“Where the fuck is she, Tex? You were supposed to have eyes on her.” Riley paced around his office, agitation and anger vying for top spot.

“I was watching her, but I do have other jobs, Ash. Not to mention other SEAL teams I’m watching. As well as a wife and two daughters.”

Riley blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah I know, Tex. I’m sorry. How are Wolf and the others.”

“They’re fine.”

Riley sat back down at his desk and woke his computer up. The map on the screen still didn’t have a blinking light showing Maria’s location via the GPS in her cell phone. He knew she kept the phone on her at all times, except when she was in surgery and then it was in her locker. Her phone was always on, so why wasn’t it on now.

The burning in his gut intensified as the silence stretched on the phone between him and Tex.

“If only I didn’t have to go to that other job today, I could’ve stayed around the hospital and kept her safe.”

“You know you can’t live with ‘what ifs’, brother. It will only do your head in.”

Tex was right. It was something he’d come to terms with during his time in Afghanistan. When you had the enemy breathing down your neck and every step you took could potentially end your life, nothing good ever came from boarding the ‘what if’ train.

“I know. But she’s...” he broke off not wanting to voice what he was really thinking.

“Your woman and you will do everything possible to protect her.” Tex finished what he couldn’t.

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes and remembered how Maria had looked this morning, lying asleep in his arms. Even now his heart picked up its pace at how right it had been to hold her. How right she had looked in his bed. In his home. “How the hell did this happen. It’s too soon,” he muttered.

Tex laughed down the line as he clicked away on his keyboard. “Love doesn’t follow any rule books. It’s a law unto itself. But it’s a law I embrace and never want to let go. When it’s right, it’s right, Ash. You don’t fight love.”

Immediately he wanted to object to Tex’s declaration that he loved Maria. Hell, they hadn’t known each other long at all. It was impossible. Yet how could he explain what he was currently feeling? The desperation coloring his consciousness that he knew wouldn’t ease until he had Maria in his arms and where he knew was safe.

Falling in love with her was the only logical explanation, but he wasn’t ready to face it yet. The only thing he could focus on right now was getting her back.

“I’m not sure I’m there yet, but I’ll take your advice on board.”

Again Tex laughed. “You keeping on thinking that way.”

Wanting to divert the attention off his growing feelings for Maria, Riley directed the conversation back on the matter at hand—determining how the hell Maria’s father had got his hands on her. He had no doubt Giovanni Moretti was responsible for Maria’s disappearance.

“How did Giovanni manage this, Tex? How could he make her disappear without anyone noticing until she didn’t turn up for surgery?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to piece it all together. The hospital’s security system had an outage so it’s a bit of a mess. The last look I have of her is as she enters the stairwell on the third floor.”

“And if that’s not suspicious then I don’t know what is. How convenient that the security system should fail and Maria disappears? This was planned and if I’d been doing my job properly this never would’ve happened.”

“And you’re going back to ‘what ifs’ again, Ash. It’s almost impossible to shadow her in the hospital. You know that. No matter what we’ve done, there’s always a little gap in our methods. Unfortunately, Giovanni used that gap to his advantage. In all the time we’ve been watching her, she’s never used the stairwell.”

Riley could hear the ringing of the office phone. Everything was going on as normal around him. Storm was out as Lily had had her baby a couple of days ago. The new parents were getting acquainted with their daughter. He allowed himself a small smile as he recalled the delight in his friend’s face as he talked about the miracle of Ava’s birth. Riley was happy for his friend and one day… He tried to block the road his thoughts were travelling down, but it was impossible. The image of him, Maria and a precious little bundle held in her arms assailed his mind.

How he wanted that to be his future. But he needed to find Maria first.

“Ash, I’ve got something, but I need to call you back.”

Tex disconnected before he could ask what the tech specialist had found. He tossed his phone on the desk and his office phone rang a second later.

“What?” he barked into the receiver he’d snatched up quickly.

“Sorry to bother you, Riley, but there’s a person by the name of Italy here to see you?”

The confusion in his assistant’s voice was a plain as the nose on his face. “Send him in.”

Riley stood and walked to his office door. He looked out and saw his former SEAL team member striding down the hallway, a smile breaking out over his face.

“Man, it’s good to see you,” Riley said as he pulled Carlos Italy Porcelli into a one-armed bro hug.

“You too, Ash. I can see that you’re not getting soft in retirement.” Italy lightly punch Riley in his abs.

“Never. Come and take a seat.”

Riley hoped that Italy had uncovered something in Giovanni’s past that could be used against him.

The moment he sat down he laid the envelope he’d been holding on the table. “I’ve got some information for you.”

Riley reached out and picked up the object. “There’s been a development today.”

“What’s happened?”

Pulling out the sheaf of papers Riley glanced over at the other man. “Maria was taken from the hospital this morning.”

“How the hell did that happen? Has Tex been able to get a fix on her location yet?”

Ignoring the papers he’d pulled out of the envelope, Riley sat back in his chair. “It was a combination of life getting in the way of an operation, and Maria doing something she’s never done before. You know how it goes. You can never factor in all scenarios when working a mission.”

“Ain’t that the truth? What about Robot and T-Rex, weren’t they supposed to be helping out as well?”

