Page 128 of Twilight Tides
My daughter’s eyes were filled with a chilling terror. “He took her!” she cried. “This man … h-he came into the back of the shop and dragged me out. L-London chased after us and got him off me. But he threw her in the back of his car.” She broke into sobs again and I tried to stay calm, stay focused, even as this voice inside of me roared in panic.
I clutched Kelly to my side, taking her with me as I strode over to the strange woman who was on the phone. She hung up as I approached, her face pale, eyes wild. “Are you her father?” she demanded shakily.
“Aye, what happened?”
“I saw it all. The police are on their way.” She seemed to be in a state of shock herself. “This man, this bald man in a suit had your daughter and the redhead came out of there.” She pointed to the back door of the shop. “She hit him until he dropped the girl. And then he hit the redhead and threw her in the back of the car. It was a black Range Rover, but the license plate was scrubbed. I’m so sorry, I … I cannae believe what I just witnessed ...”
The panic rushed forth as I stared down the street, vaguely aware of people gawking at us and whispering among themselves. There was no sign of a black Range Rover on the narrow streets. Kelly shook against me so violently it made me shiver in answer. I held on tighter, my mind racing as I tugged my phone free and tried to call London.
It rang out as this fucking awful powerlessness crashed over me.
Who took her? Why? Andwhere?
“Did you recognize him?” I asked Kelly.
She shook her head rapidly.
A bald man in a suit. It could be anyone. Someone to do with the Walsh situation. Or someone to do with Nick.
So what? I had to stand here and wait for the police?
No. No way. I needed to be out there looking.
Nothing could happen to London. If something happened to her … it would destroy me. It would destroy everything.
“M’eudail, I need—” I was cut off by my phone buzzing in my hand. If it was Greg, who had kept me on the phone for fucking ages while my wife was taken from me, I would lose my mind.
Thankfully for Greg, it wasn’t.
It was Ramsay.
Desperate, I answered without preamble. “Someone’s taken London. Right off the street in Oban!”
“I’m here,” Ramsay replied with bite. “They found Nick. I brought my boat over here as quickly as I could, but I need a car. Nick is at a private airstrip just outside of Oban. He must have her. Police are on their way.”
Trying to think through the building desperation, I barked, “Where are you?”
He gave me his location.
“I’ll be right there.” Hanging up, I turned to Kelly. “Wait here for the police.”
“No!” She sobbed, horrified. “Dad, no, don’t leave me.”
Fuck.It was either leave her here without me where anyone might take her again or bring her along on a dangerous rescue mission.
“We’re going after London, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Dad, please don’t leave me.”
Heart aching, I nodded abruptly, grabbed my daughter’s hand, and hurried toward the alleyway.
“What about the police?” the woman called behind us.
I ignored her and kept running, heading for my SUV, compartmentalizing the plan because if I thought about what might happen if we failed, I’d fall apart and be of no use to anyone.
50.London
Itried to fight the stranger when the SUV pulled to a stop, but I had no choice but to freeze when he pressed a knife to my throat. It wasn’t a silly little switchblade either. It was a full-blown, fancy-ass knife with etchings carved into the blade and wooden handle.
