damian

I snuck another look at my phone as Ash and Rhyett talked around me. I’d texted Talie over an hour ago and was still waiting for her response.

“What do you think? Damian?” Ash snapped his fingers in my face. “Are you even listening?”

“Yeah,” I muttered, tossing my phone on my desk.

“We’ll sign the papers tomorrow,” Rhyett said, thumbing through a thick stack. “Your dad won’t know until the sale is done.”

My phone rang, and when I saw an unknown number on the screen, a slice of unease hit me. I answered it before putting it to my ear.

“Hey, Damian. I’m calling from a friend’s phone.” Charlotte’s voice came over the line. “Is Talie with you? I tried calling her, but she’s not answering. We were supposed to go out to dinner, but I lost my phone. When I went to your apartment, no one answered.”

“You’re not with her?”

“No,” she said slowly. “I figured she was with you.”

“She’s not. Where were you two supposed to go?”

“The new sushi place.” She paused. “I don’t think she would have gone alone.”

“Then where the hell is she?” I put the call on speaker before going back into my texts to send her another message. “I’ll call you back. Let me know if you hear from her.”

“What’s up?” Ash asked.

“We don’t know where Talie is.”

Rhyett shrugged. “Maybe she’s going to a music gig.”

“She would have told me. And Charlotte always goes with her.”

Ash raised his hands. “I’m gonna play devil’s advocate for a second. Are you sure she’s not doing something she doesn’t want you to know about?”

“Yes,” I snapped. “She’s not hiding anything from me. Even if she was, then her sister would know where she was. Something’s wrong.”

Turning my attention back to my phone, I pressed on Talie’s name, keeping it on speaker as it began ringing. My heart raced faster, panic creeping in as it rang again and again. Right when I thought it would go to her voicemail, the call connected even though she didn’t say anything.

“Talie?”

After a few more seconds, she finally responded. “Damian, I need Ash to do me a favor.”

I froze at her quiet, trembling voice. “Where are you?”

“I need you to listen,” she choked out. “Please. Is Ash with you?”

“I’m right here, Talie,” Ash spoke up, worry swimming in his eyes as he stared at the phone.

“I’m going to give you an account number. I need you to help me?—”

“Natalia,” I cut in, nerves thick in my voice. “What’s going on?”

The silence dragged on until I nearly snapped.

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered. “Trust me.”

“Ash isn’t doing anything until you tell me where you are.”

Her response was suddenly muffled, and I stiffened when another voice mixed with hers. It was deep enough to know it was a man.

“Who the hell is that?” I asked, the new voice only shooting more panic through me.

“Ash, I’m going to text a number and the bank name. I need you to do a wire transfer?—”

“No,” I cut her off. “Talk to me.”

“Do you care about your wife, Damian?”

My heart plummeted when Percy’s voice came through the speaker. Ash straightened up, a frown on his face as he grabbed his laptop, his fingers flying furiously over the keyboard. Rhyett rounded the desk, halting next to me.

“Percy,” I said slowly, trying to stay calm. “Why are you with my wife?”

“If you want her to stay safe, then you’re going to do what I say,” he continued, the unhinged edge to his voice causing my heart to race frantically.

“I’m sending through a text with an account number and the bank.

You and your friends will wire all of it to me.

You will also give me everything in your accounts. ”

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” I warned through clenched teeth. “Let her go, Percy.”

“You’ll never see her again,” he nearly screamed. “I want all the money—yours and hers. Or she’s dead.”

Ice chilled my veins. “Okay, okay. I’ll do it. Just calm down.”

“You have two hours. No calling the police or anyone else. If I don’t have the money in my account, you won’t see her again.”

“Let me talk to her,” I demanded hoarsely.

“Tell him how serious I am,” Percy spoke, his voice farther from the phone.

“Damian, he shot him,” Talie cried, her sob making my heart ache. “I don’t know if he’s alive?—”

“Enough.” Percy came back on the phone.

“I swear on everything I will kill you if you hurt her,” I growled, the words out of my mouth before I could think. “You’ll get your fucking money. But if there’s a mark on her, there isn’t a place you can run far enough.”

Rhyett’s hand landed on my shoulder, and he squeezed tightly, attempting to ground me. It wasn’t helping. Red lined my vision as I heaved out breaths. I was spiraling, and nothing would change until I had my eyes on my wife.

“You don’t get to threaten me anymore,” Percy spat out. “I’m making the rules now.”

“Do you remember how my dad wanted us to go to Georgia, Damian?” Talie asked in a rush. “But we couldn’t stay in the city at the apartment building we wanted? I want you to take me there when this is over?—”

The next thing was silence when the call was disconnected. I didn’t realize I was gripping the edge of my desk until pain spasmed down my fingers. I glanced at my white knuckles as I slowly let go of the wood.

“I can try to trace her phone, but it’s going to take a while,” Ash said tightly, his eyes not leaving his laptop screen. “Do we want to call the cops?”

“No. If he already shot someone, then he could hurt Talie.” Rhyett was right next to me, but his words sounded far away. “We could call Jude. He or Christian might have connections to track her down.”

My phone vibrated, and I snatched it up. A text from Talie popped up with a number along with the name of a Swiss bank. In the next text, there was another overseas bank name and routing number, along with an account number.

Rhyett grabbed it from me. “Don’t worry about the numbers. Let Ash handle it.” He gave my phone to Ash before facing me again. “I know you’re about to lose your shit, but you need to focus. Her last words are something you’d understand. Think about what it meant.”

“Maybe it was her telling us to call her dad. Rhyett’s right. Jude has people who would make sure Percy never saw another day,” Ash muttered distractedly as he typed.

“No, we’re not calling her father or mine.” I sucked in a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. “We don’t know who’d they call, and I’m not risking Talie’s life. Can you send the money, Ash?”

“Give me a couple of minutes.”

“We aren’t giving him all of it until we get Talie,” Rhyett stated.

I paced the room, Talie’s last words echoing through my head as I tried piecing it together. “We’ve never talked about going to Georgia or an apartment there…”

“Think outside the box,” Rhyett said quietly. “It was a clue. Maybe for her location. Maybe Georgia means something other than the state.”

My mind raced with possibilities as I stormed around my office. It could mean anything, but nothing was making sense. Until it hit me.

Whirling around, I grabbed my keys and phone off the desk. “Georgia. Someone Jude and Christian wanted to go into business with. That dinner was months ago, and she declined. Jude is building apartments in the city he wanted her to invest in. It’s still under construction. That’s where she’s at.”

“Are you sure?” Rhyett asked.

“No. But it’s my best guess. I can’t fucking sit here and do nothing.” I was already at the door before glancing over my shoulder to look at Ash. “Let me know if you can track her phone.”

“Did you know Talie had a Swiss bank account?” Ash raised his eyes to meet mine. “And the amount is… fuck . No way she made all of this doing her music gigs.”

Rhyett’s brows raised. “How much?”

“Just over a million.”

“Sounds like the wife who spent five years hating you, never really hated you,” Rhyett murmured. “She kept most of the money she stole.”

I didn’t give a fuck about the money. All I wanted was her back in my arms. I glanced at my phone, sending the texts that Talie had messaged to Ash’s phone so he’d have it.

“It has some red tape around it,” Ash continued. “She hasn’t touched it in over two years. I can transfer it, though.”

“Not yet,” I said. “Not until I know she’s safe.”

“I’m going with you.” Rhyett followed me as I left the office. “Ash will call if anything changes.”

“What if I’m wrong?” I scrubbed a hand down my face. “What if she’s not at the apartment building?”

“We’ll find her.”