“John? Hey, is Mom around?”
“Not right now, she’s out. Why?”
“Had a question about, well, some pregnancy issues. Long story. Arielle hasn’t felt well since this morning. Anyway, know when she’ll be back? I’ve been trying to get a hold of her for a while now, but she hasn’t answered my calls or texts.”
John grew still, and a very bad feeling crept up his spine. He and his wife exchanged a look, and he watched her face grow pale as she gleaned what he was feeling.
“John? You there?” Trent called.
“Yeah,” he said finally, “hey, do you think you could come meet us at the house? We might have a situation here.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line before Trent’s voice responded, this time more serious. “I’m on my way.”
John called up Quinn and his mate Vanessa, too. Quinn was the alpha of the clan and any decisions regarding their family would be his to make. He wouldn’t take an emergency family meeting lightly. Acting with the instinct and urgency the situation demanded, all three brothers were gathered in the apartment in a matter of fifteen minutes.
“So what’s going on, John?” Trent asked after everyone had settled in. Quinn watched them silently. His eyes piercing.
“Mom is missing. The twins too,” John dropped the bomb. “They’re supposed to be shopping, but we can’t get a hold of them. The last time we heard from Mom was around one-thirty in the afternoon. She said they were having lunch at Babbo, I think. And you know Mom, she likes making her shopping trips a day long affair. She promised to take the twins to the Toys R’ Us on Broadway after lunch.”
Quinn’s expression hardened.
“Did you call the police?” asked Trent.
“No. I thought we should talk it out first,” said John.
“Don’t the police usually want us to wait twenty-four hours before declaring someone a missing person?” said Trent.
“Not necessarily,” said Quinn. “Especially when minors are involved. I personally know the Deputy Inspector at One PP. He’d gladly help in a time like this. I’d preferably hold it off for a few hours. We should try to locate mom first, considering…” He cleared his throat, “…our delicate family situation. Mom wouldn’t be happy if her name showed up in gossip rags.”
“Can we trace her phone location?” John turned to Vanessa, the computer genius in the family.
“Say no more, John. I’m on it.” Vanessa grabbed her laptop and got to work. She never went anywhere without her computer. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
“Do you have any idea who might want to hurt mom?” asked Quinn.
“It’s all my fault,” Jane was in the verge of tears. “If I hadn’t bla—”
John silenced her before she could say another word. This wasn’t the time to bring that up. “What she meant is that mom isn’t the intended target. It’s the twins, and mom happens to be with them.”
“Don’t tell me Alfred Benedict has something to do with this?” Quinn guessed.
“I’m afraid so.” John pulled his wife into his arm, consoling her. “I think he feels threatened after that dinner party.”
“That man is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?” Trent mused. “To think he’d go to this extreme. Kidnapping the twins.”
“He’s desperate. Desperate men often do stupid things,” said Quinn. He looked at his wife’s progress over her shoulder. “How’s the tracking going?”
“Few more minutes. I just got into your mom’s phone provider’s system,” she replied without pause.
John caught Jane’s questioning gaze and felt compelled to explain what they do to her. “Vanessa can hack in to any system like it’s nothing. It’s faster this way than going through the proper channels. Time is of the essence. The sooner we can locate mom’s phone, the sooner we get our answer.”
Jane pulled up a chair and settled in with her hands folded on her lap, looking absolutely distraught. John hated to see her like this. Lost. Like a poor little lamb.
Three minutes later, Vanessa came up with the location of Savannah’s phone. Quinn and Trent crowded her, peering at the screen.
“I know that place,” said Trent. “Mom wouldn’t go to that area to shop, that’s for damn sure. This isn’t like her.”
“And not just that,” said Vanessa. “I’m able to pull the activity log. It seems like Mom’s phone hasn’t moved in hours.”