Until Her - Ami Van Page 0,51
She should have been found by now.”
“Unless—”
“NO!” he cuts Chase off.
“Stella, do you already have Gaston and his men looking too?” He swings back to Elias who is sitting at his computer setup. “Elias, do you have anything on the traffic cams? We pay a fucking fortune to have access to them!”
“I’m looking, Boss. But the vehicles I caught are all coming up dry. There’s hope,” Elias tells him but with a grim expression. “I saw her going out on a run with two of the men assigned to detail her. I think at the sound of gunshots, Mitch ran with her when they were heading back. But they ducked into alleys and I lost her. I’m still looking.”
There’s hope. There’s some fucking hope.
“What we need to be doing right now is to figure out how we’re going to help McCullen with this. We can’t let him take the heat on his own,” Derrick tells him.
It’s true. Their truce with McCullen should be top priority right now and McCullen shouldn’t be taking the heat at all. He had nothing to do with this from the get and McCullen simply doesn’t have the manpower to go up against The Five…except…wait.
And it dawns on him.
“No, we don’t,” he tells everyone in the room once his wits function again. “The Five won’t get involved in something so trivial,” he says and then turns back to Stella.
“Tell McCullen that if asked, he can simply say a mistake was made. He can say that he met Ariana and didn’t know that she was wanted by the Romanos. Have him offer to pay them for the misunderstanding to make it as impersonal as possible. We’ll reimburse him double if needed. We’ll take care of expenses for his men too.”
“It could work,” Stella tells him but they both know it’s a solid plan. Plus, Stella can talk her friend into just about anything. “Which brings up another question,” she continues. “Why are they going through all this trouble and the possibility of drawing attention over Ariana?”
That’s a good fucking question. But right now, he can barely focus on anything else other than needing to know where she is.
“There has to be something on paper,” Stella says before walking over to him.
She snakes an arm around his waist and rests her head against his chest. He knows she can hear the pounding of his heart.
“We’ll find her,” she whispers. “We’ll find her for you.”
Stella’s warmth and faith quiet down his storm enough for him to at least think again. “I should be out there looking too,” he says.
“You’re the last person that needs to be doing that,” Chase says from across the room.
“We’re going to have to assume that we’re now being watched,” Derrick adds in.
Derrick is right. They need to take even more precautions now. In their own fucking city. Shit is sliding and sliding fast.
His phone buzzes again. This time, the caller ID shows a familiar number and he’s wondering why the fuck Jonas would be calling him. Who the fuck wants to eat at a time like this?
With circumstances as is and the need to find out any news, he answers the call. “King,” he barks out.
“Mr. King, this is Jonas at Samurai Sushi,” Jonas speaks.
“Go on. I have business to tend to,” he urges impatiently.
“There is someone here that needs to speak with you. She says it’s urgent,” Jonas tells him.
She? SHE!
He waits anxiously at the sound of what must be the phone being passed on.
“A-Adam?”
It’s her! It’s Ariana! Her beautiful voice is squeaky and shaky but it’s her.
“Stay right there!” he hollers, sounding much harder when she probably doesn’t need that. “Give the phone back to Jonas,” he says more calmly.
He waits for Jonas to answer before giving the man specific instructions to make sure that Ariana is safe. He isn’t sure how long she’s been there and for sure don’t know who’s seen her run inside.
“I’ll go,” Stella tells him. “Ben will meet me there so it can seem like we’re just meeting up for lunch.”
He grits his teeth together because he should be the one picking Ariana up but Stella is right. He can’t be seen. For the safety of his family and Ariana.
“Go,” he concedes. “Bring her home.”
Stella nods at him reassuringly and she’s off, phone to her ear, heels quickly echoing on their marble floor.
“I know the feeling,” Derrick speaks into the silent room. “Like you should be doing something. But you’re doing the right thing right now.”
“Fucking reassuring,”