Page 82 of His Red Carnation

I stared at the phone, my pulse racing. Sloane was running out of time.

I shot out of my chair, adrenaline flooding my system. I rushed over to the nearest agent with my phone clutched in my hand.

“Can you trace this?” I asked urgently. “Sarah just called me. She’s got Sloane.”

The agent looked at me, then down at my phone. Without missing a beat, he nodded. “Give me a second.” He motioned to another agent and quickly hooked my phone up to their equipment.

Jake stood nearby, watching with sharp eyes, his usual calm demeanor giving way to a sense of tension that wasunmistakable. His arms were crossed, and I could see the slight strain in his jaw as he kept his focus on the agents.

“We’ll need a minute to pull the data,” the agent said as they worked, fingers flying over keyboards. I stood there restlessly, every second feeling like an eternity. Jake paced just behind me, running a hand through his hair, his frustration evident.

“Come on,” I muttered under my breath, my fists clenching and unclenching as I watched the screens.

Finally, the agent turned to us, his face set in concentration. “We’ve got something. It’s a burner phone, but we’re triangulating the location from the nearest cell towers.”

I glanced at Jake. He’d stopped pacing, his eyes locked on the agent as the information sank in. “How close?” he asked, his voice low and controlled, but I could sense the urgency.

“Close enough for us to move. We’ll get a team ready,” the agent said, but before he could finish, I stepped forward.

“I’m going,” I said firmly.

Jake chimed in quickly. “So am I.”

The agent didn’t even flinch. “Mr. President, I’m sorry, but you can’t come. You know the protocol.”

Jake clenched his jaw, not arguing because we both knew what that meant, but I could see the pain in his eyes as he wrestled with staying behind.

He turned to me, his voice low. “You’re going, then.”

I nodded. “I’ll bring her back.”

The agent motioned to me. “We’ll gear you up and move fast. Let’s go.”

Jake locked eyes with me, his expression tight with fear and frustration. “You find her, Callan. No matter what.” He still trusted me, despite everything that had happened.

“I will,” I said, and I meant it.

Without another word, I followed the agents out. The weight of everything fell hard on my shoulders, but there wasn’t time tothink about anything else now. Sloane was out there, and I was going to bring her back—no matter what it took.

37

Sloane

The metallic clang of the door echoed through the dark warehouse as it creaked open. I’d been sitting in the same spot for what felt like hours, my wrists raw from struggling against the zip ties. My throat was dry, my body aching, but I wasn’t going to give Sarah the satisfaction of hearing me beg for anything.

Her heels clicked against the concrete floor, that sound alone enough to set my nerves on edge. I couldn’t see her at first, but I could hear her moving closer, the smirk practically audible in every step.

“Hello, princess,” she taunted, stepping into the faint light that leaked through the cracks in the walls. She carried a small, shiny metal case with her, and just the sight of it made my stomach twist.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay silent.

She knelt down in front of me, her eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement. “You know, I thought about what to do with you for a while,” she said, slowly opening the case. Inside were various small instruments—small, but enough to cause pain. She lifted one, a small blade, holding it up to catch the light. “Hurting Callan has always been on my mind. Fucking your dad was supposed to be my revenge, just a little way to ruin his life from a distance.”

She smirked. “But then I found out who Callan was with. And you…oh, that made it even better. Callan with Jake’s daughter? It was like a fucking gift. You’re someone he actually cares about. Something I can take away from him.”

Her voice grew sharper, bitter. “It’s been eight years, and the world moves on. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. And then, those pictures leaked. Seeing the two of you so happy? It made mesick.”

Her eyes narrowed as the blade skimmed my arm, just enough to send a sharp sting through my skin. “Breaking you mentally? That’s going to be so fucking satisfying,” she murmured. “I’m not going to kill you—not yet. You’re far too valuable for that. But I will show you what it feels like to lose everything. Piece by piece.”

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