Branson wrapped his arm around her, squeezing her shoulder as they stood there in pained silence.
“Fuck! Finally!” Danny yelled as the computer finally came alive, and he immediately started typing.
“Come on man,” Rick said, the lines of his body just as tense as the rest of them.
Please.
She leaned back into Branson, her body shaking as she stared at Danny.
Please.
“Fuck,” Danny whispered.
His eyes flew to hers and she knew.
The horror in his eyes, his face white.
She knew.
“No,” She whispered, her head shaking. She felt Branson’s hands on her shoulder’s clench.
“His tracker is off,” Danny said.
“FUCK!” Rick bellowed, lashing out and pacing back away from them.
“Tracker?” she whispered, scarcely able to believe that this was happening.
Please no!
“We all have trackers on us. We never turn them off. Never take them off. If his is offline …” Danny stopped his eyes boring into her.
“No!” Panic washed over her.
This was supposed to be about her. Or Branson. Not her Mark.
“They have him,” Dominic stated. His face blank, and a cold shiver went through her.
“No! No! NO!” she cried out as her body shook in Branson’s arms.
No!
This couldn’t be happening!
“We’ll get him back, sweetheart,” Branson muttered in her ear as he held her, but she didn’t know if she believed him.
Her Mark.
***
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dominic said.
It was hours later, and she was very quickly losing her patience.
They were right back to where they had started.
As if the last few weeks hadn’t been spent healing their fractured family.
As if waiting was what was best for her Mark.
