Page 40 of A Soldier's Temptation
“That’s what I’m afraid of. C’mon, let’s go sit on the couch.”
Following him into the living room with Mr. Darcy at her side she felt a little better. Less shaky, knowing that she wouldn’t have to do this alone. Or at least she hoped she wouldn’t.
Pulling her onto his lap, he wrapped his arms around her. She should have objected but it helped her feel safe. Mr. Darcy jumped onto the couch and laid against her legs.
“Tell me what happened after I left with Mr. Darcy.”
“Nothing at first, but my phone rang. I thought it was Shira, but it wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
Tears gathered in her eyes and throat, and she was having trouble getting the words out. She hated crying. Clearing her throat, she wished she had a glass of water. “It was someone else, but he had Shira’s phone.”
“What did he say?”
“That he had Shira and would hurt her unless I did what he asked. He wants me to bring him a micro SD card Paul supposedly gave to me. But I can’t remember him doing that. Nothing even remotely like a memory card.”
“Are you sure? Maybe it was something he asked you to hold on to for him.”
“No, nothing like that. After we got the apartment and moved in together, he didn’t give me anything except flowers once in a while. I don’t want Shira to die. Oh my God, what are we going to do? I can’t let anything happen to her…”
“Breathe. Slowly. In and out. It’s going to be fine. We’ll get Shira back.”
“Promise?”
He winced. It was a promise he couldn’t make. No one could.
“I know you can’t. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“I promise I’ll do my best, Baby,” John said and kissed the top of her head as he squeezed her.
Even Mr. Darcy tried to comfort her. Moving closer, he put his fluffy head on her leg and looked up at her with his big brown eyes. It melted her heart and she ruffled his ears.
“I’m okay. It was just a shock getting the call. I’m sorry I fell apart.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You’ve been going through hell for what, a year? Now, this? I’d worry about you if you weren’t upset.”
Leaning into his chest, Ari took a deep breath and inhaled the scent that was pure John, clean and fresh like the outdoors. Being close to him did make her feel better but relying on him would take more trust than she was able to give him yet.
“I need to get into my apartment and search for it.”
“How about we call Chase first and see if he’s uncovered anything?”
“That won’t help. And it hasn’t been that long since he called.” It was clear he didn’t want her to go to her apartment and he was looking for reasons to stall. It didn’t make sense to her. There wasn’t any danger there now. They wanted her to find the card.
“Humor me, okay? We’ll tell him about the phone call and see if he has anything else. If he doesn’t, we’ll search your apartment.”
After the full plate of emotions she’d been through for the last hour, she gave in easier than she should have. But waiting another five or ten minutes probably wouldn’t make a difference. Trying to find that little memory card would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“Fine, but after the call, I’m going to check the apartment with or without you. I’m not leaving the building so the Shadows won’t need to know.”
“Maybe, we’ll see how close they’re monitoring you. But you’re right, it shouldn’t trigger any phone calls to Colin.”
* * *
The last thing John expected when he returned with Mr. Darcy was Ari pacing back and forth in the kitchen, her face pale and her cell phone clenched in her hand. Without thinking, he took her in his arms. As soon as he touched her, his protective instincts kicked into full blast. The need to keep her safe was overwhelming.
After she explained the phone call, he had to restrain his anger. Whoever was behind this was starting to panic with the trial date approaching. Why else would everything have escalated? Taking Shira was a bold move, but after they couldn’t find the memory card in Ari’s apartment they had limited options.
