Page 69 of Protecting his Heart

“Maybe. It would be a moot point if the people who might’ve taken her had cased the property before. It wouldn’t be impossible for them to take the time to locate the creaks and avoid them, but it seems overkill if they were just wanting to take her.”

Evan pointed to a neighbouring property. “Would they have seen something?”

“I supposed it depends on who was awake at whatever time it happened.”

Owen’s heart skipped, and he stared at Evan. “We didn’t ask him how he knew she was missing.”

Evan’s eyes widened, and he headed for Brett, who immediately got on his phone. Owen turned back to the board. “What happened to you, Anika?” he murmured, studying the plans and trying to see something he hadn’t figured out yet.

“Acton said Edward had gone to check on her when he’d heard a noise but couldn’t figure out where it came from. This was just before he called me,” Evan said, appearing back at his side.

“What noise?”

“He wasn’t sure. Something just that was different from the quiet noise of the TV. He couldn’t explain what it was.”

“So would that have been when she went missing, or was it just a random noise?”

Evan shrugged. “I doubt we’ll ever know.”

Owen focused on the map again. “Is there going to be a ransom request, or is this an opportunistic event?”

“Edward’s not received anything about a ransom, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. Some requests don’t come through straight away, do they?”

Owen raked his fingers through his hair. There was so much they didn’t know, and most of it, they couldn’t find out until possibly too late. “I need coffee.”

“Come on. Let’s go grab some and have a breather for a few minutes,” Evan said, sliding an arm around his shoulders and tugging him towards the door. “We’ll be back soon,” Evan called out.

Owen let his better half lead him from the room, even though he wanted to stay and do more, but what else could he do? Until they had more information from the police or anyone Brett had brought in to help, there wasn’t much anyone could do. In the break room, Evan headed for the coffee pot and poured two mugs, handing one to Owen when he returned. They settled at a table.

“Talk to me, Owen,” Evan said.

Owen exhaled and shook his head. “I don’t know, Evan. My head’s both all over the place and viciously clear at the same time.”

“It’s understandable.”

Owen stood abruptly, knocking the table and spilling their drinks. He cursed and grabbed some napkins, cleaning up the mess before throwing the wad of wet towels in the bin. Pacing across the floor, he raked his fingers through his hair again and again.

“One minute, I’m pissed off. The next, I’m sad. The following, I’m angry. I’m all over the place,” he said again. “Ineedto find her.”

“We will. We will find her, Owen. We will.”

“But we have nothing!” Owen flung his arms wide. “We have fuck all to show for the hours of work we’ve put into this. Nobody has any fucking clue who took her or even if she was taken. How is that helping us?”

He put his hands on his hips, head lowered, and breathed hard. It wasn’t Evan’s fault, but he couldn’t stop himself from exploding at the impotency he felt. Evan slid his arms around Owen, and he sagged into the embrace, clutching at the back of his T-shirt.

“We have to find her,” he said into Evan’s neck. “We have to.”

“We will,” Evan promised, and though Owen knew he couldn’t make a promise like that, he clung to it.

The door slammed open. “Wallis just received a phone call for a ransom!” someone shouted at them and disappeared again.

Owen and Evan raced back to Sec HQ, stopping when Brett held up a hand. A choked voice came through the phone.

“I want to know my daughter is okay,” Dr Wallis said.

“That’s not how this works, Dr Wallis,” a robotic voice answered. “You will do what I tell you, and then—and only then—will you see your daughter again. One million pounds in twenty-four hours.”

“I don’t have—”

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