Page 51 of Rescued By Four Alphas
Instead, Rodriguez appears. "Sir, we've completed the building sweep. There's no sign of Dr. Baldwin or Dr. Marianna Vasquez anywhere in the facility."
"What about the underground? Basement levels?"
"We checked everything accessible. But..." She hesitates.
"But what?"
"The building plans we have on file don't match what we're seeing. Several areas appear to have been modified or aren't accounted for in the official blueprints."
I curse under my breath. "How many exits from the building?"
"Four main exits, two emergency exits, and a service entrance for deliveries. We have footage of everyone who's entered or left the building today. No one carried out anyone."
"Because they didn't use the regular exits," I mutter, watching the upload progress bar creep toward completion. "They used whatever tunnel system that secret door connects to."
I call Axl and ask, "Did you get the security footage?"
"I'm working on it," He answers. "The building security is cooperating. They're pulling everything from the past three months… I was connected to the building manager, and he said Dr. Marianna requested some 'office renovations' about six weeks ago and brought in her construction crew."
"Six weeks ago," I repeat, feeling sick. "She's been planning this for six weeks."
The upload finally completes, and I quickly send the security footage from Dr. Marianna's office to Evan. Within seconds, my phone rings.
"Evan is calling again," I tell him before I hang up.
I answer Evan's call immediately. "Did you see the footage?"
"I saw it." His voice is cold as steel. "The man giving orders to the kidnappers is Dr. Reid."
My blood chills. I've heard enough about Reid from our previous conversations to know he's dangerous, but seeing him in action makes it real. "Why would he resort to kidnapping when he could have gotten the government's approval soon? You said he had the ear of the Joint Chiefs."
"He's getting impatient." Evan's tone turns darker. "The other Omegas he took… their children died during his experiments. So now he needs another lab rat."
The way Evan says it makes my skin crawl. The reduction of our mate to a test subject is exactly how these monsters think. "We need to find her fast."
"He won't harm her," Evan says, and I can hear him trying to convince himself as much as me. "She's rare and precious to his research. He needs her alive and healthy."
"That's not an excuse to leave her there!" I snap, my bear pushing at my control. "She's terrified. She's pregnant. She's…"
"I'm not going to leave her there, damn it!" Evan's voice cracks with emotion. "But rushing in now without a plan means jeopardizing her life and our children's lives. We need to be smart about this."
I take a deep breath, forcing myself to think like a cop instead of a panicked mate. "What will we do?"
There's a long pause at the other end of the line. When Evan speaks again, his voice is so quiet I almost miss it.
"I'm going to meet with Hammond."
Chapter 15 - Evan
"This way, Mr. Blackthorn," the guard says as he leads me through a series of security checkpoints. Each one requires different clearances, different scans, and different procedures. The Pentagon has fewer security measures than this place. After the fifth reinforced door clangs shut behind us, the guard turns to me.
"You have thirty minutes—no physical contact with the prisoner. The table has a barrier; don't put your hands across it. There are panic buttons on your side if you need assistance." He recites this like he's reading a grocery list.
"I understand," I say, straightening my tie.
"We'll be watching," he adds, gesturing to the cameras mounted in each corner of the ceiling.
The final door slides open, revealing a small room divided by a metal table bolted to the floor. A clear barrier rises from the center of the table, separating the visitor's side from the prisoners. Hammond isn't here yet.
