by E. L. Todd
Time Stands Still
Book Fifty-One of the Forever and Ever Series
E. L. Todd
Chapter One
Sean
I shut all the windows to my office just in case I was being watched. Once my privacy was intact I paced back and forth in the seating area. My fingers ran through my hair and my mind was swirling a million miles a minute.
I had to think.
The panic kept gripping me by the heart and pulling me under. I pictured Roland tied up and beaten. He was a man, but he was just a boy in my eyes. I became so upset I lost my mind altogether.
Stay calm.
I couldn’t afford to lose my focus. I had to think rationally. There was a solution to this, and I would find it. Someone took my son for a reason, and that reason probably had something to do with me.
Mike walked into my office. “You coming to lunch?”
I kept pacing, my hands on my hips. “Get in and shut the door.”
“Uh, alright.” He shut the office door then came further into the room. His eyes followed me back and forth. “Seriously, you need to chill. This whole thing with Roland will work out. Remember how I was with Trinity when—”
“He’s been taken. I just got a phone call from some guy on a scrambler. They’re holding him somewhere.”
Mike heard the words but didn’t react. It took him seconds to process the severity of the situation. Then he pulled out his phone and made a call. He held it to his ear and listening, the rings echoing back at him.
I knew he was calling Roland.
When it went to voicemail, Mike hung up. “Fuck.”
I’d been hoping my son would answer, that this was all just some practical joke.
“What did they say?”
“That they have him, and they would give me further instructions tomorrow.” I couldn’t sit still. My legs carried me all over the office. My heart cracked in anxiety, and my body was about to give out from fear.
“What do you think they want? Money?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s the motive? Who do you think is behind this?”
I tried to stay as calm as possible so I could figure it out. “I don’t know…we have a lot of enemies that we don’t know about.”
“I think they just want money. They have Roland as leverage, and when they get their millions, they’ll release him.”
That was the best-case scenario. “Then why call me and tell me they’ll give me further instructions tomorrow?”
Mike was silent because he didn’t have an explanation for that.
“There’s something more going on here.”
“Maybe. We need to get our security detail on this. Maybe they can trace that call.”
“Doubtful.”
“What do we do now?” Mike looked to me for guidance. “Tell me exactly what to do and I’ll do it.”
Fuck, I wish I knew. “I can’t see Scarlet tonight. I can’t go home. If I go home…” I would never be able to hide this from her. And right now, I couldn’t tell her the truth. She would be a worse mess. She would grow hysterical and sob until her body gave out. “I don’t want to involve her unless I have to.”
“You’re right.”
“I need to tell her you and Cassandra had a big fight, and I’m staying with you in the city. That’s the only option. But you have to get Cassandra on board with it without telling her what’s going on.”
“I can do that.”
“You think she’ll go for it?”
“Yeah.” He pulled out his phone and made the call. She answered shortly. “Hey, baby. We need to talk.” He listened to her over the line. “I need you to do something for me, and you have to do it with no questions asked. I’ll explain everything later. Can you do that?”
I kept pacing, feeling the sweat on the back of my neck.
“I need you to pick up Scarlet and take her to the safe house. You and I got into a huge fight, and you need to stay somewhere that I can’t follow you. And tell her Sean is staying with me. Can you do that for me?”
Would she really go for it?
“I said no questions asked. Please.” He stayed on the line and waited for a response. Then he finally got it. “Thank you. I’ll call when I get a chance. Love you.” He hung up.
I didn’t have the ability to be impressed by that phone call. “It’s taken care of?”
“Done. But Scarlet may call you and ask about it.”
“I can handle that.” It was better than seeing her face-to-face. If she looked me in the eye, she would know something was terribly wrong. I couldn’t lie to that woman because she knew everything.
“I’ll call the security detail, and we’ll go from there.”
I nodded and kept walking, my tie choking me because my veins were swollen and working at full force. My heart was about to give out at any moment. I wasn’t sure if I could go on if I didn’t get Roland back.
Mike came to me and put his hands on my shoulders. “Sean, look at me.”
I lifted my face but felt sick deep inside. I want to burst into tears then and there. There was no greater torture than losing a child. I didn’t know if he was okay. I didn’t know if he was hurt. I didn’t know if I would ever see him again.
“Sean, we will get him back. I promise.”
I wanted to believe him—so much.
“We’ve been through a lot, and we always make it through. Always.”
“This is different…”
“It’s not.” He gripped me tighter. “Roland is as much of a son to me as he is to you. Together, we will find him. Don’t lose hope. Don’t give into the fear. Everything will be alright.”
I finally nodded.
“Alright. Now let’s get to work.”
***
When Scarlet called, I had to answer.
I stared at her name on the screen in dread before I took the call. “Hey, baby.” I tried to sound as normal as possible. It took all my strength to do it.
