Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(93)

Ryker nodded. Zara and Greg were now beyond lost. “Heath?”

Heath nodded. “Good idea. Try to track the trap we set on safe house three to see how Dr. Madison traced us.” He paused. “I guess I shouldn’t assume Madison is the one who has Greg and Zara?”

“It has to be her,” Ryker said, his gaze going back to the snow blowing through the broken windows. He spied Zara’s purse by the door with the contents all spilled out. He charged over and lifted it up, quickly rifling through everything.

“What?” Denver asked.

“Her cell phone isn’t here.” He turned and looked at the window.

Grams coughed. “She said ‘phone.’ Before she jumped, she pushed something down her nightgown and said ‘phone’ to me.”

“We can GPS track it,” Heath hissed.

“Yes,” Ryker said. Smart woman. “She would’ve known. If she shoved it in her nightgown, she might’ve thought it was the only way to track Greg.” Though it had been f*cking crazy.

Heath’s eyes lit with determination. “They’ll search her pockets.”

Hopefully it didn’t just fall out in the helicopter. Ryker looked again at the gaping window, somehow wishing to get one more look at her.

“I’m on it.” Denver turned and ran for the stairs.

Ryker hurried over and assisted Grams up. “How about I get you to one of the other apartments that have windows keeping the storm out? You need to rest after that fight.”

Grams shook her head. “I want to help.” Her voice shook as much as her hands.

Ryker took her gently by the arms, failure making his hands shake too. “I promise I’ll get your granddaughter back, and when she gets here, she’ll kick my butt for not taking care of you. Please go rest, and then we’ll figure out what to do.”

Grams nodded and headed toward her bedroom. Ryker waited until she’d shut the door. “We have image and GPS satellite tracking going. Something will break,” he said.

Heath frowned. “How are you so calm?”

It was taking everything Ryker had not to rip his apartment apart even more than it already was. “I’m not calm, not really.” Heat seared him from within, turning quickly to ice. “If I give in to the panic or the rage, then I can’t think. Right now I have to think, and so do you. We have to be smarter than they are, and we have to believe we’ll get Zara and Greg home. Any other reality is unacceptable.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Heath said.

At the words, Ryker’s breath heated. Fury clenched his hands. He turned and punched the wall as hard as he could. Then again.

Heath grabbed him from behind and yanked him away, struggling hard until Ryker subsided. “There it is. Okay. You let it out, and now you’re okay. Now you’re in control, and now you can think.” His voice remained low and soothing.

Ryker breathed out several times, and his vision cleared. He relaxed, and Heath released him. “Shit. I lost it.”

“It’s okay to freak out a little.” Heath frowned at the battered wall. “Again, not your fault.”

“Yeah, it is. Zara and Greg are mine to protect.”

Heath leveled him with a look. “They’re family, which means they’re ours to protect.”

Ryker nodded, his throat closing. God, they had to be all right. “We have to find them.”





Chapter





34




Dr. Isobel Madison crossed her legs and continued typing on the new computer, though all she wanted to do was pace the small office and peer outside like a child awaiting the tooth fairy. But she had work to do, and she’d keep her senses about her. After all this time, Greg really was alive. Her soldiers had discovered him after tracking the men trying to find her.

Truth be told, she’d forgotten all about the preteen. What a marvelous job she’d done with him. And to think that he’d somehow found the Lost boys for her.

She bit back a giggle. Life was very often on her side.

Her work would continue, but the procedure was bogging her down. While she had two men—Todd and Elton—doing her bidding, neither had the connections or drive she required to rebuild the program. The men she’d created and trained would help her. Maybe Elton would be a good partner in that. He was certainly driven.

The incentive for the creations from her past should arrive any moment…in the form of young Greg.

Her door opened, and Sheriff Elton Cobb strode in. “Is the dickhead back yet?” he asked.

Isobel forced a smile. “Not yet, and I’ve asked you to remain civil. We need Todd and his men a little longer.” Then the entire Protect group could fry in a volcano for all she cared.

“Do we?” Elton asked, obviously unimpressed with the self-taught soldiers. “Your four soldiers piloted the helicopters and took the boy. You didn’t need the extra Protect morons.”

“This time,” she said smoothly. “Think of Todd’s men as foot soldiers. We need them for strength and numbers right now, but when we restart my program, we may not need them. Or, more likely, we’ll just weed out Todd and his big believers, and use the rest as soldiers and guards.” That was an admirable plan.

“That’s fine, but I need to get back home and to work soon. I’m here because you required help, but at some point you’re coming to me,” Elton said.