I felt myself getting angry, and the belligerent side of myself that had been softening over the past month was suddenly in full force once again. “So, what you’re telling me is that you gave up your family, your free time, and your life, for money? That’s what it sounds like. I hope it was worth it.”
“You bitch!” Karen said, lunging towards me and kicking me in the side painfully. I refused to cry out, unwilling to give them that satisfaction.
“Stop it! Don’t hurt her!” Harper yelled, but I looked at her, shaking my head. I didn’t want their focus directed her way.
“What are you going to do with us?” I asked again, trying to distract them.
“Well, our original plan was to drug and kidnap you. We weren’t expecting your friend to force our hand, and we had to knock her out so we could get you both out of the restaurant quietly,” the Russian told me. “And since you care so much about the well-being of our crew, you and your friend will both be joining them. That way, you can see first-hand what their lives are like.”
“Wait. Just let her go, and I won’t fight you,” I begged.
“I’m not worried about you fighting, and we have plenty of room on the ship for you both,” Alexander said, and I saw him pull two syringes out of his pocket, handing one to the Russian. “Good thing I brought extra ketamine.”
“No, no, no. Please don’t,” I said as they stepped closer.
I watched as they stuck a needle into Harper’s arm and her eyes slowly closed. Then, I felt them prick my own skin, and my vision suddenly started to go hazy.
“It’s just too bad that I don’t have more time to play before you have to be onboard. Women like you never last long on the ships, so I won’t get another chance,” I heard Alexander say, from what sounded like a great distance. I tried to look at him, to fight a little harder, but my eyes closed on their own, and then everything went black.
32
EVAN
It was early morning, and the sun was just beginning to rise. Kassidy and Harper had been missing all night, and in that span of time, Nolan’s apartment had been turned into a command center. Every member of our team was there, spread out between the dining and living rooms. We were doing everything we could to figure out what happened to them, most of us on a computer or a phone, or both. So far, no one had had any luck finding a trail. We were still waiting for a call back from Tex, who was our best chance at finding them.
I paced back and forth, filled with fear and anger, unable to stay still. I was fighting to maintain control of myself. For the first time since I was a child hiding in the closet with my sister, I felt helpless. I couldn’t do anything to save the woman I loved, except wait. The fact that Kassidy and Harper’s kidnapping was my fault brought me even closer to the edge. I’d taken Kassidy’s safety for granted. I hadn’t protected her like I should’ve, and she was gone, along with my best friend’s fiancé. If I’d just realized sooner that Kassidy would never have reacted so strongly to one glass of wine, if I’d just gone with them to the bathroom, she’d be safe in my arms right now. I would never give up, though. Even if I spent the rest of my life searching for Kassidy, I would do it. I’d give up everything to find her.
Suddenly, Nolan’s doorbell rang, and as the closest person, I checked to see who it was. I glanced through the peephole and then opened the door, allowing the person in.
“I brought coffee!” Harper’s best friend, Evie, said. She was trying to be upbeat, but I could tell from her red-rimmed, puffy eyes that she’d been crying.
“Appreciate you,” I said, patting her shoulder in solidarity with her suffering.
“Hey, Evan,” she greeted me as she put her things down and started setting cups of coffee on the counter.
Her worry for her friend made my guilt even worse. I’d caused two women to be kidnapped, and the effects were far-reaching.
“How are you, Evie?”
“As good as can be expected, with my best friend missing,” Evie said, tipping her chin up defiantly. “Whoever took them is going to answer to me.”
Her bravery gave me a small amount of hope. If I didn’t know Evie, I wouldn’t have taken her statement seriously. She was blond, and so petite and adorable that she could pass for Tinker Bell. Luckily, I did know her, and I knew that while she came in a tiny package, she was as fierce as someone many times larger than her. I wouldn’t want to make her angry.
Before I could reply, Gabe rushed in, yanking Evie to his chest and hugging her tightly. He was talking quietly to her, trying to soothe her with his words and his presence, and I decided to give them some privacy. As I walked into the living room, Nolan’s phone started ringing.
“It’s Tex,” he said loudly, relief clear in his voice. He quickly answered and put it on speakerphone.
“Hey, Tex. You’re on speakerphone with my team,” Nolan said, and at the same time, I noticed Gabe and Evie entering the room so that they could also hear the call.
Tex said hello, then quickly got down to business. “Just like you thought, Harper and Kassidy were taken from the restaurant by Max Ivanov and Alexander Davies, who are both employed by Paradise Cruises. Both women appeared to be unconscious when they were carried out of the restaurant and were placed into a silver minivan, possibly a Dodge Grand Caravan. I’m still working on tracking where they went from the restaurant, since they seem to have taken the long way to wherever they were going. I assume they were trying to avoid someone following them. I’m close to finding them, but I figured you’d want an update. Unfortunately, with today being a holiday, the traffic in DC is even worse than usual, and it’s a little harder to sort through everything.”
“Yes, any information is helpful,” Nolan said and then the line went dead.
“I’m not sure about Max Ivanov, but Alexander Davies works at the Paradise Cruises office here in DC. I think it’s time we paid him a visit,” I said, standing up.
“Stop,” Wes stood as well, holding a hand out towards me as if to stop me, as he blocked my access to the door. “We need to wait for Tex to call back and tell us more. If you go over there now, they’ll know we’re onto them. They could move Kassidy and Harper.”
“We have to do something. We can’t just sit here and wait,” I argued. Without Kassidy, my entire world was off its axis. I knew she was still alive, still out there somewhere, and I’d look for her until I found her. I didn’t care how long it took. And if I had to break some rules, I could live with that. I could live with anything as long as Kassidy was okay. And Harper.
“Wes is right. We need more information first,” Liam agreed, joining Wes by standing next to him, also blocking my exit.
“Alexander has the information. He knows where they are,” I argued.
“I’d agree with you, except that to get to him, you have to get through Paradise Cruise’s security, and get past all their employees without being noticed or seen. That seems unlikely, if not impossible,” Ally said.
“We need to do this right, Evan. If we approach them too soon, they could do something with Kassidy and Harper. And if we do it too late, they could run,” Knox added.