Saint Botero (Male P.O.V)

October 21, 2074

Come on.

Pick up.

Pick up.

My fingers drummed on the door rest as I stared at my phone screen, trying to will the call to go through. At the police station, I talked to Abella for a total of a second before we lost connection. And ever since, I couldn't contact anyone at the house. Not Abella, the players, or even the officers guarding them. But I couldn't stop trying.

Feeling the car slow to a crawl, I looked out the front windshield. Through the rain-streaked glass, the gate leading to the villa sat wide open.

"Where are the officers?" Detective Adler asked from the backseat, beating me to the punch.

"There." Quinton pointed to the security booth, where one officer lay face down in the doorway. Rain pelted the upper half of his body, increasing the crimson stream running from it.

My eyes shifted to his partners, who hadn't fared much better. They sat slumped down in their chairs with gunshot wounds to the head.

"Goddamn it!" I banged my fist twice on the dashboard before Quinton reached out to stop me.

"Drive up to the house." Detective Adler softly ordered. "Let the others take care of them."

Quinton nodded and looked at his fallen brethren once more before taking off for the house.

In no time, we reached the front, and Quinton brought the car to a stop directly behind the white catering van parked in the driveway. Out of the two that delivered the food, only it remained.

I freed myself from my seat belt, drew my gun, and exited the car. The others followed suit.

"Check the van." Quinton barked the order at the nearest cop while rounding the car.

"Yes, sir." The man said before doing as instructed while we headed up the cobblestone path.

As we neared the door, our footsteps slowed upon realizing it was open. Moths slipped in and out of the crack as we positioned ourselves on each side of the door. Additional officers joined us, splitting themselves up between the two sides.

Once they were in position, Detective Adler mouthed a countdown from three before entering first.

We followed behind her at a hurried pace. Our soft footfalls were seemingly loud in the quiet stillness of the entryway. My eyes swept over my surroundings, but before they could complete one circuit, they landed on a body to the left of the staircase.

A male, judging by the large build and the beard. And as much as I hated to admit it, I was thankful for that because it ruled out the chances of it being Abella or Logan.

An officer stepped around the white ceramic shards scattered across the floor and went over to the body.

"It's Irwin." He said before pressing two fingers against his neck.

Quinton glanced at me before saying, "You got a pulse?"

He shook his head.

Quinton nodded before turning to Detective Adler. "Check upstairs."

"Okay," she muttered before leading half of the officers up the stairs.

While the rest of us went from room to room, searching each one.

Only to find nothing.

Not a single person was inside them, and all their belongings were still there.

"Where the hell are they?" My feet moved of their own accord back toward the foyer despite my wanting to tear up every part of the house in search of them.

"No idea," Quinton answered as Detective Adler descended the stairs. "Did you find anyone?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "Nope. It's empty."

"How do sixteen people go missing?" He pondered aloud while his eyes swept over the scene for clues. His keen gaze scrutinized every bit of the room from top to bottom, looking for even the tiniest details.

Detective Adler sidled up beside him and folded her arms. "What I want to know is who killed Irwin?"

"Maybe one of the players." I guessed.

"If it was one of the players, why aren't they here now?" She retorted.

"That was just one theory. He could've also had another partner, and he's the one that did this."

"For what reason?"

I shrugged one shoulder while watching the crime scene investigators enter the house. "I don't know."

Quinton looked toward the dining room. His eyes roamed over the table, still filled with food, growing colder by the second. "Saint, you said you saw Irwin delivering food, right?"

"Yeah."

"Have someone check the food." He instructed Detective Adler. "Maybe he planned to drug it and then abduct them."

She nodded before following his order.

I sat on the bottom stair with my head hanging low. "They would still be here if I hadn't left them."

"Maybe." He paused shortly before saying, "Or you could've gotten taken along with them."

My head shot up. "What?! Are you saying I couldn't protect them?!"

Cromwell might have hired me, but Quinton was the one that initially wanted me to take the job. He even resorted to lying to get me to accept the position.

Why had he even suggested it to me if he thought I couldn't do my job sufficiently?

Realizing I interpreted his words as a lack of confidence in my skills, he rubbed his head and swore under his breath.

"All I'm saying is we don't know how many people were involved in this situation, so the chances are not you, me, or any of these cops could have saved them. There are too many possibilities. And it will only drive you crazy thinking about them. So, let's just focus on finding them."

"How will we do that? We got nothing. We don't even know where to begin looking."

"Saint, I know what Abella means to you, but I need you to trust me."

"I promised to keep them both safe."

"I know you did." He laid his hand on my shoulder and gently squeezed. "And we'll find them...as well as the others."