my arm to pull me inside.

"I'm taking her to Miami for the weekend. She went home to pack while I finished business, but when I went to pick her up, she wasn't there. I texted her earlier and never got a response—that's not like her. I've texted her multiple times and still no response."

"You son of a bitch. You promised me she'd be safe with you. Does your mafia family have my daughter?" He roars, poking me in the chest.

"She's not answering. What's going on? Why are you yelling at him?" Kathy comes rushing into the hall.

I turn to Kathy. "I can't find Kylie. She was supposed to be packing for our trip and when I went to pick her up, she wasn't there. Any idea where she could've gone? It's not like her to ignore my texts."

Kathy's face goes sheet white. "N-no. Not this late. She was expecting you?"

"Yes, the only reason I took her to her apartment was because she wanted to pack tonight instead of tomorrow before class. I told her I would come get her later."

"Your phone! It dinged earlier when we were eating. Maybe that was her." Kathy rushes down the hall, Kurt and I hot on her heels. She grabs the phone and her shoulders sag in relief. "It's her …" her smile drops and horror fills her face.

Kurt rips the phone out of her hand and I look at it over his shoulder. Dread and fury fill me. The breath whooshes out of Kurt and he nearly drops the phone from his trembling hand. "What the fuck! Who is that?" The text he missed earlier is a picture of Kylie tied to a chair with tape covering her mouth. She's a mess, as if she struggled and her eyes are unfocused. There's a second picture of a guy taking a selfie with her in the chair holding a knife to her throat with the words 'I told you, you'd regret it.'

I grip Kurt by the arms and turn him around. "Who is he? I need his name now!"