Silent Scars (Surviving #4) (33 page)

“I missed you,” I sobbed into his jacket. His usual scent of aftershave and leather warmed me.

“Missed you too,” he breathed.

“Aloura,” Will’s voice held a note of warning from behind me. I refused to release my hold on Harry.

“He was cleared. He belongs here,” I muttered into his jacket. Harry’s chuckle warmed me. I had missed him so much.

“Babe, let me go.”

“Never.”

He lifted me and headed up the steps.

“You need to step aside, pal, because she isn’t letting me go, and I don’t think Universal Soldier will be happy if I leave with her in my arms,” Harry joked. He stepped into the house but paused just over the threshold. “Well, isn’t this fucking cosy.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Alec glaring at Harry. There was so much hate in his gaze I shivered from the drop in temperature.

“Harry,” I whispered, hugging tightly to my friend. I wanted to convey he had my support.

“You’re not welcome here,” Alec snarled.

I turned in Harry’s arms so abruptly that he fumbled to keep hold of me.

“The fact that I came to see Aloura,
not
you, and that
she
is currently wrapped around me says otherwise.”

“Will, you need to remove him,” Alec said, pointing at Harry.

Will didn’t do anything other than close the door. “Ryan’s instructions were to kick his ass if he tried to hurt Aloura. He probably failed to mention that I
should
kick his ass for touching
her
ass, but I’ll let that slide.” Will grinned at me and sent a knowing smirk to Harry.

Warmth and love bloomed wild and bright inside of me knowing Ryan had already foreseen this and supported it. “Hear that. Ryan isn’t so bad,” I whispered into Harry’s ear.

“He stole my favourite girl. The guy's a dick.”

I pulled away to look into Harry’s face, but he was smirking so I knew he was only joking. I hugged him tightly again.

“Your coffee.” Alec held out two espresso cups to us. Will was already sitting on the couch drinking his and furiously texting. Poor Emily’s phone would be blowing up. I happily took my cup and sipped at the bitter goodness.

“I don’t want it,” Harry huffed. “I’ll take a beer.”

“This early?” Alec judged. He thrust the cup closer to Harry. “You need this more.”

Harry simply pursed his lips and shook his head. “No.”

Alec’s face mutated into an ugly snarl. I glanced over at Will, hoping he would help me diffuse the tension. He was placing his empty cup on the coffee table. I took a sip of my coffee just as Harry pressed his lips to the side of my head, pulling me tight against him. “You need to be more careful who you trust, baby.”

Glancing over at Emily sitting in the passenger seat, I couldn’t help the grin that formed. She was making ridiculous kissy faces at the bundle of fur that was writhing against her chest. She had been my partner in crime in collecting my surprise for Aloura.

“You promise to help me convince Will to let me keep her?” Emily said from the passenger seat. It was a huge mistake taking her with me. Apart from Will was going to kill me, she had taken way too fucking long, and we’d been out an hour longer than I wanted.

“Nope. All on you, princess.”

“Ryan,” she whined. “I’m pregnant and highly emotional.”

“Not working.” I shook my head and chuckled. There was nothing she could throw at me that would make me take the rap for this.

“It will break Izzy’s heart if we have to take her back.”

Except that.

“Ryan?”

“Do not talk to me, Emily. We are no longer friends.”

“I love you.” She giggled.

“Pff.”

“Why did you get two? I thought Aloura only had one dog before.”

“She did.”

“So why two?”

I’d deciphered that when a man falls in love, he loses two important things. One – any rational thought when his woman was naked, and two – his ability to say no when he knew it would make said woman incredibly happy.

“Because there was only three left. You bought one. If I only took one, it meant leaving one alone. No one should be left alone.”

“Aww, you big softie.”

“Plus, Aloura would have kicked my ass if she knew.”

Emily chuckled before talking baby crap to the three Yorkshire terrier pups she had in a carrier box on her lap.

“Stop talking like that to them.”

“Why? They are cute wikkle babies. Yes, you are.”

“Holy mother of God. You’re killing me.”

“Protect me from Will, and I will stop.”

“Emily, my brother is whipped. If you wanted a dog, he’d have probably bought you an animal shelter. The guy is so pus –”

“Finish that sentence mister, and I will tell
everyone
I heard you talking to the dogs earlier.”

