Page 25 of Salvation

I resumed my pacing, three steps in one direction, three in the other. The minutes ticked by on the digital clock in the corner of the main screen. Each one taking us closer to the deadline. Closer to whatever these fuckers had planned if their demands weren’t met.

“I’ve got every ATM camera, every store security system I can access,” Shield continued, his voice a steady counterpoint to my restless movement. “Plus, I’m running the faces from that photo through recognition software, trying to ID our kidnappers. But they’re not facing the camera directly, which complicates things.”

In addition to the photo I had, they’d texted a few others. They’d probably been trying to scare me into complying, but these assholes weren’t very smart. They’d managed to include themselves in the background.

The image of Yulia and Clover bound and captive seared through my mind again. I pulled it from my pocket, staring at their faces. At the determination in Yulia’s eyes, the frightened defiance in Clover’s. Something about that look…

“Wait.” I moved back to Shield, placing the photo beside his keyboard. “Look at the wall behind them. The concrete.”

Shield peered at it, then adjusted his glasses. “What am I looking for?”

“The pattern. It’s not just plain concrete.” I pointed to a faint line visible behind Yulia’s shoulder. “That looks like a seam. And the texture -- it’s not poured concrete. It’s block.”

Shield zoomed in on the section I’d indicated, enhancing the image despite its graininess. “You’re right. Concrete block construction.” He looked up at me. “That narrows things down, but not by much. Still thousands of buildings with that type of construction in the city.”

“But it gives us something to work with.” I felt the first flicker of hope since this nightmare began. “Industrial areas. Warehouses. Basements.”

Shield nodded, already typing commands. “I’ll cross-reference with property records, focus the search on areas with that type of construction.” He glanced at the clock. “But it’s still a massive area to cover before six in the morning.”

I gripped the back of his chair, knuckles turning white. “They’ll send instructions for the drop before then. When they do, we can trace the call, right?”

“If they call, yeah. But smart money says they’ll use a burner phone, which complicates things.” Shield didn’t sugarcoat it. “And if they’re cautious about the drop location…”

“These aren’t professionals,” I reminded him. “They’re amateurs. They’ll make mistakes.”

“Let’s hope so.” Shield returned to his screens, cycling through more traffic footage. “I need something more specific, though. A license plate. A face clear enough to run through the system. Even the make and model of a vehicle would help narrow this down.”

Hours passed like this -- Shield working methodically through footage, me alternating between watching over his shoulder and pacing the small room like a caged animal. Occasionally, a Prospect would bring in fresh coffee or an update from the brothers on the street. No sightings. No leads. Nothing solid to work with.

The digital clock showed roughly two hours until the deadline.

“Goddamnit!” I finally exploded, slamming my fist into the wall hard enough to dent the drywall. Pain shot up my arm, a welcome distraction from the helpless rage that had been building inside me. “We’re running out of time!”

Shield didn’t flinch at my outburst. Instead, he swiveled his chair to face me fully for the first time since we’d entered the room. “We’ll find them, Salvation.”

“When?” I demanded, my voice raw. “After these fuckers decide they’re tired of waiting for money? After they decide Yulia and Clover are liabilities?”

“We’re going to find them,” Shield repeated, his normally detached demeanor giving way to quiet intensity. “I’m not stopping until we do. None of us are.”

I leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. The fear, anger, and desperate hope pressed down on me. I looked at the photo again, at Yulia’s face. At the woman who had become so much more than the scared girl I’d once rescued. At the daughter we’d raised together.

“I don’t care how long it takes or what I have to do,” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous quiet. “I’m going to find them, and when I do, I’ll make them wish they’d never touched my family.”

Shield didn’t offer empty reassurances. He simply nodded and turned back to his screens. “Then let’s keep working.”

I pushed away from the wall, forcing my focus back to the task at hand. Sometime in the last few hours, the chaotic mix of fear and rage in my chest had crystallized into something harder, more focused. A cold determination that burned like liquid nitrogen.

Yulia and Clover were out there, counting on me to find them. The clock was ticking. The kidnappers would make contact soon with instructions for the money drop -- money they would never receive. And when they did, when they revealed themselves in any way, I would be ready.

I settled into the chair beside Shield, gaze fixed on the screens as more footage scrolled past.

I would find my family. I would bring them home.

And heaven help anyone who stood in my way.

Chapter Six

Shield

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