Page 85 of Sapphire

Pushing the door to our bedroom open, I’m met by police taking photos and collecting evidence. The sheets on our bed have been ripped off, and the nightstand is tipped over.

“They fought their attackers,” Enrique informs us. “They drew blood in the main hall. We’re sending it away to be tested.”

I nod at Enrique’s information, but it’s all white noise at the moment.

“You won’t be able to come back here. We are almost done in the bedroom collecting evidence then you can pack and check into a hotel.”

I frown. I don’t want to move to a hotel—Zoe won’t be able to find us if she escapes.

“It’s for the best, Mateo,” Tomas advises.

I nod and let him lead me toward our walk-in closet. My eyes are drawn to all of Zoe’s colorful clothes. I touch the delicate fabric of a dress and it pierces my soul.Where the hell are you?

We move into Tomas’s office and pull up FaceTime then dial Zoe’s parents. We wait and wait for the connection to click through.

“Hello, my beautiful boys. How are you?” Zoe’s mum, Elizabeth, answers.

I burst out crying, I can’t hold it in.

“Honey, what’s the matter?” I can hear the concern in her voice.

But I can’t get the words out.

“Nikolai found Zoe,” Tomas says.

“No, no, not my baby, no.” Elizabeth bursts into tears and the sound rips my heart out.

“They have Gracie as well.”

Elizabeth wails down the line, and her husband rushes in, and when we repeat the news, he stumbles as if someone has sucker punched him.

“What do you need?” He sounds like Tomas, all authoritative and menacing.

“I’m organizing a jet to bring you here. Nothing, and I mean nothing is going to stop us from getting her back. I don’t care how much it costs. I have money, I have lots of it, and we will get her back.”

Then we call her sisters and tell them the news. Sophie, who works in the Middle East, tells us that she knows people and by people she means men who are off-the-grid. They go in and rescue people from situations that seem unsolvable. Sophie is a no-nonsense woman. Tomas organizes a first-class ticket for her to come here so we can all be together.

Hours later, Enrique runs into the office. He’s panting. “We have a location. We got a hit on the van from a partial plate; it was seen at a private airport. We found the flight logs. They are headed to Morocco—Casablanca, to be specific.”

Fuck, she’s in Africa.

How the hell are we going to find her there?

28

ZOE

It wasn’t a long flight to wherever we were going. Nikolai and Dmitri sat drinking vodka and playing cards, and all I could do was stare at them and plot their demise. Gracie eventually woke up. She was a little disorientated for a while, but after a quick nip of scotch, she was back to normal. I told her she needed to be strong, that I needed her to be strong. That we would get out of this situation, but she had to trust me, she had to trust that the boys would find us.

“You really think Mateo and Tomas will save us?” Gracie asks quietly.

“Yes, I do. Enrique will help them.” I try to be positive.

“I hate them.” Gracie’s eyes zero in on Nikolai and Dmitri laughing.

“Me too, but trust me, Gracie, if I ever get a chance, I will fucking kill them both.”

She smiles at me. “Me too.”

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