“I did not.”

I glanced across at her when I could feel her gaze on me. She had an eyebrow cocked.

“The dude was scared. Being stuck in a box with two bitches has gotta be hard.” I tried to suppress my grin and so did Emily, but we both burst out laughing.

“Do you think she’ll be mad?” I asked when we’d both calmed down. I was kinda scared Aloura wouldn’t see it as a kind gesture when I was essentially replacing her little buddy Herc.

“She is going to love them. I think if she wasn’t already completely in love with you, this would have cemented the deal.”

I glanced at Emily, not daring to take my attention from the road for too long.

“You think?”

“Ryan, you have to know how she feels.”

This would have been a point I would have shut down. But I’d been trying hard not to close my family out.

“I'm pretty crazy about her too.”

“You don’t say,” Emily gasped in mock amazement.

“Smart ass.”

“You know, I hear that often.”

We sat in companionable silence for a while we headed back home.

We pulled up to the house, and I knew something was wrong. For one, Harry’s car was in the driveway and the front door was wide open, but Will’s car was missing. When Emily and I had driven away earlier, his SUV was parked beside mine. And that space was now empty. I knew Will wouldn’t leave Aloura alone, and I knew for certain he wouldn’t be dumb enough to leave the house unsecure.

“Em, I need you to stay in the car. Lock the doors.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Do as I ask,” I commanded.

“Ryan, you’re scaring me,” she whispered, and the quiver in her voice made me pause.

“Em, I need to check out if they’re okay. Trust me okay.”

She dipped her chin in jerky little nods, tears welling in her eyes.

“Stay here.”

I closed the door and with the key fob locked her inside. I approached the house like I would any unsecure unit. There was no sound coming from inside as I approached the door.

The place was a mess. The coffee table was turned over, the couch skewed, and there was what looked like cups smashed around the place. Clearly whatever shit had happened, Will had given a damn good fight. But what had the fear of God coursing through me was the splattered blood. There was a small trail leading from the couch to the front door. Without taking a next breath, I dialled the police.

I rattled off the address and mundane fucking questions to the operator as I raced through the house looking for any signs Aloura was still in the property. I headed to my room to check over the cameras, suspecting what I would find. My room had been trashed. The screens were smashed, the keyboard in two pieces on the bed. I called our tech guy.

“I need the feed from the cameras,” I snapped into the receiver.

“Hello to you too fucker.”

“Aloura has be kidnapped along with Will. Get that feed up now, or I will cut your fucking dick off,” I shouted. “My equipment is trashed, but feed should be backed up.”

“’Kay.” I could hear his keyboard clicking. “Shit.”

“What?”

“She was put into a black vehicle. Shit is that Will’s car?”

“Yes. Describe the fucker.”

“Late twenties, early thirties. White male, height hard to determine. His arms are covered in tats.”

“Fucker”

“He carried her out to the car, put her in the back seat, and then he just stood and stared into the camera. Like he didn’t care we would see him. Hold up.”

“What are you doing? Talk the fuck to me.” I was losing my damn mind.

“I’m going back. He had to have gotten onto the property somehow.”

“According to the gate info, it’s Harry.”

“I guessed that, fucker. What happened to Will?”

More clicking.

“The feed dies.”

“What?”

“It just dies. It’s blank.”

“How the fuck is that possible?”

I cut the call and dialled her dad.

“Hello.”

“Is she with you?”

“Ryan?”

“Is Aloura with you?”

There was a long pause.

“Please tell me she’s with you,” I begged.

“Ryan, where is Aloura?”

I sucked in a breath. Panic was clawing its way to the surface. I’d faced combat, but this, this was fucking terrifying.

“She’s gone.”

I ended the call. Those words ripping through me. I’d failed to keep her safe, and I’d put my brother in danger. When I ran back down the stairs and into the lounge, I skidded to a stop. My blood boiling with anger.

“What the fuck?” I roared, heading towards the most infuriating woman on the planet.

“Where is he, Ryan?”

“I told you to stay in the fucking car.”

“Where is he?” she screamed. “Oh God.” She covered her mouth when her eyes fixed on the blood on the floor.

