Fifty Three
“I have. The nanny has written a statement. They were going on a walk when two men cornered her and with a gun led her into their van, they drove very far, took Theo from her and then pushed her out,” Sarah said and Astra gasped. It was much more serious than she thought. It meant that Ray had armed men in his command. Astra was not she sure that it was Ray though. It could have been anyone.
“What made you feel it was Ray though?” Nicholas asked, it was as though he read her mind. It seemed like they had not previously spoken about it.
“The nanny read me a note. It said, stay away from her. I did not totally understand until I saw Astra and I remembered your theory. I also heard what the both of you were talking about,” Sarah said and Astra sighed. It was him. There was always a note that said to stay away from her. Did the man want her alone?
“Since we have deduced that he has armed men working for him, we should also get a team of armed me, just in case of any casualties. We need to get Theo and Stephanie out of his grasp as soon as possible,” Nicholas said.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
“What about the police?” Astra asked The entire thing we worrying her as it got more and more complicated.
“We have already filed a police report. Since the nanny could not remember the plate number of the car, they told her to wait for the call of the kidnappers. We are hoping that they will call me soon. We need to get their location so that Theo can be back home,” Sarah said and Astra sighed.
“I will call JW security to help us with more men that will be with us all the time. We don’t know his next move. We will all go to the police station together to report the entire case. The one of Stephanie and the threats and the stalking issue,” Nicholas said and Astra nodded. She hoped everything will go well as the situation was slowly dawning on her.
Astra was still quiet and professing all the news when Nicholas’ butler came in with Jared.
“He wants to see you Sir,” the butler said and Nicholas nodded. Astra smiled as she saw Jared and stood up to hug him. She might not feel much sexual attraction towards him, but his hugs made her feel safe. That was one thing she liked about him.
“Are you okay?” Jared asked, she could see worry in his eyes as he touched her face.
“I am fine, Jared. You should sit down,” Astra said. Looking at the others. Sarah was frowning so hard at the both of them and Nicholas looked plain irritated. Nicholas she could understand. They were once together and he was jealous. Sarah on the other hand, she could not get. Why did the lady hate her so much? Astra thought as she sat down. The thought she might have more than cousin like feelings for Nicholas surfaced, but she was not sure. Another thought came to her then, she might be angry on behalf of Nicholas. That made much more sense. Nicholas thought for the past five years that she cheated on him with multiple men. Astra frowned as she thought about it. Whoever had sent that letter did them dirty. Nicholas probably told her she was a cheat and that would have brought out the hate. There was also the fact that her baby daddy had left her. Maybe he had cheated? She could only speculate, but her second speculation made more sense.
“So what is the plan to catch Ray?” Jared said, rubbing his two hands together. He looked different from how she knew him. He looked ready to catch Ray.
“Well, we get all our resources ready, from the police to the body guards and everything. Then we wait,” Nicholas said and Jared nodded even though a frown marred his face.
“What if he doesn’t show up?” Jared asked.
“Well, if he doesn’t show up, we draw him out,” Astra said.
It had been twenty four hours since Theo was kidnapped and they also hadn’t heard from Stephanie. Sarah was growing frantic and the kidnappers had not called, they were sure it was Ray now though. The CCTV cameras caught the car that Theo was in on camera and it was the same one that Thompson used, and they all knew it belonged to Ray. The police was trying to track Ray down to where he kept his victims, but all to no avail. It seemed like he was too smart for all of them combined. They could not figure out where he was after the entire day. The fact that a child was wit him made the situation much more complicated.
“I think it’s time for us to draw him out,” Astra said as they all had lunch together, Nicholas, Sarah, Jared and her. It had been bothering her so much over the entire day. It was all her fault. It all started because Ray wanted. If she was the one that Ray wanted, he would get her.
“How do you propose we do that?” Sarah asked snarkily. The woman had the good grace to talk like that when she was crying for her son the next moment. Astra did not fault her though, she could go crazy if all she thought was her missing child.
“I will use myself as a bait,” Astra said simply. The other three people on the table started at her with surprise lacing their features.
“You are not doing that Astra. Don’t even think about it. The man is dangerous,” Nicholas said. It seemed like he was the first to find his voice.
“It is me that he wants Nicholas. Can’t you guys see that? If he wants money he would have called. He wants me and we can use me to get him. It would be easier that way and beneficial to everyone,” Astra said. She hoped that they would see sense with her.
“Just because it would be easier does not mean it would be safer. Like Nicholas said, the man is dangerous. Do you have any idea what the man would do when he has you?” Jared asked. He sounded angry.
“You guys won’t let me be with him for long. The plan is to get Theo and Steph from there. If you guys can do that, you can get me out too,” Astra said. Even though she knew that there was a possibility that they wouldn’t be able to free her. She knew that she would make a few calls before she left.
“What if we are not able to? The risk is too much Astra. We will find another way. The police is actively working to find his hideout. If you have anywhere you think he would be please let me know. It would make things easier for us,” Nicholas said and Astra frowned. She knew that they would be hard to convince.
“Theo is still there in his arms, so is Stephanie who is pregnant. You don’t know what is happening to them at the moment. We cannot waste much time,” Astra said. It was the best solution and she knew that they both knew it too.
“Don’t you agree with me Sarah? Theo cannot be there for too long,” Astra said, directing her attention to Sarah. She had not said anything since Astra brought up the suggestion.
“Don’t bring Sarah into this,” Nicholas said before Sarah could reply.