Unbound, Boundless Series, Book 2

Chapter Fifty Five

MATT

While tending to my patient, checking on surgical sutures for a complete tear of the meniscus of a fifteen-year-old female soccer player, a knock on the door disturbed the discussion I was having with her father. We were done going over orders for continued PT and to visit in another three weeks. 

I left the room to find Annie standing beside the door. "What is it, Annie?"

"There are two men here to see you. They say it's an emergency. One man said his name is Ken." My heart sped up believing Ken was here with another guard.

"Where are they?"

"Out in the waiting room."

"Bring them to my office, now." I walked to my office, wanting to ensure privacy. All sorts of thoughts and possibilities coursed through my mind. I'd hoped the emergency was actually information about her captor.

"Sir, we have a problem." My fears were realized at that moment, nothing more had to be said to know Perla was no longer under their watch.

"We believe Feather was taken from the construction site after her tour. She had a meeting with the VP of Operations, Mr. Nickel Salter, in his office. When she walked out of his office, she said goodbye to the staff and walked out with her phone in her hand. None of the office staff heard any screaming or struggle, which means she went willingly or under duress because of a weapon."

I slammed my hands on the top of my desk before I sat down in my office chair. My worst nightmare had been realized. Brady was responsible. He had to have been the one to have her taken away from me. 

Ken continued, "There were two sets of boot prints on the dirt. I confirmed Feather was wearing boots for the site visit. The other boots appear to be male because of their size and width. The prints led around the site to an entrance for larger-sized equipment. The shoe prints stopped where large tire tracks commenced. We followed the tracks to the gate. Access to the entrance would require a passcode. We have people questioning the employees about a breach in access. We are fingerprinting the site in hopes of identifying who had accessed it last."

I rubbed my hands over my face, thinking there must be some mistake. Perla had two guards with her.

"When we walked through the closed gates, looking around for more clues, we found Feather's cell phone. We're fingerprinting in case she was forced to abandon it or thrown by her captor. We did check the phone for her last phone call, and she was in the process of calling Manny to pick her up because his contact was open. All she had to do was press to call him, but we believe she didn't have a chance. We're analyzing security video." 

I rose from my chair and paced around my office to formulate my thoughts. "Do we have any idea where she is being taken?"

"We have been interviewing all of your business partners."

"Based on what you told us about Saturday evening, we tried to communicate with Brady Clay..."

"Tried?"

"His personal assistant Mr. Clay revealed he took off in his airplane. He didn't file a flight plan. He gave his assistant two destinations to give to the pilot. We believe he may have selected a flight plan once they were up in the air to avoid detection of their destination. Tracking his plane would be difficult without registering his plans."

"Did he take his girlfriend with him?" 

"We're investigating now. We're not sure. There's no sign of either of them at his apartment in the city. We're checking his Belmont home now. We don't think there is anyone there either.

"Did you send anyone to the airport?"

"Yes, sir. The plane had already taken off. We asked how many cars pulled into the hangar, and they claimed it was just Brady's. We forced them to give us their security tapes and we have someone reviewing it now."

I tried to remain calm, thinking about how I could help with the investigation. Panicking wouldn't help get Perla back. "Has anyone called his mother or his brothers? Maybe he's told them where he's going?" I offered.

"His assistant reluctantly gave us their number and addresses after we told him he could be implicated in a kidnapping. We have people going over to each of his two brothers and his mother's home." I nodded. My thoughts were jumbled trying to sift through steps they may have missed.

"What about her personal cellphone?"

"We've asked the phone company to give us coordinates. It takes them a while to do, sir. There are many concerns with that option. The phone has to be on, so if the battery is dying or it's off, it will be a problem to determine her actual geo-location."

I rubbed my face, closed my eyes, and tried desperately not to scream. With an even voice, despite the quivering I felt inside my body, I said, "So what you're saying is, my wife, to whom I entrusted a team of professional bodyguards, to which I pay really good money, allowed her to be taken from a busy construction site in broad daylight?" My voice ended gruffly.

"Sir. We had no indication she was in danger after the first incident."

"But Brady was confronted on Saturday and has an ax to grind. He may be taking her to God knows where. I want you to determine all his associates. Maybe there's someone out of my Pentagon circle who helped with her kidnapping. Gill, her assistant can give you a list of her friends. Maybe she called them."

"We have people working on all avenues, Sir. We've covered all our bases."

"I want every man and woman investigating where my wife is. I want Brady's plane found. I don't want any expense spared on this. And I want her back immediately. Now get out my office and find my wife." I yelled.

When they exited the door, I restrained myself from tearing up every square inch of the room. I took many deep breaths.

"Annie," I barked. She ran inside my office.

"Yes." She answered meekly.

"What do I have left this afternoon?"

"You have one more appointment. They're already here."

"I will see them, but once I'm done with them, I'm done for the afternoon. I need you to cancel my appointments for the rest of the week."

"The entire week? You have consults, follow-ups, and surgeries." I shook my head.

"I have a family emergency. My priorities have changed. Please rearrange everything with the other partners and I'm leaving after the last appointment." Annie nodded. My focus had to be on Perla. 

I vowed to take care of her and keep her safe.

Throughout the appointment, I was like a robot. My years of training and practice taught me to care for my patients and push all other thoughts away. I was able to complete the consultation with the older female patient with carpal tunnel. I may have rushed the consultation because my mind drifted in and out on my wife's safety. When I concluded the examination, I said goodbye and departed for my office, locking the door behind me.

I called Zipper, Kent, and Lark on the conference call line. Not only did I have to consider one of my good friends kidnapped my wife, but it was time we discussed the future of Pentagon. Even if my wife was found safe and sound, and not with Brady, the five pillars of the corporation were slowly crumbling.