Daredevil Chapter 20

An agonizing hour-and-a-half passed before we were called by the Regulators. When Sin's phone finally rang, I think we all jumped. The room was eerily without conversation. The occasional creak of a chair, a loud breath, or the thump of a cup landing on the table, along with Phantom's tapping, were the only sounds. Sin answered it straight away and made sure it was on speaker.

"You're on speaker. What did you find?" he asked quickly.

"Well, we found Laz, and unless he's more devious and a better liar than we know, plus a masochist, he didn't take her. He was home alone without a care in the world. We took him for a little drive to talk, and he kept telling us the same story. He hasn't seen or spoken to Shain since she was suspended. He has no idea where she is. He's scared shitless. I don't believe he's lying. I'm sorry," Carnage explained.

My heart sank. "What does Moose think? Maybe he needs more persuasion," I blurted out.

"Daredevil, believe me, there's not a lot more persuasion to be had unless we want to make it the final kind. Moose isn't happy, as you can imagine, but he agrees. Here, he'll tell you himself."

A few moments later, Moose was on the line. "Daredevil, Pres is right. He's not the one." The weariness and worry were evident in his voice. I put my head in my hands.

"Then who the fuck did it? There's no one I can think of. We're not having any problems at the moment, and those we've had in the past aren't in any position to bother us. You guys think of anyone on your end?"

"Nope. We ran through everyone we've had issues with over the past five years. Nothing. It has to be a random person," Carnage added.

"So what now?" Executioner asked the room and the Regulators.

"I think we—" Moose started to say but then stopped because of a phone ringing. I was startled to hear it coming from my cut. I fumbled to get it out. Maybe it was Shain. A quick glance at the screen revealed a number I didn't recognize. I was barely able to hit the answer button. I had enough sense to push the speaker one, too.

"Shain, baby, is that you? Are you alright? Where are you?" I half-shouted.

"Sorry to disappoint you. Is this Daredevil?" A strange man's voice asked.

"I am. Who the fuck are you? Why are you calling me? Do you have my woman?" I snapped.

"Tsk tsk, is that any way to talk to someone? You're not very nice, are you? Who I am will be revealed soon enough. I have Shain with me. I had to get everyone's attention, and she seemed to be the best way to do it. I assume I have your attention. Listen, and don't interrupt until I'm done. If you do, I'll hang up, and you won't hear from me again," he threatened.

"Go ahead. We'll listen," Sin told him with a warning look at me.

"Who am I speaking to now? Am I on speaker?"

"I'm Sin. I'm the president of the Ares Infidels. Yes, you're on speaker with our club. Please tell us what you want us to know."

"That's better. Here's what I want. You'll call the Devil's Regulators and inform them that the entire club is to get their asses to Tenillo. They have twelve hours. If they're not here by then, poor Shain will pay the price. Once they're here, presuming they do it within the time limit, I'll call and give you my next demands. Until then, you wait. Don't try to find us because you can't. If you want her to get out of this relatively unharmed, you'll do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" he asked.

Rage and fear were battling inside of me to take over, but I fought to contain them. I wouldn't say anything to get her hurt or killed. Sin nodded to me.

"Yes, we understand. We'll tell them. Can I talk to her for a moment? We need proof of life." I almost choked on the words. I hated thinking of her being dead already.

There was silence for several seconds, and then her voice came through the phone. I sagged in relief.

"Daredevil, I'm here," she said softly.

"Baby, are you alright?"

"So far, yes. You need—" she abruptly cut off.

"Shain!" I shouted.

"That's enough. Now, are there any questions? The clock starts in five minutes," the bastard on the other end said happily.

"Yeah, why are you doing this?"

He laughed, and it sounded slightly unhinged to me. "Oh, I'm afraid I'll have to wait until the Regulators get here to tell you that. Ta ta." The line went dead.

Swearing and chatter broke out as soon as he hung up. It was not only coming from our side but from the other end of the phone, too. Sin had to shout and bang on the table repeatedly to get us to quiet down. Carnage was doing the same on the other end. When we were more or less quiet, Sin spoke.

"I know we're all pissed and want to kill the fucker, but we have to do what he says for now. Phantom, did you, by any chance, get a location on the phone?"

Phantom shook his head. I saw regret on his face. "No. He was smart and used a burner phone. I couldn't trace it."

A miserable ball was growing bigger in my stomach. We needed a break or a miracle.

"We'll be there. Expect us before the deadline," Carnage added with an ominous growl.

"How's Moose? Can I talk to him?" I asked. He had to be losing his mind, but I didn't hear him.

"Moose had to be removed from the room. We'll get him straight, and he'll be there. I don't want to waste any more of our precious time. Gotta go. See you in the morning. Call if you hear anything else."

"Will do. Safe travels," Sin bid him before he hung up.

I got to my feet to wander the room. My head felt like it was about to explode while my stomach wanted to empty itself on the floor. "He's not planning to let her go," I said in misery.

"We don't know that," Cuffs said.

"Yeah, we do. He's nuts. You heard his laugh. The man's got screws loose. We have to find her," I said through gritted teeth. I scanned their faces. When I landed on Omen, I stopped.

"Omen, tell me what your mojo is telling you. Is he gonna let her go if we give him whatever he wants?"

He hesitated, then finally answered me. "Truthfully, I don't believe he will. It's personal, and with him asking for the Regulators to come here, it's against them. We have to find her before he gets what he ultimately wants. I'm sorry. I might be wrong, you know."

"But you're not. You haven't been since I've known you, and my gut says the same. I don't know how we can do it, but we have to find her."

"We will. We have several hours before they get here. I suggest we all take turns getting some sleep. Daredevil, I know you won't want to, but we need you functioning when it comes time to get your woman back. If you need help, Saint can give you something to help you sleep." I heard the underlying warning in Sin's voice. They'd knock me out if I resisted resting. No way did I want to be drugged. What if something happened and I needed to wake up and wasn't able to?

"I'll rest, but no shot. Can't risk being in a haze."

"Okay, then let's do this. Phantom, you and Tamysin need to rest, too."

There was some back and forth before we were all dismissed and went our various ways. Walking into the trailer and lying down on the bed alone, smelling her scent on the sheets made me want to scream. I had to fight to block the thoughts out so I was able to at least float. The awareness of time ticking by was never far from my thoughts and she never left them. I love you, Shain. I'm coming, Mon Rêve. Hang on.