“Yeah. I had them following up on something else for me at the time. As I said it was a perfect storm and we got caught in the vortex. No matter how prepared we were it wouldn’t have made a difference. They wanted her badly, and we aren’t talking amateurs here. As you know the people we’re dealing with and who took her are professional at making people disappear without a trace.”

Riley knew he didn’t need to say anything more. Italy would get the drift.

“Her father.”

He nodded and picked the papers up again to read them. As he scanned the pages he couldn’t believe what he was reading. Although he shouldn’t be surprised as to how far a mobster would go to get what he needed done.

He laid the papers back down and eyeballed Italy. “Are you sure this legit? Everything here is the truth?”

Italy squirmed in his seat and Riley’s interest was piqued. A SEAL never squirmed. What was up with that?

“Yep, it’s 100% legit. And don’t ask me how I got the information. Just know that I had to call in a favor and I know that payback, when it comes, will be a bitch.”

As much as he wanted this information on Maria’s father, the last thing he wanted was for Italy to get caught back in the snare of the life he’d worked hard to leave behind.

“Whatever you need I’ll be there for you. No questions asked.” No way would he let Italy face the payback by himself. He owed the guy for getting vital information that would help Maria. If they found her.

Riley squashed that thought before it became the truth. What he had to believe was that Tex would get a lead and they would be able to get Maria back. While at the same time, ensuring her freedom once and for all.

“I’ll be fine, Ash.”

Italy’s confidence should’ve been all Riley needed to know that he spoke the truth. But an instinct, one honed and never ignored when he’d been on the team, warned him to not take his words lightly.

What had him asking Italy to go back to his past cost the other man?

Before he could question his former teammate more, his cell rang and Tex’s name flashed on the screen. He engaged the call and put it on speaker so Italy could hear the conversation.

“What you got for me, Tex? Any news on Maria’s location? Italy’s here with me too.”

“Hey Italy, I got the information you sent me.”

Riley looked at him, raised his eyebrow in question. Italy flicked his eyes down to the papers on the desk and back up again. Riley got the message. He appreciated Italy’s foresight. It was always good to have a back up copy of information as sensitive as what was on the papers in front of him.

God, it was in situations like this that he missed working with a team. Although he enjoyed being his own boss and now in partnership with Storm and the business had grown from strength to strength, there still was nothing like being part of a tight knit team. He wondered how the two team members who’d replaced him and Storm were fitting in. No doubt the other guys would’ve given them a tough initiation.

A poke on his arm pulled him from the tangent his thoughts had floated down. Why the hell was he even thinking about such stuff when his woman was in danger?

“What else do you have for us, Tex?”

“Okay. I managed to get some footage. It’s pretty scrambled, but two people exited the stairwell that Maria went into on the third floor.”

“You told me she was in the stairwell alone.”

“Affirmative. No one followed her in so that means someone was waiting for her.”

“How the hell would they know she’d take the stairs?” Riley asked. “It doesn’t make sense, she never takes the stairs. So it can’t have been luck there was someone waiting for her. Fuck.” Realization sank in.

“Yes. It means her father has been watching her as well.”

Riley shook his head. His whole business reputation was based upon how fucking good he was at his job. At the way he could protect people. If word got out that someone he’d been tasked to protect had been kidnapped right out from under his nose, he could kiss his business reputation goodbye. He for sure didn’t think Storm would be happy with that.

“Look Ash. My guess is Giovanni has someone on the hospital staff on his payroll. It doesn’t matter if you were shadowing Maria’s every move, we’re talking about the Moretti Mob here they were determined to get her and they did.”

“I promised her, last night, that nothing would happen to her on my watch. The very next day she gets grabbed. I don’t care if Moretti has the whole staff on his payroll. I shouldn’t have let this happen.”

“What else were you able to ascertain from the video footage, Tex?” Italy asked.

“Well from what I can see, they got into a dark sedan. I managed to follow it through the transport camera system and followed it to a compound in New Jersey.”

“He’s taken her to the family home. Is that what you’re telling us, Tex?”

“Nope, Ash, it’s not the family home. I’m about to email you the schematics. I’ve got in touch with Robot and he and the rest of the team are on the way. They should be with you in a couple of hours. In the email there will be a link which will take you to the cameras inside the compound perimeter.”

The need to see for himself that Maria was safe bubbled inside of him. “What about inside the house. Are there cameras there?”

“Negative, which surprises me. Maybe the man likes to have privacy inside his home.”

“How secure is this place, Tex?” Italy asked the question that Riley had been about to.

“As I can’t get eyes inside the house I can’t be sure how many are guarding Giovanni and Maria. But on the outside you’ve got four teams of two men. The property isn’t as large as I expected. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t silent alarms in the unpatrolled areas plus other surprises. I’m trying to find out what I can and when I do I’ll email it through.”

“Thanks, Tex.”

“Go get your girl, Ash.”

Tex disconnected the call and Riley sank down in his chair. At least he knew where Maria was. He only hoped she hadn’t been hurt. If she had been, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt anyone who laid a finger on her.

“Don’t worry, Ash. Once the guys get here we will work out a plan and do what we have to do to get her out of there.”

Italy’s words should’ve reassured him, but he couldn’t help but wonder what they were up against. It couldn’t be worse than anything they hadn’t experienced on their other missions. Even though he hadn’t been a part of the team for five years, he hadn’t lost his skills.

Italy was right. They would get her out of there.