Amara leaned into him, her body trembling as she wrapped her arms around him, seeking solace in his presence. “I don’t know who took him or why…,” her voice was fragile, nearly breaking with the weight of her fear.
Rowan gently patted her back, his touch surprisingly soft for a man who had just promised vengeance. “It’s okay. You don’t need to know right now. I’ll find him. I’ll bring him back.”
His voice was calm, but the darkness in his eyes told a different story..
One filled with rage and promise of retribution.
Lucas stood nearby, watching the scene unfold. His eyes flickered between Rowan and Amara, but he remained silent, knowing full well the gravity of the situation.
He tightened his grip on the handle of the car, his knuckles white, but his silence was more for Amara’s sake than anyone else’s.
He understood how fragile she was in that moment.
Harvey and Kyle got out of the car…
“When did this happen?” Harvey’s voice cut through the quiet, pulling Amara from her desperate embrace.
Amara pulled back from Rowan, her face pale. “Yesterday,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, the pain of recounting the timeline evident in her hollow gaze.
Rowan’s eyes darkened further. “Let’s go inside. We need to talk and figure out what’s next.”
His voice was steady, though the storm within him was clearly brewing.
Amara nodded, and they all moved toward the living room, where the atmosphere thickened with every step.
The house felt suffocating for some reason, as if the very walls were closing in on them.
Rowan’s sharp gaze swept the room as he glanced at Lucas, who was already on high alert.
But Lucas, like the others, stayed quiet, his focus solely on Amara’s wellbeing and the mission at hand.
Rowan gestured for everyone to sit, but instead of taking his place immediately, he disappeared into his study.
A few moments later, he returned with his laptop, the cold glow of its screen reflecting off his expressionless face as he sat beside Amara.
His presence next to her was like an anchor, pulling her back from the edge of despair.
He turned on the laptop, his fingers moving with swift precision. “Where did it happen?” he asked, not lifting his gaze from the screen.
Amara stared blankly ahead for a moment, her mind replaying the nightmare in vivid flashes. “5th Street… the area near the school,” she murmured, her voice strained.
Rowan nodded, his focus intensifying as he bypassed several security firewalls with an ease that spoke volumes of his connections and expertise.
He brought up security footage, rewinding it to the previous day when Vaughn had left school. The room fell into a tense silence as they all gathered around the screen, watching intently.
The footage showed Vaughn stepping into his usual driver’s car. It seemed ordinary at first.. nothing out of place.
But as the car drove off, Rowan slowed the footage down.
A minute later, another vehicle appeared in the frame. A black SUV, creeping behind at a deliberate distance.
Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “That car…” he muttered under his breath.
Rowan’s head snapped in Lucas’s direction. He rewound the footage slightly, zooming in on the black SUV.
The image sharpened, revealing the sleek, menacing shape of the vehicle.
Harvey’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that the same car…?” he trailed off, his voice tight with recognition.
Rowan nodded, his jaw clenched. “It looks like the same one.”
Amara and Lucas exchanged confused looks, the tension thickening.
Amara was the first to break the silence. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”
Rowan leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing as he explained. “A few days ago, Harvey noticed a car following yours. He was on his way to take care of some business when he saw it.”
A cold shiver raced down Amara’s spine. She had no idea someone had been tailing her.
How could she have missed something so crucial? Her voice quivered with shock and disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, standing abruptly.
Rowan remained calm, his expression unreadable. “I had men watching the situation. I didn’t want to alarm you unless it became necessary.”
Amara’s fury flared, her voice rising. “You should’ve told me! I could’ve increased security for Vaughn!”
Rowan’s face remained stoic, but his eyes flickered with a hint of regret. “I’ll handle this. Let me make a call,” he said, pulling out his phone before Amara could argue further.
Amara’s eyes were sharp, filled with mistrust as she asked, “Who are you calling now?”
Rowan glanced at her briefly before looking away, his tone clipped. “I didn’t just have men watching you only.”
Amara stared at him, her frustration boiling over. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rowan dialed a number, ignoring her rising anger. The line clicked, and a voice on the other end answered. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” Rowan asked, his voice cold as steel.
The man on the other end didn’t hesitate. “At the usual place, boss.”
Rowan’s eyes darkened further, his voice dripping with menace. “I gave you a task. Have you been doing it?”
“Yes, boss. We’ve been keeping watch as ordered. What’s going on?”
Rowan’s grip on the phone tightened. “Vaughn’s been kidnapped.”
There was a pause, then the voice returned, laced with disbelief. “No way…”
Rowan’s jaw clenched. “Yes. Now tell me exactly where you’ve been this entire time.”
The man stammered, “We’ve been following up as usual… but when did it happen?”
Rowan didn’t respond.
He simply ended the call, tossing his phone onto the table with a thud that echoed through the quiet room.
Amara was fuming, her anger barely contained.
She watched Rowan carefully, her frustration and fear bubbling up into raw emotion. “You knew someone was following me, and you didn’t tell me,” she spat, her voice trembling with rage. “How could you keep this from me? Vaughn could’ve been protected.. this could’ve been prevented!”
Rowan met her gaze, his expression unreadable. “Now’s not the time to dwell on what I should’ve done. We need to focus on finding him.”
Amara shook her head, her frustration unrelenting. “And how do you plan to do that?”
Rowan didn’t respond immediately. He turned back to his laptop, pulling up various surveillance footage from across the city.
His fingers flew over the keys, tracking the black SUV through multiple camera angles, but Lucas interrupted the silence, his voice low and grave.
“We have a lead,” Lucas said, his eyes flicking toward Rowan. “That’s some outsiders work.. there’s a faction trying to gain power in Las Vegas.”
Rowan’s gaze shifted sharply to Lucas, the darkness in his eyes intensifying. “Outsiders?” he repeated, the word hanging in the air, thick with menace.
Lucas nodded grimly. “They’ve been making moves recently. This kidnapping… it could be part of a bigger play.”
Rowan leaned back, his mind racing with the possibilities.
Outsiders trying to encroach on their territory.. this was more than a simple kidnapping. It was a power move, and Rowan knew exactly how dangerous that could be.
“Interesting,” Rowan murmured, his voice laced with a quiet, deadly calm. His eyes gleamed with the dark promise of what was to come. “Very interesting.”
Just then a man’s name flashed on his mind.