His Red Carnation (Forbidden Blooms #1)

36. Callan

36

Callan

I sat in a private room at the small-town police station, the closest one to the crash site. Ana had already flown back to D.C. with Julian to meet with the tech team, leaving me here. Jake sat across from me, his expression unreadable, while Secret Service agents swarmed around us, busy with my phone. They were running every possible trace on the call I made, hoping to track down Sarah and Sloane.

As I sat there with the steady hum of activity around me, something felt off.

Leo.

He wasn’t here, and that didn’t sit right with me. He’d been involved in every major situation, and even every minor situation like Jake knocking me the fuck out. But now, in the middle of all this, he was missing.

I glanced at Jake, his face as stoic as ever. “Where’s Leo?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even, though a sense of unease coursed through me.

“He’s following a lead,” Jake replied simply, not breaking his usual calm demeanor.

I nodded, but something still didn’t sit right. Maybe it was nothing, just nerves from everything happening…or maybe Leo’s absence was something more.

“What lead?” I dug deeper.

Jake leaned back slightly in his chair, keeping his tone steady. “One of our sources reported seeing a black SUV matching the one from the scene a couple of towns over. Leo was the closest, so we sent him out.”

It sounded plausible—logical even—but it still didn’t ease the tightness in my chest. A black SUV was a solid lead, something worth investigating, but something still gnawed at me.

“Why was he so close?” I pressed.

Jake shrugged slightly, keeping his tone even. “Just coincidence, I guess. He was already out working some smaller leads when everything happened. He’s always been good about staying close when things heat up.”

It made sense, but there was still something that didn’t add up. Leo’s absence now felt too coincidental, too perfectly timed. My gut told me there was more to this than just chance.

“Isn’t he always by your side?” I asked, digging deeper. “I’ve never seen him leave you for anything this important.”

Jake paused for a moment, the question hanging between us. His eyes flicked to mine, and for the first time, I saw a hint of uncertainty flash across his face. “Yeah, he usually is.”

He seemed to mull it over for a second before shaking his head, as if dismissing the thought. “Look, Leo’s good at what he does. He wouldn’t go off like this unless it was important.”

But now, I could tell—something didn’t sit right with Jake either.

“Might be a good time to call him, get an update,” I suggested, sitting back in my chair, arms crossed. I tried to keep my tone casual, but my eyes stayed fixed on Jake.

Jake hesitated, just for a second, before nodding. “Yeah, good idea.”

He pulled out his phone and dialed, holding it to his ear. I watched his face closely, noticing the slight tension in his jaw as the line rang. After a few long moments, he lowered the phone and glanced at me. “No answer.”

A pit formed in my stomach. “That’s fucking weird, isn’t it?”

Jake didn’t respond right away, his brows pulled together as he stared at his phone. “Yeah…it is.”

His frown deepened, and he stood up, turning toward the Secret Service agents working around us. “I want a team out looking for Leo, now,” he ordered, his voice firm. “Track his last known location and send someone to check it out. Something’s not right.”

The agents exchanged quick glances before nodding and moving into action, tapping at their earpieces and communicating the new orders.

I watched it all unfold, the knot in my stomach tightening. If Leo had just gone dark, that could only mean one of two things: he was in trouble, or he was hiding something. Either way, it wasn’t good.

Jake sat back down, his expression more tense than before. “We’ll find him,” he said, though I wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince—me, or himself.

The room buzzed with movement as the agents followed Jake’s orders, but before I could process what that meant, one of them walked over and handed me my phone.

“We’ve done what we can for now. You’ll get updates as we track everything,” he said.

I barely nodded, feeling the weight of the phone in my hand. But before I could put it away, the screen lit up. A number I didn’t recognize flashed across it. My heart lurched.

I swiped to answer, bringing the phone to my ear. “Sarah?”

Her laugh on the other end was cold, chilling. “Miss me, Callan?”

“Where is she?” My voice was tight, controlled, though panic bubbled just beneath the surface. “What the fuck are you doing with Sloane?”

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,” she sneered. “But I’ll give you a little hint: she’s not looking too good right now. I’ve got your precious girl, and I’m about to show you what it feels like to lose everything.”

My grip on the phone tightened, blood pounding in my ears. “If you fucking hurt her—”

“Oh, I will ,” Sarah interrupted, her voice dripping with malice. “And you’ll watch it all unfold.”

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone, my pulse racing. Sloane was running out of time.

I shot out of my chair, adrenaline flooding my system. I rushed over to the nearest agent with my phone clutched in my hand.

“Can you trace this?” I asked urgently. “Sarah just called me. She’s got Sloane.”

The agent looked at me, then down at my phone. Without missing a beat, he nodded. “Give me a second.” He motioned to another agent and quickly hooked my phone up to their equipment.

Jake stood nearby, watching with sharp eyes, his usual calm demeanor giving way to a sense of tension that was unmistakable. His arms were crossed, and I could see the slight strain in his jaw as he kept his focus on the agents.

“We’ll need a minute to pull the data,” the agent said as they worked, fingers flying over keyboards. I stood there restlessly, every second feeling like an eternity. Jake paced just behind me, running a hand through his hair, his frustration evident.

“Come on,” I muttered under my breath, my fists clenching and unclenching as I watched the screens.

Finally, the agent turned to us, his face set in concentration. “We’ve got something. It’s a burner phone, but we’re triangulating the location from the nearest cell towers.”

I glanced at Jake. He’d stopped pacing, his eyes locked on the agent as the information sank in. “How close?” he asked, his voice low and controlled, but I could sense the urgency.

“Close enough for us to move. We’ll get a team ready,” the agent said, but before he could finish, I stepped forward.

“I’m going,” I said firmly.

Jake chimed in quickly. “So am I.”

The agent didn’t even flinch. “Mr. President, I’m sorry, but you can’t come. You know the protocol.”

Jake clenched his jaw, not arguing because we both knew what that meant, but I could see the pain in his eyes as he wrestled with staying behind.

He turned to me, his voice low. “You’re going, then.”

I nodded. “I’ll bring her back.”

The agent motioned to me. “We’ll gear you up and move fast. Let’s go.”

Jake locked eyes with me, his expression tight with fear and frustration. “You find her, Callan. No matter what.” He still trusted me, despite everything that had happened.

“I will,” I said, and I meant it.

Without another word, I followed the agents out. The weight of everything fell hard on my shoulders, but there wasn’t time to think about anything else now. Sloane was out there, and I was going to bring her back—no matter what it took.