Page 59 of Harboring Shantae

Then they did it all over again and again. Until she was tired and ready for a break.

"Alright, boys. Time to go in."

"No, Mrs. S. Not yet," Matthew pleaded.

"Yes, Mrs. S. Not yet. How can you possibly go inside when the party is just getting started?"

Shantae stopped dead and slowly turned in the direction of the voice she didn't know, but had a suspicion about who it belonged to. She was right. Standing just fifteen feet away, holding Luey with one arm and a knife in his hand, was none other than the man she refused to marry.

Zion Harris.

Chapter 28

One hour before

Pantherlookedathisteam leader intently. "There was something you didn't want to say when you called last night. What was it?"

Falcon had just arrived. He and Trista got in late after a slight delay in securing a flight plan. His team leader had taken Trista home and only got a couple of hours of sleep before coming back in to discuss the situation.

"The rumors I was hearing weren't just about how the broken engagement would hurt Senator Adams, but also about Zion himself. Some were saying it wasn't as arranged as Shantae's father would have her believe. Zion specifically picked her and demanded the marriage happen."

"So he's definitely coming for her, then," Blue said his thoughts out loud.

"We need to find Zion now," Panther snapped. "How does the man simply disappear?"

"I assure you, Panther, I'm looking everywhere. He hasn't boarded a commercial flight, I have his passport flagged, along with everyone in his family. No one has left Washington, D.C."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear. Zion was a loose cannon that he couldn't afford to not have his eyes on. The longer that asshole remained in the wind, the longer Shantae was in danger. Falcon just proved as much.

"Panther, Ray is doing everything he can. He has feelers out everywhere. There's nothing more we can do. You don't let her leave your sight except when she's here at the barn. And we know she's safe here. That's all we can do," Hollywood tried to calm him down.

He didn't want to be calm. Something was bothering him. Something was wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on it. But he had a feeling it was all centered around Zion.

"We have a problem!"

Wes crashed through the door and slammed his fist against the table.

Panther was immediately on edge.

"What kind of problem?" he demanded.

"Zion flew into Texas early this morning on a private plane. He had a friend charter it for him."

Now he understood why he felt like something was off. Zion was in the same state. "We need to find him. We need to lock this place down and make sure Shantae is safe. He's going to come looking for her. There's no other reason for him to be in Texas."

"I agree." Wes stabbed the conference phone on the table. "Nancy," he barked the moment she answered. "Put the building in lockdown and make sure no one comes in or out. I want all cameras monitored immediately."

Ray was typing feverishly on his laptop and the once-dark monitors throughout the room started to flash on of different cameras positioned around the perimeter of the property.

Suddenly alarm bells rang out through the room.

"Someone has breached the perimeter." Falcon was moving out of the room before he could finish his assessment.

"I need to check on Shantae," Panther told no one in particular as he rushed to the other end of the building where the daycare was located. Hollywood was right on his heels. Except the only thing they found was an empty room.

"Where the hell are they?" Hollywood looked around.

"I have no idea but somebody had to see something. This entire fucking place is locked down tighter than the White House."