I shifted through the information in my head and tried to draw a conclusion. “Russian, German…concrete…pipes go up.”
Cane waited for me to crack the case.
“It sounds like you were underground.”
Cane nodded. “The walls were made of solid with the exception of the pipes.”
“German or Russian…it was probably the Germans. During World War II they built barracks here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
“I just do,” I snapped. “They’re probably holding her in a barrack where she can’t be seen by satellite. That would explain why I couldn’t find you.”
“Don’t you have a tracker on her?”
My eyes snapped open so wide I nearly passed out. I wanted to shoot myself in the head. “Please tell me she left my phone in there.” It was synced to her tracking device and couldn’t be accessed any other way.
Cane retrieved it from the dash and tossed it to me.
I quickly opened the app and prayed her little red dot was somewhere on the map.
But it wasn’t.
“What does that mean?” Cane asked.
“They either removed the tracker, the battery died, or the signal can’t be detected.” I shoved the phone into my pocket and tried not to have a meltdown.
“I doubt they already moved it. I just left the meeting.”
“Then that means she’s underground.”
“And the barrack is within thirty miles of the church.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to think.
“What do we do we do now?”
I pulled out my phone and called the only high official German I knew. “I might have a plan.”
***
It cost me a fortune but I got the coordinates to the last working barrack in Italy. It was purchased by a private citizen nearly ten years ago, and the name of the buyer remained anonymous.
It must be Bones.
We rounded up all of our men and dispatched them to the coordinates. Breaking into the underground base wouldn’t be easy. We couldn’t break down the walls and just walk inside. If we pulled from underneath, the whole facility would collapse on itself—killing Button.
The thought of her made me want to scream.
He could be touching her right now—fucking her. It made me so angry that my hands shook. My throat went dry and I couldn’t breathe. I had an anxiety attack right then and there—something I never experienced before.
It was Vanessa all over again.
Every person I loved wound up dead—and Button was next.
Cane glanced at me as he drove to the coordinates. “We’ll get her, Crow.”
I stared out the window and purposely avoided him. If I talked about her I would snap. My emotions were already all over the place and I couldn’t think clearly. If I lost her I would kill myself right then and there. I found someone I couldn’t live without, and that idea was terrifying. Without her, there was no me.
“Don’t forget how strong she is,” Cane said. “If anyone can get through this, it’s her.”
I clenched my jaw and stared out the window. Waiting for the vehicles to finally arrive was the worst part. I needed the cars to go faster. I needed to get there quicker. I needed to save my wife from being a plaything to a monster.
“Crow—”
“Stop trying to make me feel better. Until she’s safe I won’t be able to do anything but think about it. So shut the fuck up and drive.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Pearl
Bones shut the door behind him and locked it before he turned to me. “Two guards are posted outside. So don’t try anything.”
The room was made of solid concrete. A bed was against the wall and a private bathroom connected to the main bedroom. Even the floor was concrete. I knew we were underground so it looked like a war base. “Nice place…” I crossed my arms over my chest and watched him closely. “I’m guessing business has been slow.”
He grinned from ear to ear, but not in a handsome way. It was a look of pure and conniving evil. It made my stomach drop because his intent was clear. He was going to pin me to that mattress and fuck me until I screamed. “I just want to make sure we can’t be followed. I know your husband will stop at nothing to get you back. Well, he’ll have a hard time tracking you here. No signals go in or out of this place.”
My heart dropped when I realized my tracker wouldn’t work. Crow wouldn’t be able to find me after all. Shit. “It’s not very cozy. I would think a man as distinguished as yourself would have better quarters than this.” I had no idea where my courage came from because I was utterly terrified. Crow put me back together when Bones ripped me apart. Would he be able to fix me again or would I be ruined for good?
“I miss that smartass mouth of yours. It’s refreshing.” He slowly approached me, his hands by his sides but his face full of eagerness.