Simon was driving on the highway when his mobile phone rang.
“Hey, Simon? What time is Niamh due to arrive at work?” Dr Arnett’s voice echoed on the line.
The sudden sickening ice that formed in his gut told him it had all gone wrong.
“She was heading to Amalia’s, collecting the cake, and then going directly to the clinic. She didn’t make it?”
“Oh… no. I’ve tried her cell, but it rings out. Perhaps… Can you try?”
He glanced at the freeway. Cars jammed end to end, but an exit lay just ahead. He made his way in that direction as intuition told him she needed him. Now.
“I’ll do that, but I’m on my way. If she turns up, tell her to call me.” In his heart, though, he feared the worst.
He disconnected and tried her number. It rang out. He tried a second time and cursed, slamming his hand against the steering wheel when it went to voicemail.
He cut through multiple lanes towards the exit while horns blared the drivers’ displeasure, sweating even as his body chilled.
Niamh. Her name became a chant in his mind.
He scrolled through his contacts list and found Ulrich’s number. “Where the fuck is Niamh?” he bellowed once the call connected.
“We don’t know. I’m sending Bailey to check at Amalia’s in case she broke down. But, boss? I don’t think that’s the case.”
Hell, Simon knew it wasn’t. But his blood pressure was spiking off the charts as terror crowded his mind. “Check the tracking on her car and her bag. Maybe there’s been an accident.”
“I’ll get right on it, boss, and I’ll call you back.”
It would take the best part of an hour for him to get back home. “Damn it.”
On a whim, he contacted James Morrow. When the call connected, he demanded, “Where the fuck is Persible?”
“I’ve literally just received the list. Why?”
“Because I think he has Niamh. How long will it take you to—”
“Wait. Niamh? Didn’t he try for her before?”
“Yes. But she’s missing.” He refused to consider where she might be and in what state. He had to focus on the hopes that she’d be all right.
“I’m on my way. I’ll have my men deployed as quickly as I can.”
Simon wanted to point out that it likely wouldn’t be soon enough but bit it off. No matter the steps he’d taken to safeguard Niamh, they hadn’t been enough. And that burned him.
Niamh came to, feeling as if she were fighting through a black haze.
“What happened?”
The sound of an engine filled her awareness, but it was dark, as if she were in a cave or hidden from the sun.
Terror filled her, and she felt the quickening of her breath. The jitters in her nerves.
A sense of self-protection rose. Stay calm. It wasn’t easy, but she made her fingers search and felt the short stubby hairs of carpet. She was in a small place, barely big enough to contain her. Her legs bent up with the lack of space.
Wherever she was, it wasn’t stable, as she rolled slightly.
“Oomph,” she cried as her head connected with something metallic and awareness fled again.
Simon struggled to find his equilibrium. Where is she?
He drove to the street where she’d stopped to pick up the cake and found Ulrich waiting in his car, his face grim.
“Boss? I found her phone.” He handed over the device.
Now the fears threatened to swamp Simon. She had no phone, and he knew she wouldn’t throw it away. It was her lifeline to Finn and Danny. And him.
“Have you located her yet?”
Ulrich’s face paled. “We found a location for her trackers. Thrown from a window on the highway. Whoever took her found them, got rid of them. We have no straightforward way to track her down. Boss… I’m sorry. I should have trailed her. Her car was found dumped in the next town.”
Ulrich’s words came from far away as Simon stared ahead. Beyond. “This isn’t your mistake or mine. Persible is dangerous, and we allowed her to go without an escort. I should have insisted, but she needed her freedom. The only thing we can hope is she’s about to get away. She can’t fly far, but surely…”
It wasn’t much, but he’d hold on to that hope for as long as he could. She was bright. Smart. She’d find a way.
Anything else just wasn’t acceptable.
His phone blared. “Morrow, what have you found out?”
“Nothing good. There are five locations. We need to check each, because they’re in remote areas. I’m on my way to your office. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes with the coordinates of the locations.”
Simon hung up and turned to Ulrich. “My office. Now.”
They moved with careful grace, muscles rippling with frustration, aware of the dangers, as they’d seen Persible’s handiwork on the roof of the warehouse. They knew what he was capable of. At this stage, the only positive was he hadn’t had her long enough to do much. But time would run out, and Simon had to find her before that occurred.