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R enard was losing his mind.

He was sitting in a meeting room in the police department. Everyone seemed busy, rushing around, doing what they could to find a trace of his girl.

And he was sitting here.

Doing. Fucking. Nothing.

Screw this.

He stood. He was going to find her.

“Where are you going?” Saxon turned to stare at him. He hadn’t left his side since Duncan delivered the news to him that Opal was missing.

That was ten hours ago. It was now seven in the morning. And they had next to nothing. Christ.

“I’m going to look for her.”

“We have no idea where she is. We can’t just go looking for her,” Saxon told him.

“I can drive around. I might find something.” What, he had no idea. But there had been nothing so far. And he couldn’t take it anymore.

“We have a lead.” Jake walked into the room with Duncan behind him. “We’re heading out.”

“Where? I’m coming with you.”

“You can’t come with us,” Jake told him.

“I’m fucking well coming with you. This is my woman. And I am not sitting here a moment longer. So if you don’t want me following you, then you need to lock me up.”

“Fucking hell,” Saxon muttered.

“If you come and get in our way, you could ruin this case,” Jake pointed out.

“Don’t care about your fucking case! I want to find my woman.” And if they found whoever had taken her, their case wouldn’t matter because he was going to kill the bastard.

“Let us follow,” Saxon said. “I’ll keep him out of the way.”

Jake shot Saxon a look. Then he sighed. “Fine. Fuck. I’d feel the same way. Just keep him under control.”

“So where are we going?” Renard asked as he followed them out.

“To Mrs. Gingers’ house.”

* * *

They crowded in front of the Grackle’s house. Two cop cars were pulled up at the curb with Saxon’s car a few houses away to give them all room.

Saxon had insisted on driving. Something about him not being in the right frame of mind to concentrate on his driving.

Whatever.

He hadn’t really been paying attention.

“You seriously think that old lady had something to do with Opal disappearing?” he asked Jake. “How the hell would she take Opal?”

His girl wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Unless she’d been taken by surprise. She wouldn’t expect it from an old woman.

Fuck.

How had this happened?

“Mrs. Gingers isn’t the suspect,” Jake replied. “One of the neighbors didn’t get home from his night shift until early this morning and didn’t know that Opal was missing. He just reported to us that he saw Opal and Barney rush into this house about five last night while he was driving to work.”

“Fuck. Shit. Barney?” Had Barney done something? That bumbling idiot?

Fuck! How hadn’t he seen this?

“Maybe. No one answered the door earlier when we knocked. We just got the warrant so we can go in. Wait here.” Jake shot a look at Saxon.

“We’ll wait,” Saxon told him.

“If she’s in there . . . if she was there the whole time . . .”

“Just wait,” Saxon warned, crowding him as though he thought Renard would make a run for it.

It was tempting.

They entered the house and Renard held his breath. He couldn’t take this. He couldn’t wait here any longer. What if she needed him?

He took a step forward and Saxon got in his way. He was yelling something at him, but he ignored him.

He had to get to his girl.

He should never have let this happen to her.

He should have taken better care of her like he’d promised. Fuck! It was his job to protect her and he was failing.

What if he lost her?

Like he’d lost them ?

“Renard! Fuck, Renard! She’s not there!”

He blinked and saw Jake standing in front of him. “What?”

He’d made it to the front porch. Jake must have heard Saxon yelling because he’d come out of the house.

“She’s not in there.” Jake was frowning.

“She’s not in there? Then where is she?”

“I don’t know. But it seems that Barney is likely the one that took her.”

“Why do you say that?” Saxon asked.

“Because he’s got a set-up in the basement,” Jake said with disgust. “Along with his bed and a small bathroom, there’s several computers and photos pinned to a bulletin board. The computer . . . it’s playing a live camera feed.”

He said nothing more.

“Of what?” Renard growled.

“I don’t want you to lose it,” Jake warned. “Maybe we should speak about this somewhere private.”

He leaned into Jake. “Of. What?”

Jake ran his hand over his face, looking tired. “Of her bedroom, Renard. He was watching her in her bed.”

That fucker.

That fucker had been watching his girl? While she was sleeping? While she was getting dressed? Maybe doing other things? Had he watched them together? Watched her use her vibrator before they’d gotten together?

Mother. Fucker.

“What else?” he seethed. He wanted to go down there and destroy the place but that wouldn’t help his girl.

“The photos on the noticeboard are all of her. This guy has quite the obsession.”

Barney was obsessed with Renard’s girl. Had watched her in her bedroom. Had taken her. Maybe hurt her.

“And there’s some blood.”

Barney was a dead man walking.