Page 131 of Guarded Knight

I peer over the back of his chair, and fuck… It’s her. Slung over the back of some giant, like she weighs nothing, hair falls across her face. One of her heels is missing. She wails down on his huge back with bound wrists. And then he throws her in a laundry cart.

Every muscle in my body screams to tear through that screen, but all I can do is watch the proof that I failed her.

The thought is a punch to the chest; she trusted me to keep her safe. And I didn’t.

My jaw clenches so tight it aches, but I don’t move. Not yet. Not while there’s still more to see.

The man’s face is turned just enough to blur, but something about him catches me. The way he moves, the way his shouldersroll. There’s a familiarity to it. It’s impossible to make out his features, but just the shape of him teases the edge of my memory.

The video rolls on, and he secures a lid over her.

“Cut to the van,” I say, voice steady even though everything inside me is screaming. “We need the plate.”

While the manager sets to work, I pull out my cell. We need Ava, Enzo… anybody who can pull up details faster than the police will.

I toss a glance at Anton. “I’m calling Enzo.”

He’s already scrolling through contacts. “I’ll get to Rio.”

No question. No hesitation.

My gut twists hard. Instinct begs me to break something. Roar her name until the world shatters.

But there’s no time for this. I need to go cold. I’ve done it before. In worse places. With worse odds.

Only this isn’t war. I’m not fighting some other man’s battle of wills. This is Lara.

My future.

And I was supposed to be hers.

What the hell are we even going to do when we do find her? We can’t just call the cops and storm a building. Not with premeditation. That’s how people die.

We need a play. We need precision.

Normally, I’d call Callum and Luke, they’re cops with a taste for vigilante shit, but they’re an hour away from here. I have to trust Anton and I can do this alone. That whoever did this is operating a one-man band. One man is no match for us. I have to believe that.

The phone rings once… twice… three times…

Nothing.

I clench my jaw until it aches. The manager’s still clicking.

Come on, Zo…

Anton speaks into his cell. “Rio. If we get a plate can you run it? And get someone on pulling any other details? Lara was taken.”

Just hearing those words from Anton’s mouth has my chest screaming with tight pain.

I never told her I loved her.

The manager clicks his mouse. “Here!”

The phone is still ringing in my ear when I glance down at the screen and see the van. “Can you zoom in?”

The plate. I read the number aloud. “Ant, tell Rio it’s ATH 758.”

Anton repeats the information.