"Don't be mad, Dare," Seph whined. "I wasn't thinking. I know it was dumb, but I couldn't risk MK getting hurt for me again. Or Aunt Demi and Aunt Stacey losing their winery. You know how much they love that place." More sobbing, but this time I had a hard time keeping a leash on the caustic reprimand that sat on the tip of my tongue.
Lucas squeezed my fingers again, then spoke up before I could say something I'd regret later. "Seph, how'd you end up with Paulo? Did he help you run away?"
She sniffed hard. "Sort of. I left on my own while everyone was busy yelling at each other and Steele was trying to stitch up MK's arm. Then, when I was walking down the road with no idea where to go, Paulo drove past and offered to give me a ride into Sorrento."
I rolled my eyes at the sheer stupidity of it all. When would she fucking learn?
"And then what?" Lucas pushed.
"And then nothing," she replied, sounding scared all over again. "I don't remember anything past getting into his car. I woke up here, and I don't know how I got here or where here is or—"
"Okay, okay, take a breath," Lucas soothed when she started sounding hysterical. "Describe what you can see."
"Um." She took a few shuddering breaths. "Um, it's just a room, like a shitty motel kind of room but no windows, and the door is locked."
I glanced up, locking eyes with Zed and silently communicating my questions to him. He gave a terse nod and crouched down beside us.
"Hey brat," Zed said, his version of calm a whole lot rougher than Lucas's. "Where'd you find your phone?" He was thinking the exact same thing I was. If she’d been kidnapped, why the hell had they left her phone out where she could call for help?
"Uh, it was still in my bag," she replied, confused. "Is that bad?"
Probably, yes. But she didn't need to know that.
"It just means someone knew you'd call your sister before anyone else," Zed told her with a sigh. "You're gonna be okay, brat. We'll get you out."
"How?" Seph squeaked.
It was a good fucking question.
"What else can you tell us, Seph?" Lucas suggested. "Maybe what time it was when Paulo picked you up or anything you can hear or smell."
"Um, it was around midday, I think. Or earlier? I don't know." The faint sound of her moving around created static, then she sighed. "I can't hear or smell anything. It's like I'm in the middle of a black hole."
I chewed the edge of my lip, pondering whether that was helpful or not, then Seph gasped.
"Someone's coming," she whispered.
"Seph—" I started to say, but there was a bang on her end of the phone call, like a door had just slammed open, and my sister gave a terrified scream.
"I think I'll take this now," a heavily accented man said, and the muffled sounds made me guess he'd just taken Seph's phone from her.
She shrieked in anger. "Paulo, give it back! What the hell are you doing? Let me go!" Her protest cut short with the sickening sound of a fist meeting flesh, then the line went dead.
For a long moment I just sat there, frozen and staring at the phone in Lucas's hand, willing it to ring again. But it didn't, and I doubted a return call would even connect. Her phone had served its purpose; her captors wouldn't keep it around to be traced now.
"He's a dead man," Zed promised me, his face hard and his eyes violent. "We will find him, and you will make him pay for hurting her."
I gave a numb nod. "Yes. But what state will we find Seph in?"
Lucas gave a firm shake of his head, his fingers tangling tighter with mine. "She'll be fine. She's tougher than either of you two realize."
I barked a bitter laugh. "I'm not so sure about that." I'd heard the panic and desperation in her distraught voice. I knew just how easy it was to lose yourself to terror. Even if by some miracle her captors didn't hurt her physically, it would still leave a mark.
"I am," Lucas replied, stubborn as fuck. "She's your sister, after all."
Zed grimaced, checking his phone. "Cass is on it. I've called in a favor with an old connection close to him. They'll fly him out the second nightfall hits, and Demi will meet him on the other end. We'll find her, Dare. I promise you we will find her."
I tipped my head back, giving him a brittle smile. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Zed. This has Chase's fingerprints all fucking over it."
Zed's eyes blazed with determination, and he grabbed my ponytail as he crashed his lips against mine for a bruising kiss. "I swear it, Dare. He won't get away with this one."
He released me and stood up abruptly. "I'm going to call D'Ath and find out how the fuck Seph managed to slip out from under their watch." His hand curled into a fist at his side, and I suspected he was cursing the distance between us and Italy right now. He looked like he would happily take out all his fury on Archer’s, Kody’s, and Steele's asses. Come to think of it, so would I.
Before he could make it out of the gym, my phone rang again, this time from an unknown number. Lucas held it out to me, his head tilted in question, and Zed froze near the door.
A sickening feeling built within me, and I already knew who would be on the other end.
Wetting my lips, I took the phone from Lucas and slid my thumb over the answer-call button. "I'm going to kill you," I croaked when the call connected.
Chase's laughter filled the room, echoing out of the phone speaker. "I love when you talk dirty, Darling. Tell me, did something important recently go missing?" He laughed again, and it took all my self-control not to throw my phone at the fucking wall.
"What do you want, Chase?" I snarled back. As much as it turned my stomach, I knew that playing his game would get me Seph's location a hell of a lot faster.
"Same thing I've always wanted, Darling," he replied, sounding like he was grinning. "You."
Zed started storming back across the gym, but I put up a hand to halt him in his tracks. He'd had his turn at Chase last night.
"Be more specific," I spat. "What will it take for you to let Seph go unharmed?"
Chase made a thoughtful hum, as if he hadn't already planned it all out in his twisted little mind. "Well, you know what? I'm feeling kind today. That little catch-up last night reminded me of the good old days. Let's say... dinner at that adorable restaurant in town. What's it called? Zanzibar? Tomorrow night."
My teeth ground together hard enough to send spikes of pain into my head. "Dinner," I repeated.
"Yes," he hissed. "Just you and me. No weapons, no pretty stripper boys, and certainly no Zayden De Rosa." Chase spat Zed's name with thick hatred. "I'll send a car to pick you up at eight."
"I think I'll drive myself," I snapped back. "And Seph?"
"Pretty little Stephanie will be just fine where she is for another day. If you can refrain from trying to kill me for the entirety of our date, I'll give the order to release her. If not..." He clicked his tongue. "I think you can use your imagination, Darling."
Zed jerked like he wanted to snatch the phone from my hand, but I held my palm up again, stopping him.