Chapter 50

Bart sat at the table next to Roger, his bad feeling getting stronger and stronger the longer it took for Rossalyn to come back from the restroom. He noticed Roger being more and more restless, eyeing the door to the hall the restrooms were located in nervously. After ten minutes, he had deemed more than enough time had passed for Rossalyn to have returned if nothing was keeping her. He stood and pushed open the door to the hallway open and looked around. There was a door to the back alley on the same hall that was just closing. He pushed open the door in time to see a black SUV turning the corner back onto the road heading away from the diner. He felt his heart lurch as he glanced over his shoulder his eyes locking on the bathroom door that stood open and the light off. There was no need to go look inside, the hall was completely empty and that wouldn't have been the case if she was still inside the bathroom.

He ran back out into the main dining area, snatching up her purse and throwing two twenties down on the table before snatching Roger up from his chair by his bicep making him yelp in pain. Roger knew better than to fight him and Bart was immediately sure that Roger had something to do with what happened with his sister when he didn't even ask what the problem was and where his sister was. Bart muttered curses under his breath as he all but drug Roger out to his SUV and tossing him into the passenger seat. Within a minute he was around the vehicle and out of the diner parking lot heading the direction the SUV he knew Rossalyn was in took. He pushed a button on his console that dialed Josiah on his speed dial menu.

"Boss we got a problem." Bart snapped in a furious tone.

"Whats going on?" Josiah asked, all noise in the background suddenly going silent and Bart knew every man in the vicinity of his boss was suddenly alert and ready for battle.

"Mrs. Roja was taken from the diner, I suspect by George's men." Bart said.

"You suspect?" Josiah demanded.

"Yes sir. He volunteered to go with her to the restroom this time. Something seemed off, but I didn't have anything to go off. After ten minutes I went to check on them. I'd just missed them. I'm in pursuit right now, but they have a few minute lead on me." Bart said then sighed. "I'm shooting in the dark right now. I'm going the same direction they took but I don't know if they're even still on this road. She doesn't have her phone."

"Where is Roger?" Josiah asked, thinking of at least keeping her brother safe until he could get more information.

"He's with me sir." Bart shot a hot glare over at Roger but decided for the time being to not divulge his suspicions.

"If you don't catch sight of the SUV in the next five miles, turn around and get back here. There is only one person that could have taken her under guard without causing a scene. Keep Roger with you. I want to talk to him when you get here." Josiah said then disconnected the phone.

"Boss, you don't think he had something to do with this? Do you?" James asked, his voice laced with shock.

"I don't know that he didn't have something to do with this and that speaks volumes about what I think of the bastard. What I do know is I had to ask where he was. If I had a sister and she had just been taken by someone I'd be raising all kinds of hell. The only way I'd be silent is if I knew where she was and what the plan was and had helped make it happen." Josiah pointed out, his voice tight with barely leashed fury.

James exchanged a horrified look with the other four men in the room. He gestured for them to leave the room and they all lept to their feet all of them pulling out phones and dialing up numbers. Between the four of them, there would be Josiah's full force at the mansion within the hour.

Within two hours there were over a hundred men in the mansion. It wasn't by any means the full force of Josiah's considerable operation but every man in the state had arrived and the rest were all on stand-by to find out if they were needed to leave their previously assigned posts to rescue their first lady.

"Sir, my wife is on the phone for you. I think you need to take this call." James said to Josiah, holding his cell phone out.

"Have you heard from her?" Josiah demanded as soon as he took the phone from James.

"No, sir. I haven't heard from her. But what is weird is I just talked to Sarah. She was freaking out. It seems that she has spent the last day and night held captive with her son while George and Cylvia held her daughter separately. All have been reunited and just dropped off at their house." Chelsea reported.

"Brad!" Josiah held the phone from his ear when he yelled to get his first in command's attention from across the large dining room.

"Yeah?" Brad asked a moment later, having had to shove through the crowd to reach Josiah's side.

"Get to Roger's house and pick up his wife and kids. Do it now." Josiah ordered then brought the phone back to his ear.

"Thank you for calling and letting me know. You probably just saved Roger's life. I've got to go." Josiah said then handed the phone back to James then stomped off toward his office.

The front door opened just as he reached the stairs to go to his office and Bart hauled Roger in still gripping his bicep as in an effort to keep him from trying to escape. Josiah gestured for them to follow him up the stairs then texted James to come up to the office. He led the way boiling with anger at his brother in law. It didn't matter what it took, before he left his office he would have a complete picture of everything that has been going on leading up to his wife's kidnapping.

"Take a seat." Josiah said gesturing for Roger to take the seat in front of his desk that he had flipped around to face the center of the room rather than his desk.

Bart took position behind the chair while Roger sat down reluctantly and looked up at Josiah nervously. Josiah stood over him, legs spread shoulder width apart and arms crossed over his chest, putting all his muscles on display in that intimidating posture. Josiah didn't say a word, wanting to start the conversation off with some of Roger's babbling. It was clear to anyone paying any amount of attention that by the time Bart had arrived Josiah had been able to glean some information.

Roger, however, wasn't going to break under the intense stare of Josiah. He resolutely stayed silent, though his eyes refused to stay looking up at his brother-in-law. He knew that there was little hope for him walking out of there unharmed. He wouldn't even be able to blame Josiah. If the roles were reversed and he had the ability to hurt George's men who had taken Sarah and his kids he'd already have them on their knees begging for mercy. He just hoped that Josiah could understand that he did what he did to protect his wife and kids.