Gabriel's POV
The moment that Layla dropped off the grid, everything else became irrelevant to me.
There's no spike of panic, no raised voice directed at anyone because panic is for people who have no faith in their own abilities. Instead, I put myself and my men to work with not even a second of wasted time.
I pivot my approach immediately, rerouting resources from other postings and assignments without explanation, for once discarding the protocols that usually ruled every aspect of both mine and my mens day to day operations. Those systems are designed for use when everything is in order, but right now this is a hunt, and all rules are off the table.
Layla's father is already beside me as grim and focused as I had ever seen him. His attention is split three ways at once, k
