Page 10 of Wicked Obsession

“When?” The word emerged more tightly than he’d intended, but fear threatened to overwhelm him again. If anything happened to Langley…

“An hour and a half ago,” Armstrong said. “Your names?” It was more of a demand than a question.

Ryder didn’t want to share that information. Names meant, with the right contacts, they could be checked out, and he couldn’t afford that until he knew this guy wasn’t a danger. He looked over at Stony. His buddy shook his head almost imperceptibly, telling Ryder they were on the same page.

Without another word, the runner pivoted and headed back to the Jeep.

Ryder hurried down the stairs, Rowland right behind him, and beelined for the Explorer. Mako knocked him aside before he could get behind the wheel and Ryder rounded the hood, headed for the passenger seat. Closing the SUV’s door, he pulled the seatbelt down and said, “When they take off, stick on their ass. Don’t drive like a pussy this time.”

Chapter 4

The Wedding Knot event center was a dump—it was more like the Wedding Not—and Ryder couldn’t imagine anyone Langley knew getting married here. Grime covered the building, and the parking lot was a disaster. The dust being kicked up over the Explorer was proof of that. They parked next to the Jeep, and as he was taking in more detail, Armstrong checked out a red Nissan.

“They’re gonna pop the trunk,” Griff reported. “Am I the only one who thinks that’s an interesting assumption?”

“Not if there’s a threat we don’t know about,” Rowland offered.

“That would explain the dude’s intensity at the house,” Mako said.

Ryder climbed out of the Explorer andheaded over to the sedan. He scanned the vehicle and the trunk, but he didn’t see anything helpful. “Your fiancée’s car?” Without waiting for an answer, he glanced over at the two-story building. “They disappeared from in there?”

“Apparently,” Armstrong said.

Fuck yeah, Rowland had read it right. The man was too wound up for the bride to have taken off of her own volition, not even if she was hiding from him. It only made sense if there was a threat against Sarah—and because Langley was with the woman—that meant she was facing an additional risk, one Ryder knew shit-all about. And since nobody was volunteering any intel, he was trying to put together puzzle pieces in the dark. He had to force his jaw to relax.

His teammates had followed him out of the SUV and taken positions to watch his back. He rejoined them and filled them in, using the team’s shorthand. Neither Armstrong nor the suit needed to know what he was sharing. Still in their coded language, he added an order to put a tracker on the Jeep. Something was up and Ryder wanted any edge he could get.

Rowland nodded, but before Ryder could say anything else, Jonah Griffin whistled low enough that no one else would hear. “You’re right, this Sarah lady definitely didn’t run out on her wedding. Dude is amped.” He inclined his headslightly to indicate Sarah’s fiancé stalking across the parking lot to the building.

“So is Ski,” Mako pointed out and Ryder shot him a look.

“Yeah,” Griff agreed, “but our dude is hiding it better.”

“He is now,” Mako corrected.

Muttering a curse, Ryder strode toward the Wedding Knot, leaving his teammates behind. Honest to God, he was closer to them than he was to his own brothers, but occasionally they annoyed the shit out of him. Besides, he didn’t have time for this. He was sticking close to Armstrong until he knew what was going on. It didn’t surprise him when Stony caught up and fell into step beside him.

“They’re only trying to lighten things up. You’re tight.”

“I know that.” Ryder didn’t have the fucking patience for it. After he had Langley safely stashed away they could joke around, but not now.

Maybe Rowland picked up on his tension because he said, “We don’t know what the fuck is going on here, remember that.”

“Yeah, but when was the last time you assumed a missing bride was in the trunk of a car?” No response. “Don’t bullshit me, Stone Man. The stakes are too high.”

They reached the entrance to the building. Hepulled open the door and stepped into chaos. It looked like the Navy SEALs were about to have their own civil war—the two they’d met against about a dozen others.

Before anyone threw a punch, a man with black hair and dark eyes stepped in and icily, efficiently took control. The ranking officer had clearly not been invited to the wedding, not when he wore faded jeans, a gray T-shirt, and work boots, but he had the respect of everyone in the room.

The presence of this many guests suggested a couple things. Number one, the ceremony wasn’t scheduled for this evening. No one showed up that many hours before a wedding. Which led to point two—the man who’d claimed he was Mitch Armstrong had been lying. No way was the groom wearing running clothes when it was clearly a morning service, but who the fuck was the guy and what was his connection to the bride’s disappearance?

Ryder and Rowland stayed near the entrance to the chapel, their backs against the wall, and watched. He hated waiting—fucking loathed it—but the only other option was to drive around San Diego aimlessly, and that would waste more time. Especially when they didn’t have the full picture of what the hell was happening. He could bepatient if it meant getting to Langley sooner rather than later.

“We got hold of Mitch,” the suit said, face and voice cold.

Ryder shared a glance with Stony, but it only confirmed what he’d guessed—the runner wasn’t the groom.

The suit guy continued, “Looks like he’s ass deep in some heavy shit. He owes money. Sarah and her bridesmaid were taken to expedite payment.”

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