“It’s not...” I paused, feeling sick to my stomach. Because if that blood wasn’t Will’s, that meant it had to be Aloura’s.

“Where is he, Ryan?” she repeated in a whispered rasp. The fear in her voice echoed my own.

“I don’t know.”

“You have to find him,” she choked, placing her hand on her stomach and wincing.

“I swear I’ll get them back. Why are you doing that?” I asked as she blew out a breath and hugged her stomach.

“I’m in slow labour, have been since yesterday,” she said, heading over to a kitchen stool.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I gripped my hair, pulling hard enough to cause pain. “Why the hell were you with me. Shouldn’t you be at the hospital?”

“We wanted to
help
you. You never ask us for help,” she gasped, but when I stepped forward to help her, she held out her hand. “I’m fine. You get Will back. I need him here with me.”

“Em...” I trailed off, fear exploding inside me.

“No, don’t do that. I need you, Ryan, don’t you dare give up on them. They need you. Be the man they – we all believe you are, and get them back.”

Sirens wailed in the distance, but it was too little too fucking late. I’d failed my girl, and she was in the hands of a sick fucker. All I knew was they better take Harry down because I was going to fucking kill him.

Waiting.

That’s all we could do. There was no trace of Will’s car. The police had taken forever to collect evidence from the house. We were currently in Graham’s kitchen.

Her mom had arrived shortly after the police and given me a thick lip. Something I deserved and more. Emily was still refusing to go to the hospital, which was doing nothing for the tension in the house.

My phone alerted me to a text. I grabbed it with shaking hands and swiped at the screen. The number was unknown, but the picture of the three people wasn't.

“Oh God,” Emily gasped at the side of me as I stared at the screen. Will and Aloura sat against a wall. Neither of them looked hurt. Staring at the screen was like a huge punch in the gut because the guy who had kidnapped Aloura wasn’t Harry, seeing as he had his head in Aloura’s lap with a gash across his forehead and was bleeding all over her.

My phone bleeped again.

This was an image of the fucker holding Aloura’s head while he took a close up. He’d taped her mouth, and I could only assume her hands were tied.

I handed my phone over to the police, feeling bile rising in my throat.

After another hour passed of waiting, a video was sent.

It was of Aloura crying and pleading with her captor to let her go. My hands were shaking; my ears buzzed as fear exploded within me. I’d seen men and women begging for their lives at the hands of terrorists. I’d fought against senseless violence, but this was my Aloura, the woman I loved. I’d never felt so incredibly helpless and terrified. I fisted my hands, shaking with a tumult of emotions. Her fear tore me apart.

“Be brave, baby,” I whispered to the screen. I wrapped my arms around Emily and pulled her into me, needing the comfort.

“Why isn’t Will opening his eyes?” she sobbed. In all of the photographs his body was prone. The video was the same, only he’d slumped onto the floor. Oh God, please let him be okay.

“He’s fine.”

We had to again wait. The police each time worked furiously to follow any lead with the cell. I was numb. I couldn’t do shit. I had no leads, nothing. My mind was fogged with fear for Aloura. I couldn’t bring my mind down and focus.

“Sir,” one of the police officers said, entering the kitchen. “They are sending up the helicopter.”

“Thank you.”

“This guy is toying with us,” I snarled. Emily pulled out of my arms and went to sit over by Sally. She looked exhausted, and this definitely wasn’t any good for her or the babies. She needed Will, and I needed him to still be alive. He had to be. I couldn’t think any other way. He had to come home to Emily and the kids.

Everyone jumped when Emily’s phone rang. She answered it quickly. Her hurried movements almost had her dropping the phone.

“Will?” Her brittle voice was like a knife through my chest. Her face crumpled, and she began to cry into the phone. “Let him go, please.”

I practically dove at her and snatched the phone. “Listen...” But the phone was cut dead.

Emily sobbed into her hands.

“Darling, tell me what he said,” I urged, crouching down before her and pulling her hands away from her face. The police crowded us, asking their own hurried questions.

“He said that he was going to give you a choice, and he wanted you to look me in the eye when you made it.”

Dread filled my lungs, making me incapable of breathing.

“What does that mean?” Graham asked from his perch at the counter. I glanced at the officer. The stricken look on his face said he understood.