“Hey. Cassandra just called me and said she and Mike got into a big fight.”
“Yeah…I just got to the house. Mike is pretty upset.” It killed me to lie to her. It physically pained me because it was something I never did.
“She’s on her way here now. It sounds pretty bad.”
“They’ll get through it—like always.”
“I hope so,” she said with a sigh. “Maybe I can talk her down a bit.”
“Good idea. I’m going to stay here tonight so Mike doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“Sounds good. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Just keep up the charade. “Love you.”
“I love you too.” I hated hearing those words because I didn’t deserve them. Roland had been taken because of me. If I had just answered his goddamn phone calls, none of this would have happened. I pushed him away and turned a blind eye. I didn’t deserve hearing those words from my wife.
“Good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, baby.” I hung up even though I usually let her hang up first. I just had to get off the line before I collapsed. She couldn’t handle the truth about Roland. I could barely handle it. I had to keep her out of it until it was absolutely necessary.
Chapter Two
Mike
The phone rang three times before he answered.
It felt like an eternity.
“Hey, what’s up?” Conrad’s voice came over the line, sounding exactly the same as it always did.
Thank god. “Conrad.” It was felt so good to hear his voice. My body relaxed and I could a deep breath.
“Yeah…are you alright?”
“A
re you still in Washington?”
“Yeah. Dad, why are you acting weird right now?”
“Look, I need you to stay there.”
“Why?” he asked. “I just finished all my meetings today.”
The further away he was, the better. “Just listen to me. I don’t want you leaving Washington for any reason. Stay there and don’t come home.”
“Okay, I’m officially freaked out.”
I knew I would have to tell Conrad the truth. There was no other way to get him to listen to me. “Are you sitting down?”
“Yeah…” The fear was heavy in his voice. “And I’m terrified.”
There wasn’t a delicate way to put it out so I just blurted it out. “Roland has been kidnapped.”
Conrad was silent over the line, processing the horrendous thing I just said.
“Sean and I are doing everything we can to get him back. We’ve involved the police and the security detail. Right now, we’re in the dark. We don’t know who’s taken him or where he could possibly be.”
Conrad was quiet for another minute, in shock. “Fuck…”
“We’re going to find him. Don’t worry about that.”
“I just…” His voice trailed away, filled with hopelessness. “Do you have any leads?”
I was embarrassed of my answer. “No.”
“Fuck. Who would have taken him?”
“I don’t know. But we’ll find out.”
“What do they want?”
“We don’t know that either.”
Conrad took a long pause. “Yesterday, I got a call from the police. My apartment was broken into but nothing was taken. At the time I didn’t think it meant anything but now…I don’t know.”
My heart stopped beating. “This happened yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“What time?”
“About ten in the evening your time.”
The realization hit me like a nuclear bomb. “That’s when Roland was taken.”
Conrad breathed hard over the phone, processing the truth just as I was.
They tried to take my son. By a stroke of luck, I sent him to Washington at the very last minute. Tears burned in the back of my eyes at the turn of events. My own son could have been taken. I could have been in Sean’s shoes alongside him.
Conrad spoke first. “Shit.”
I collected myself before he could hear the emotion in my voice. “You and Lexie need to stay there. Move hotels just in case. Do you understand?”
“I need to come back and help you find Roland.”
“Absolutely fucking not. You’re to stay put. Don’t you dare disobey me.”
Conrad didn’t give up the fight. “They tried to snatch me, but it didn’t work out. So I’m in the clear. Now I need to find my best friend.”
“No.” I didn’t want my son anywhere near Sean and I. “We have enough people searching for him. Your responsibility is to stay put and take care of yourself and Lexie. Understood?”
Conrad held his silence.
“There’s nothing you can do here. By the time you get here, it may already be sorted out. Stay put.”
Conrad finally agreed. “Okay. But I want updates.”
“You have them.” I was eternally grateful my son was okay and far away. The events could have played out quite differently. “I’ll call when I can. Don’t tell your mother.”
“Alright.”
“I love you so much, Conrad Michael Preston.” My chest ached as I said the words, grateful I got to say them.
“I love you too, Dad.”
I hung up and walked back into the office where Sean sat at the desk. He was taking to the chief detective on the case. When they finished their conversation he turned to me, looking paler than a ghost.
“What did Conrad say?”
“His apartment got broken into at the same time Roland was kidnapped.”
Sean’s face paled even further.
“Thankfully, he was in Washington.”
“Fuck.” He dragged his hand down his face. “Something is happening here. Something big.”
My mind immediately went to Trinity. Conrad hadn’t been taken but what if she was next on the target list.
Sean and I both had the exact same moment of fear.
What if our daughters were next?
Chapter Three
Slade
I was dead asleep when Trinity woke me up. “Slade?”
