Pursuit of Happiness 07

"Yes, sir." Roland walks back out.

"You found no trace of them?"

"Only the fur I found caught in the rope. We drove around a bit but found nothing promising."

"This was a planned attack. We can't be sure if they wanted Jo, Lyssa, both, or simply females. I haven't heard of any rogues in the area. Have you?"

Emmett shakes his head. "I would have told you."

"So...," Randall taps his teeth with a claw, having shifted partway during the conversation.

"Randall, what do we do?"

"Ask Calvin to forgive our trespass onto his range. Spiral out and search from where the trail was lost. Maintain heightened security and perimeter sweep." A deep breath. "Wait for either a ransom request or for Lyssa to wake and send to us."

If she wasn't too far away. "And, the party?"

Randall snarls. "There will be no party until I get my daughter back!"

He takes a deep breath and calms himself. "Erich. Take command of perimeter security. Two sweep rings."

"Yes, sir." Erich heads out the door.

"Emmett." Emmett turns to his Alpha. "We'll get Roland to start the search while you and I speak to the other Alphas, find out if anyone is aware of any rogue activity, and try to figure out who did this, and why."

"I would rather be doing... something, Randall."

"As would I, Emmett. As would I."

Joanna has looked around the basement. It was made up as a small apartment.

Sink and toilet in one corner. Bed in another. A chest at the foot of the bed held clothes.

She looked through the clothing. Dresses. Sheer blouses. Short skirts. Nothing she would wear, not to mention the sizes were wrong. Is that how expected her to dress? What she'd give for a big old t-shirt.

She stands, suddenly, listening. The males go on full alert.

[Dad? .. Emmett? ... Roland?]

The males all relax as she identifies the noise. Squirrels.

There's a small table with a TV and a BluRay player. She looks at the movies. Nine and a half weeks. Dangerous Liaisons. The Story of O?

Ick!

There were a few magazines and some books. Half of them were along a similar vein.

Looked like stuff to entertain them, not her. Although, as she looks at the three males, she wonders if any of them read. Maybe Jason.

He wasn't half bad looking but that didn't keep him from being a dick.

She wonders what Michael has promised them. Between her dad and Emmett, they wouldn't last long.

A small refrigerator holds food and drink. Everything was fully cooked. Yuck!

She looks around, there's no stove.

So, she couldn't set the place on fire.

Turning the tap on would only have them turning it off, unless she really broke something, which wouldn't be hard. Lyssa would end up drowned.

She could hit one of them with a table leg or the fridge but the other two would grab her. And, of course, they'd hurt Lyssa for it.

[Lyssa. Talk to me.]

The three males sit on a couch quietly watching her.

She gets on the bed after grabbing the remote, pulls her knees up to her chest, and looks for something to watch.

Paul is told to have the cars fully fueled at all times.

Natalie and Wade check and keep an eye on Ariel.

The bunker is re-stocked, just in case.

Roland and Jeremy start searching.

Randall and Emmett receive no reports of rogue activity.

Calvin quietly listens to the situation. "Of course, Randall, I understand. You weren't hunting. You came with no ill intent. We would all do the same. Have you found anything?"

Calvin sees the pain on his face. "No, Cal. There's no trace of them."

"Let me know what happens and how I can help."

"Thank you."

Calvin looks at his son as the connection is cut. "I wish I could help."

"It's sad. But their problems are their own." His father looks at him, surprised. "They allowed two of their females to be taken."

"But, Alpha, Dad. There's something else we should discuss.."