Page 16 of Point Blank

He closed his eyes. Jesus Christ. How could he reassure her? He couldn’t. All he could do was get help.

He pushed her gently away and held her biceps. Her appearance had taken another blow. The black smudges beneath her eyes were now lined with red, tears had collected on her lashes, and crimson marks dotted her cheeks.

“Listen to me. We’re going to find her, but we need to hurry. Sit down and have a cup?—”

She shook her head.

“You need to calm down or you’ll be no help. I’m going to make a call and see if I can track her phone. In the meantime, I want you to think about who could possibly be behind this.”

Her eyes darkened, the denim blue becoming damn near indigo. She swallowed and nodded. “Okay. You’re right. I’ll get it together.”

“Good.”

He turned and grabbed the coffee he’d made before Dani’s call had come in. Serena wiped her face with her sleeve, mopping up the remnants of tears. He moved her to the stool at the island.

“Sit.”

She pursed her lips but accepted the mug. Then he pulled his phone from his pocket and called the only person who could help.

Rhett picked up on the second ring. “What’s up, bro?”

He pocketed Serena’s phone, moved down the hall and away from the kitchen. “I need your help. The sister of a friend of mine has been kidnapped.” He massaged his temple. Christ, just saying the words aloud drove home how fucking dire the situation was.

“Holy shit. Are you sure she’s been kidnapped?”

Milo slid his gaze toward Serena perched on the stool, dutifully drinking the caffeinated brew. Her eyes bore holes in his head.

“The kidnapper FaceTimed with her sister . . . uh, being held captive.” Hell, that was as tactful as he could get for Serena’s benefit. He cleared his throat. “They called from her sister’s phone. I need to track her device without getting the cops involved. Can you help?”

If it weren’t for Rhett, he’d probably be in prison right now. Rhett had gone out on a limb when he offered Milo the chance to become an informant against Alban Moussa, and then he’d wiped Milo’s record, allowing him to walk away from his past. He’d been an invaluable ally and friend ever since.

“Send me her information and I’ll get on it.”

Milo disconnected, copied Dani’s number from Serena’s phone, and sent it to Rhett. The kidnapper probably wouldn’t continue to use her phone, but tracking it was a necessary step. With any luck, the sonofabitch was a moron.

He retraced his path and stopped at the island beside Serena. Even in her current rough state, she still made his hands hum with the need to touch her. She kept her fingers circled around the mug. He surveyed the level of the liquid. She’d drunk half the cup. A bit of tension eased out of him. The coffee and the meal they’d had at the bar would likely carry her through for a few hours.

“Who was that?”

“My buddy Rhett.”

The glaze that had been lingering over her eyes vanished, and she drew her shoulders back. “The FBI agent?”

“I trust him with my life. I swear to you, he won’t do anything stupid.”

“What’s he going to do?”

“I sent him Dani’s phone number. He’s going to see if he can track it using GPS.”

“How long will that take?”

Shit. He hadn’t asked. “He said he’d work on it right away.”

“But it could take hours. I can’t just sit here.” She pushed off the stool and dropped to her feet, which brought the top of her head level with his chest. Perfect height to snuggle.

Snuggle?

Jesus. What was wrong with him?