My eyes immediately opened and saw her sitting up above me. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder and my t-shirt was baggy on her shoulders. “Hmm?” I turned into a grouch when I didn’t get my sleep. I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night all the time when Olympia arrived.
“I think I heard something.”
“Baby, it was probably just the wind.”
“No.” The terror in her voice increased. “I heard something.”
“Abe is there so everything is fine.”
She slammed her hand down on the mattress. “Slade, I know I heard something and I’m scared. I think we should call the police or talk to Abe.”
This conversation wasn’t going to end anytime soon so I sat up. My eyes were full of sleep, and my body was exhausted. Trinity’s paranoia was constantly. She probably had a bad nightmare and didn’t even realize it. “Alright. I’ll go take a look.”
“Take the gun.”
“I don’t need a gun.”
“Slade Sisco, take the gun.”
She was hysterical tonight. I opened the nightstand and pulled out the pistol. I turned off the safety and handed it to her. “How about you hold onto it while I explore the house?”
“You need it for protection.”
“I know martial arts. That’s just as powerful as a weapon. Besides, my job is to protect you.” I wrapped her fingers around the handle. “Both of you. Just wait her while I explore. Don’t pull the trigger when I come back, alright?”
She nodded, holding the gun while one hand remained on her stomach.
“It’s nothing, okay? You just heard one of the sounds from the house.” I kissed her forehead and pulled on my sweatpants before I left the bedroom. I didn’t turn on the lights as I walked from the bedroom to the front of the house. I expected to meet Abe on the way, but I hadn’t seen him.
When I reached the front door, I spotted a body on the ground. I froze in place, recognizing Abe’s hair and stature. My heart kicked into overdrive, and adrenaline pumped into my system like a machine.
Trinity was right.
I slowly crouched down and felt for a pulse. There was one, weak. I snaked into his jacket and found his pistol. I pulled it out and made sure the safety was off before I rose to my feet again.
I couldn’t breathe.
I was so terrified I couldn’t even think.
All my senses kicked into overdrive when I understood just how paramount the situation was. When Trinity reported that strange man that stopped by her office, I waved it off as insignificant.
But I should have listened to her.
I slowly crept back to the bedroom, knowing I needed to get back to her as quickly as possible. The intruder was probably looking for the bedroom where we slept. Thankfully, there were seven different bedrooms in the apartment.
“Police!” The sounds erupted against the front door before it was kicked open.
I immediately raised my hands in the air so I wouldn’t be shot. “Don’t shoot! I live here.” My ink all over my body didn’t exactly make me look innocent. I didn’t want to give them any reason to cause me harm.
The police entered the apartment with their guns raised. They looked me over and dismissed me as a possible threat.
“The intruder is in the apartment. I don’t know where. My wife is in the bedroom. She has a pistol.”
Two men moved to the bedroom while another officer helped me to my feet.
Mike came in looking like a madman. His eyes were dark with terror. “Where is she?”
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“She’s in the bedroom. She’s fine.”
Mike gripped me by the shoulder, embracing me. “Did you see him?”
“No. But my bodyguard is knocked out. He has to be in the apartment.”
Mike’s eyes trailed to Abe. The terror increased by tenfold. “Take me to my daughter.”
“This way.” I didn’t care that Trinity was half naked in a t-shirt. Now wasn’t the time to be conservative. I guided him into the bedroom where Trinity still sat in bed. The sheets were pulled to her chest as the officers explored the room and the bathroom.
“Dad?” Trinity clutched the sheets to her chest in surprise.
He darted to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. “You alright, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine. What’s going on? Is Abe okay?”
“He’s unconscious but alive,” I answered. “They’re taking him to the hospital.”
She covered her mouth and gasped. “God, I hope he’s okay. Such a good man.”
“He’ll be fine.” I sat beside her on the bed. “He’s a tough guy. He’ll pull through.”
“We need to see him the moment it’s clear,” Trinity said. “He’s part of this family now.”
Now that Trinity was okay Mike didn’t seem relieved. Something was still pulling at him.
“Wait,” I said. “How did you know someone was in the apartment? You must have known before I did.”
He rubbed Trinity’s back, the unease still in his eyes. “Roland has been taken.”
The words sunk in but didn’t have any meaning. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what he just said.
Trinity gasped in response, her hands covering her mouth.
“What?” I was the first one to speak.
“They got him a few hours ago,” Mike explained. “They tried to take Conrad, but he was in Washington, thankfully. I called the police the moment I figured out the pattern. I knew someone must have been moving in on Trinity.”
My arm immediately went around Trinity because the suggestion shook me to my core. If someone took her, I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself. I’d rather die than let that happen. “This is a fucking nightmare.”
“What about Skye?” Trinity asked.
“Sean called the police, and he’s on his way there now,” Mike said. “I hope they’re alright.”