Chapter One Hundred Twenty: Confirmed
373 Words
-----Rourke’s POV-----
The laptop screen flickered, glitching as Price tapped through the marina security feed. Grainy footage, poor lighting, and warped pixels—it was barely enough to make out anything.
But Rourke saw her.
A little shape, pink dress, pigtailed hair.
She climbed into the SUV.
On her own.
Rourke’s breath caught.
“That’s her,” he said, voice low, final.
Price looked up. “You sure?”
Rourke’s jaw ticked. “That’s Emma.”
The timestamp rolled across the top of the screen—less than an hour ago. The black SUV pulled up near the back lot, just enough into frame to catch the moment Emma walked to the passenger door and climbed in.
No struggle. No screaming.
She looked confused.
Trusting.
And that made it worse.
Rourke’s fists curled.
He was the calm one. Always had been. The quiet muscle behind the chaos. He kept his cool, even when Axton lost it. Even when Morgan got fire in her eyes. Even when Price’s temper simmered.
But this?
This made his stomach twist.
Because that wasn’t just some little girl.
That was Emma.
That was the kid who ran up to him in mismatched shoes and called him Ro-Ro like it was the most important name in her world.
That was the girl who made him a paper crown and insisted he wear it during breakfast.
That was the kid who once told him he was the safest place in the world.
And she got into a car with a monster because she thought it was okay.
Because she hadn’t learned yet that monsters don’t always wear claws.
Rourke didn’t speak.
He stood, turned toward the van door, and let the heat build in his chest.
Price watched him carefully. “You good?”
Rourke nodded once. “I’m better than good. We’re going to find her.”
He looked at Axton, who hadn’t blinked since the footage played.
“She’s alive,” Rourke said. “And whoever took her is breathing on borrowed time.”
Axton’s voice was cold steel. “Not for long.”
Rourke strapped his vest tighter, checked his sidearm, and stepped out into the humid night.
Emma was out there.
And her uncle was coming.
- Writer
