22. Declan

Chapter 22

Declan

L uckily, I didn’t have to wait at the airport for a flight. We were able to hop on Ian’s family’s private jet and fly back to Alabama. There was no time to waste. The question that none of us could answer was how Vincent got to Alabama so quickly. It was as if he was one step ahead of us.

By the time Ian and I reached Ayla’s house, the sun had just risen. Ayla’s garage door was open, as was the door leading into her kitchen.

“Ayla!” I shouted, running into her house. I searched every room for any clues I could find. There was nothing other than her purse and keys on the kitchen counter. I pulled her cell phone out of her purse and saw all my missed calls, as well as ones from Linda and Kat.

Ian was in the garage searching around, but by the disgruntled look on his face, he didn’t find anything, either.

“Ayla, sweetheart, you in the garage?” a woman called out. I moved toward the garage and saw it was Linda. She appeared around the corner and her eyes widened when she saw me and Ian. “Oh, hey, Declan. I saw your car in the driveway, but I didn’t think you’d be back in town just yet. Ayla said you were going to be gone a few days.”

I hurried over to her. “She ate dinner with you last night, right?”

With everything going on, I couldn’t hide my concern or my drastic impatience to hear everything about Ayla’s last whereabouts. Linda's expression turned serious as she glanced back and forth between Ian and me.

“No,” she answered, a hint of worry in her voice. “She never showed up. I tried calling her a few times to see if she was sick, but she never returned my calls. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to catch her before she left for work to make sure she was okay.”

I turned to Ian. “Get Reed on this now. We have to find her.”

Ian nodded. “On it.”

Vincent had taken Ayla last night, which meant he’d had hours with her. The urge to want to kill him grew exponentially inside of me. Coming after me was one thing, but taking Ayla was on a whole new level. This wasn’t just about finishing a job anymore; it was about making sure Vincent knew he fucked up by putting his hands on her.

Ian went over to my car and I was about to follow him, but Linda grabbed my arm. “What’s wrong? Where’s Ayla?”

She let me go and I ran my hands angrily through my hair, the rage and worry clouding my judgment. I couldn’t answer her questions because I had no clue where Vincent would’ve taken Ayla. It would have to be somewhat close by if he was waiting for me. Then again, I could be wrong. He had the means to take her anywhere in the world. He liked to toy with his enemies.

“Declan, is she in danger?” Linda asked, her voice trembling.

I focused on Linda and stared at her. She was the most observant person in all of Magnolia Grove. Nobody could do anything without her knowing.

“Did you see anyone with Ayla while I was gone?” I questioned curiously .

She pursed her lips in thought but then her eyes widened. “I did. It was yesterday in the park. She was talking to a man I didn’t know.”

It had to have been Vincent. The dread in the pit of my stomach grew.

“What did he look like?” I asked quickly, my impatience growing more urgent.

Linda went into great detail about the man’s appearance and everything she said sounded like Vincent Deluca. Another spike of adrenaline tore through me and all I could think about was what Ayla was going through. What made it worse was that it was all because of me.

Ian rushed over with his laptop and showed Linda the screen. On it was a picture of Vincent.

Linda nodded quickly and tapped the screen. “That’s him! That’s the guy I saw. Who is he?”

Taking her arms, I turned her to face me. My intention was not to scare her, but I was desperate to find Ayla. “Did you talk to him? What all do you know?”

Her face fell with concern. “Is Ayla going to be okay?”

I shook my head. “Not if she’s with him.”

She let out a shaky breath. “Oh, God, let me see.” She waved her hands nervously in the air, as if trying to find the right words. “Ayla said he had asked her out on a date and that it wasn’t the first time.”

“What?” I snapped in shock. If it wasn’t the first time, then that meant . . . “Are you saying he’s been in Magnolia Grove before?”

She nodded. “He was one of Ayla’s patients a few days ago.”

Her words changed everything. It was as if everything finally came to light. Vincent had known where I was all along. The day I felt uneasy in the park was all because of him. The bastard was waiting in the shadows the whole time, waiting for his time to strike.

I glanced over at Ian and he already had his phone out. “I’ll tell Reed. He’ll search through everything here in Magnolia Grove.”

He walked away to set his laptop on the hood of my car, but I stayed with Linda. “Is there anything else?”

She furrowed her brows in concentration. “Ayla told me his name was Robert Forbes and that he was staying in a rental house on the outskirts of town. I think it might be Jeff and Macy Hamricks’ house. They always rent out to people in the summer while they vacation around the world.”

Ian typed away on his laptop when I looked at him. “On it, brother. I’ll locate the house and see if Reed can track Vincent to there.”

“Why don’t I just go over there and drop off a cake or something?” Linda suggested. “That way I can see if it’s your guy who answers the door.”

“No,” I growled, making sure she could see the seriousness on my face. “This isn’t just a normal man from Magnolia Grove, Linda. I’m going to handle this. What I need you to do is keep this to yourself. If anyone interferes, they could lose their lives. The man we’re dealing with doesn’t care about anyone or anything.” I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Now, please go home, Linda. I have to get to work and find Ayla.”

Linda’s face was full of defeat and worry. “Okay, I’ll go home. But what about the clinic? Someone needs to call the office and let them know Ayla won’t be there. I can at least do that, right? They’ll believe me if I tell them she’s too sick to talk on the phone.”

She had a point. Someone had to let them know so they wouldn’t be worried.

“Yes, please, do that,” I said.

“And her parents?” she added. “Do you not want them to know that their daughter has been abducted? ”

I shook my head. “No. It’ll interfere with what I have to do.”

I couldn’t elaborate any further. Luckily, she nodded and hugged me. “I know you’ll find her, Declan.”

“I will,” I promised, letting her go.

And I was going to kill Vincent in the process.