SANDOR
Sandor downed his beer in one gulp, wondering if he should order something stronger. But he had to drive later so probably not. He ignored the ringing of his phone on top of the bar, hoping the caller would get the hint and give up. But to his irritation, the ringing persisted. Finally he snatched it up. "Sandor!" he barked into it.
"Hello, um, this is Jon. I know it's late but my sister is not here and I'm wondering if she's with you?"
It was four a.m. in the morning. Sandor felt a headache starting to form as the question echoed through his mind. He closed his eyes wondering if the little bird had run away again after making such a big deal about seeing her brother.
"Did she run away?" Sandor rasped. "She has a pretty bad habit of doing that."
"She was in her bed around ten p.m.. I checked on her before I went to sleep..." her brother's voice broke off abruptly. He sounded extremely upset.
"Did you try her uncle in California?" Sandor demanded. There was heavy silence on the other end of the phone. Which didn't improve Sandor's mood.
"She's not supposed to be near him."
The seriousness of the voice on the other line had Sandor's head throbbing with renewed fury. "What's that supposed to mean?" he rasped, throwing money onto the counter, and standing up to head for his truck.
"He stole her. He told me all of my siblings were dead when he visited me in the hospital while I was recovering after the accident. Then he placed me with an adopted family in London. All of these years he's had my sister after leading me to believe that she was dead and then breaking off all contact with me."
Sandor's headache was roaring now. "Call him," he rasped. "I will call her."
"I don't have his number. And I already called her phone numerous times," her brother's voice sounded defeated. "She's not picking up."
"I put an app on her phone. A precaution since she tended to wander away so much when I was bringing her to your place. If her phone's on I will be able to get her location. I will call you back," Sandor barked. He ended the call and frantically pulled up the app, growling as the phone nearly fell out of his hand in his haste. There was a feeling spreading through him that he didn't like. If he was a weaker man, he would have thought it to be fear.
Of course the little bird would flutter off again. This time she had fluttered herself right into danger, according to her brother.
She's not supposed to be near him. He stole her. The words wouldn't leave his head. They haunted him. Numbed him. If her uncle had taken her, he wouldn't be willing to give her back. He would go on the run with her.
The pounding in Sandor's head reached a fierce peak as the truth of the words hit him. If they didn't find her soon, she was lost. Gone. Her uncle would make sure of it. As rich as her uncle was, he probably had a private jet at the ready, waiting to jet them off to places unknown.
He cursed as the app was unable to locate her phone. It was most likely turned off. The fury of not knowing where to start in his search left Sandor shaking. He had been banking on the app giving up her location in seconds. Already planning to speed to her and rescue her before any harm was inflicted. But now he was stuck. Clueless to her whereabouts. And helpless.
Fuck helplessness. It was a feeling that he hated more than anything in the world. He'd known it once before as a child, and that had been enough.