“So it could be anyone,” Vander mused.
“I’m looking into a few things,” the hacker said.
Vander looked at Wolf. “Did you get word to Killian?”
The other man shook his head. “He’s out of contact for at least another twenty-four hours.”
“Damn,” Vander murmured.
Cam felt his worry building. There was nothing he hated more than not having a course of action.
Waiting was the hardest thing for a Ghost Ops soldier to do.
“Wait, I’m getting a call from Hades.” Wolf pulled out a sleek, black phone and pressed it to his ear. “Talk to me, H.”
“We’re going to find her,” Hex said earnestly.
“Okay. Yeah, we’ll look into it.” Wolf nodded. “Thanks, man, keep me posted.” Wolf took his seat again. “Hades found Danielle Ingram at a restaurant in Soho. She confirmed that Saskia was at the performance.”
“And then she left?” Cam asked.
“Danielle said she left just before Saskia, but that Saskia was getting ready to leave. She seemed fine.”
“She would’ve taken the subway.” Hex tapped on her screen. “Her place is in Chelsea. I’m checking cameras at all the stations.”
“And Danielle gave us the name of the guy who organized the performance,” Wolf added. “Chad Palmer. Hades is tracking him down now.”
“So, this Chad guy approached them about the performance?” Cam’s mind whirled.
Wolf tipped his chin up. “Yes. And he asked specifically for Saskia. Sounds like he offered the dancers a lot of money, but it was contingent on Saskia dancing.”
Fuck. Cam was liking the sound of this less and less.
“I got a hit on Chad Palmer.” Hex pulled a stylus from behind her ear, and tapped it on her tablet. “Oh, hell.” The woman froze.
Wolf frowned. “Hex?”
Cam’s chest locked. He sensed Brynn moving closer.
“Palmer was questioned by the NYPD last year over the disappearance of a woman.”
“What?” Cam breathed.
“She was a model who attended a fancy party that Palmer organized for some wealthy Japanese businessmen.”
Cam sucked in a breath. They were onto something. Palmer stank.
“The model?” Cam asked.
“Never found. Palmer maintained he had no knowledge of her disappearance. She left his party happy and in one piece.”
Cam’s fingers curled into a fist. “Palmer knows something.”
“Hades will find him and make him talk.” Wolf’s tone was dark. “I’ll be in touch.”
As the screen went black, Cam heaved in a breath.
“Cam, you should go home,” Vander said. “Get some rest.”
Cam’s head whipped up. Vander had lost his mind if he thought Cam was going to sit around and relax.
His boss met his gaze. “But I know you won’t do that.”
“I…can’t rest when I don’t know where the hell she is or—” his voice cracked “— what’s happening to her.”
Brynn reached out and grabbed Cam’s hand.
Vander nodded. “Let’s shift to Ace’s office. He has bigger screens. We’ll run a few searches of our own while we wait to hear from Wolf.”
Cam managed a nod.
We’re coming, Saskia. Hold the fuck on.
Chapter Three
Saskia could hear music.
Wincing, she swallowed. Her mouth was so dry it hurt. She listened to Adele singing about rolling in the deep. Saskia felt like she was in the deep.
Where was she?
She turned her head and saw Addie on the car seat beside her, still unconscious. Saskia’s heart thumped several hard beats. Then it all came rushing back.
The performance. Being drugged. The plane.
She swallowed again. The radio was on, and the two goons from the plane were in the front seat of the car. She took a second to fantasize about opening the door and leaping out.
There were two severe flaws in that plan. She still felt weak. If she did manage to get out of the car, she wasn’t sure she could run. And she couldn’t leave Addie.
The car turned onto a long driveway. It was dark, but there were trees lining it that were lit up. Beyond them, she saw the shadows of rows and rows of grapevines.
A vineyard?
Then the house came into view. She stifled a gasp. Calling it a house was a massive understatement. It was a sprawling building of stone, stucco, and black iron. Someone’s Italian mansion fantasy.
The car rounded a huge circular fountain and pulled to a stop.
As the men exited the car, she tensed. The back doors of the sedan were wrenched open. One guy grabbed Saskia and pulled her out. The other man lifted Addie.
The large, double doors to the house opened. A tall man in a dark suit appeared, his long face blank. As the guard led her up the steps, the lights in the garden gave the place a fairytale glow.
But this was not a fairytale. It was a nightmare.
The tall man eyed her, then Addie, and nodded.
Anger burned. It was like they were cattle, being checked out.
“Rooms have been prepared for them upstairs,” the man told the guards. “With the others.”
Others?
Saskia’s guard shoved her, and she stumbled through the door. The inside of the house was as opulent as the outside. There was a lot of wood and stone. The doorways and windows were all arches. She was thrust toward a wide, curving staircase with iron railings.
Moments later, she was shoved into a room, and she heard the door being locked behind her.
Saskia pulled in a shuddering breath.
The bedroom was large and airy. There was a modern, four-poster bed, and a sitting area to one side with plush couches. She moved over to the large windows.
There were lights on in the garden below, surrounding a huge pool. Beyond that lay the shadows of more grapevines.
The man had said others. Were there more women here? Being subjected to who knew what?
Her belly cramped. A sob escaped and she bent over. Deep breaths, Saskia. She tried to pull air into her lungs.
This couldn’t be happening. How could she just be taken? Snatched away from her life?
She turned, caught her reflection in a round mirror with a wooden frame on the wall. She looked pale, her hair askew and disheveled.
Fuck this. She straightened and tore her hair tie free. She re-did her hair in a ponytail. She marched into the adjoining bathroom and splashed some water on her face. Then she drank some to ease her dry throat.
She wasn’t going to fall apart. She wasn’t going to wait to see what happened.
She was getting out of there.
These assholes had kidnapped the wrong woman.
She opened all the drawers of the vanity. They were filled with things for a woman. All kinds of toiletries, lotions, and makeup. She found a small can of hairspray and slipped it in her pocket. Then she found some hairpins. She held one up and smiled.
Saskia headed out, her mind whirling. She’d pick the lock, sneak out, then find a phone.
They were at a vineyard. She bit her bottom lip as she thought. Perhaps in California?
That meant Cam might be close. Her heart did a thump thump.
Then she got to work picking the lock. Killian had taught her a few useful skills over the years.