Page 129 of Scandal
“Fuck,” he curses, sounding as anguished as I feel. “I don’t know, Ash. We were talking about normal shit. I gave her crap about moving to Scotland. She made me promise to visit, and then that guy came in and told her that he was instructed to take her somewhere for a romantic date or something.”
“Did he say where he was taking her?”
“Don’t you think I’d fucking tell you that? Jesus, who the hell would do this? Have you called the police?”
“Yes,” I answer. “Our security director is working with the constable now. They have officers combing the area as we speak, but his team is working internally as well, trying to nail down a suspect.”
“You know who it is, don’t you?”
I pause, unsure if I should tell him this, but I decide he deserves to know every detail. I would, if the situation were reversed. “There may be a link between the missing security guard and Mitch.”
“Mitch Zegler? Are you fucking serious?” He sounds murderous. I should know. It’s exactly how the rage boiling inside my veins sounds. High-pitched. Fevered.
I spend a few more minutes explaining the connection between Ian and Mitch, and a few more talking Cash out of flying out here.
“Your daughter needs you,” I remind him.
“She’s my sister.”
“I know, mate,” I reply, my voice cracking. “And she’s the love of my fucking life. I promise I will find her.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
We say goodbye just as my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I almost jump. With a trembling hand, I pull it out, hoping it’s a message from Mercury.
It’s not.
It’s from an unknown caller, and he’s sent another photo of Mercury, bound and gagged with the words “Finder’s keepers…” written across her chest.
I’m going to fucking kill this guy.
Chapter Thirty-One
MERCURY
I startle awake.
My eyes and limbs feel heavy, and there’s an ache in my neck that wasn’t there before. I double blink, checking my surroundings.
Where am I?
“There she is,” someone says, making a cold shiver run down my spine. My head jerks to the side. I’m in an unfamiliar room—a bedroom, maybe? It’s hard to tell. There’s very little furniture—a twin bed and a small desk. Piles of clothes line the wall, along with empty soda cans and dirty plates.
I try to move, but my wrists and my feet are tied behind my back. When I try to call out to the voice, I realize I can’t because of the cloth in my mouth.
Cloth…Oh god.
It all comes rushing back.
The security guard with the big hands.
He told me Asher had sent him, then escorted me outside. When I saw the car parked off to the side of the house, I started to get suspicious. It was as if someone was trying to hide it.
And then there was the fact that there was no driver.
But I never got the chance to voice any of those concerns because the moment I turned around, the blond security guard shoved something in my face and?—
My eyes dart around, searching for that voice that is now so familiar. I suck in a breath when I find him leaning against the door with a cruel grin on his face.
