“I think it’s Rasmussen, but I’m not sure,” I mumble, hating that I didn’t dig into the f**ker when I should have.
“Give me five and I’ll call you back with everything I find.”
“Thanks,” I say, hanging up. “Justin’s on it. He said five, so let’s be ready to roll when he gets back to me.” Kenton nods, and we head outside just as the cops start to show up. “Look, I’m gonna call Leo and fill him in on what’s going on. I don’t what the local PD in on this right now.”
“Agreed. Too much red tape,” Kenton mumbles, typing something into his cell.
I dial Leo’s number once I reach to the truck, and he answers on the second ring.
“Nico?” He sounds tired.
“Yeah, man. Look, I don’t have a lot of time because I’ve got a call coming in, but I’m going to need backup from your boys.”
“What’s going on?” I can tell my words have woken him up and piqued his interest.
“Sophie went missing from the hospital”—I pull my phone away from my ear, looking at the time—“twenty minutes ago. I got footage of the guy that took her. I need you to be ready to roll when I text you the info my man sends me.”
“Shit,” he growls, and I can tell he’s up and moving. “Hit me back when you got something. Do you know who we’re looking for?”
“Yeah, man. A guy Sophie worked with at the school. His name is David, and I think his last name is Rasmussen. He must have been watching her for a while.”
“Fuck. All right. I’ll get the guys rounded up. As soon as you know where you want us, text me.”
“Thanks.” I hang up with him just as Justin calls.
“Go,” I say, opening the door to my car.
“His address is 382 Donner Street in Springhill. It says he has another house over on Commerce in the same area. His background is pulling up all kinds of f**ked-up shit, man. He was married twice, and both times, his wives went missing. The first one was when he was nineteen and his wife was eighteen, and they had dated throughout high school. The second wife was when he was twenty-eight and she was twenty-three. She went missing a year after they got married. He was suspect number one in each case, but the police couldn’t find any evidence.”
“Jesus.”
“That’s not all,” he says, and my gut goes f**king tight. I can’t imagine anything worse than what he just told me.
“What?”
“Seems he moves around a lot.”
“And?” I prompt.
“Each place he has lived, there have been women who come up missing, and not long after they go missing does he move from the area.”
“Fuck,” I roar. That sick f**k has my woman. She’s still recovering from the C-section she just had, and he f**king has her when she’s in no state to fight back.
“Go get her, man,” Justin, says before hanging up.
I look at Kenton, giving him a silent signal to get into the car.
“Talk to me,” he says as soon as I hit the gas.
I don’t know what to say; I don’t want to say out loud the f**ked-up shit I just heard.
“We’re going to get her back,” he says, filling the silence. I pray he’s right; I can’t imagine having a life where there’s no Sophie in it.
“The guy who took her has a history of women disappearing,” I choke out, feeling bile crawl up the back of my throat.
“Fuck,” Kenton clips.
“I need you to call Leo and have him go to the second address Justin gave me. Tell him about his history and let him know I want that f**ker dead.”
“If he doesn’t get taken out by one of us tonight, the second he’s in jail, he’s dead,” Kenton mutters.
I know he has that kind of power, has people everywhere who owe him. I want that. Either way, the motherfucker’s gonna die for even looking at Sophie.
I stoop, making my way in front of one window then another until I’m at the back of the house. I can hear arguing from inside, and I signal for Kenton to follow. I take three steps, my back hitting the wall near the back door before I turn the handle. It clicks open, and I lift my Glock, pressing the door open with it. I search both ways while stepping into the kitchen. I hear Kenton behind me as we scope out the first two rooms we come to.
“It’s all clear down here,” he whispers.
I nod then point up the stairs. We make our way to the top, and there are two doors; one has a light penetrating from the bottom of it. I gesture to it with a tilt of my gun, and Kenton signals over his shoulder to the door behind him. He cautiously opens it to find it empty, and then I lean forward, trying to hear anything from inside the lit room. I hear two male voices and a whimper.
I have been moving on autopilot since she was taken, just doing what was necessary to get her home. I know the minute I open the door that I’m going to kill whoever is in that room with her.
Kenton nods to the room he just checked, motioning with his left hand to show me that he’s about to set off a distraction. It takes two seconds for the flash bang to go off. The door to the room I’m covering flies open, and one guy comes out. I shoot him in the head without a second thought. The second guy we heard inside points a gun at Sophie.
“Drop the f**king gun,” I tell him, my gun aimed at his head, ready for the smallest opening.
“You killed my brother,” he says, looking down at the man at my feet.