Henry marched from the parlor with surprisingly quick strides for a man his age, leaving Parker and Suz alone with Lynn’s captor.
“I’m only going to ask this once,” Parker said coldly. “Where is she?”
Shotelle’s lips curled in a sneer. “You have no right to interfere—”
Parker sprang forward, shoving the man aside as he made a beeline for the stairs. “Fine, I’ll find her myself,” he snapped without turning around.
“You can’t go up there!” Shotelle screamed.
Parker took the steps two at a time, his heart hammering in his chest. Christ, if Phil had done anything to hurt her, he was going to murder the man. Straight-up murder him.
“Lynn!” he called as he emerged onto the second-floor landing.
“No!” came Shotelle’s panicked voice. “You can’t be on this floor! This is the family wing!”
Parker ignored him, then proceeded to march down the wide hall knocking on every last door.
Fuck. No sign of Lynn.
With Shotelle breathing down his neck, he raced back to the stairs and went up to the third floor. His sharp gaze immediately zeroed in on the keys sticking out of every lock—except one. Yep, one door was missing its key, and he’d bet anything not only was it locked, but that the key was tucked safely in Phil Shotelle’s pocket.
“You son of a bitch.” He whirled around to glower at Phil, then lunged at the door and rapped his fist against it. “Lynn!” he shouted. “You in there, sweetheart?”
A hard yank on the sleeve of his button-down made him stagger sideways. Shotelle had grabbed him.
Years of military training kicked in. Parker had his hands on the other man’s collar before he could blink. He slammed Phil against the wall, hard, causing the framed photographs hanging there to sway violently.
“Don’t you fucking touch me,” he hissed, his fingers tightening around the man’s throat.
Fear and desperation warred in Phil’s eyes. “You can’t be here! You’re ruining everything! Everything, damn it!”
The asshole kept sputtering even as Parker patted him down. One hand maintained a firm grip on Shotelle’s collar as the other searched the man’s pockets. Triumph surged through him when he felt the metal key against his palm.
“I swear to God, if you’ve done anything to her…” He let the warning hang, releasing Shotelle with a breath of disgust.
His fingers trembled as he stuck the key in the lock and turned it. A second later, he flew into the guest room.
It was empty.
He scanned the room with desperation, taking in every last detail. Queen-sized bed, perfectly made. Window open, letting in the cool evening breeze. Closet door open, revealing a dark space with empty hangers.
He hauled ass into the room to peer into the private bath, but it was empty, too.
Lynn was nowhere to be found.
As his heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach, he shot back to the door to face Shotelle, whose expression conveyed shock and horror.
“Where the fuck is she?” Parker shouted.
The other man blinked rapidly. “I…don’t know. She was here before. She…”
Parker drew a deep breath, then exhaled in a rush as he slammed his fist into Shotelle’s jaw.
A loud crack sliced the air, Phil’s head thrown back from the impact. The blow connected with the side of his mouth, cutting open his lip and triggering a spurt of blood that dripped down his chin.
Phil slowly brought his hand to his face, as if he couldn’t fathom what had happened. But there was no anger in his eyes. No indignation. Just a cloud of defeat, so thick his shoulders had slumped over.
“She agreed to help me,” he mumbled.
Parker swallowed his rage. “You messed with her car and brought her here against her will, you bastard. And now, if you don’t tell me where she is in the next two seconds, I’m going to beat you within an inch of your life, do you understand?”
“She was supposed to be here! I don’t know where—”
“Parker! We found her!” Suz’s voice echoed from out in the hall, bringing a wave of relief to his chest.
Without another word, he ran from the room. He’d deal with Shotelle later. Right now, his only priority was making sure Lynn was safe.
One look at Suz’s face, and his hopes vanished.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
Her green eyes swam with concern. “We have a slight problem. Come on, follow me.”
Neither of them spoke as they went downstairs. Suz led the way out the front door, high heels clacking with each hurried step she took toward the side of the house.
Jack and Dean were already there, heads tilted up, deep voices calling encouragement.
Parker followed their gazes—and his heart jammed in his throat.
“Fuckin’ hell,” he sighed as he rushed forward.