Page 89 of Irish Betrayal

Watching the video of Blair being abducted was the hardest thing Daniel had ever had to do. Seeing her parents struggling as well made the situation a hundred times worse.

Barr cleared his throat, pushing down his devastation, falling back on his professionalism to give the group commentary of the video.

Barr pointed to the screen, tapping Blair’s back. “You can see that she’s noted the car pulling in and isn’t concerned until,” he paused the video on a frame that showed her face, “she sees the man in a hoodie walk to the trash bin.

“She appears to hesitate for a moment but keeps gathering her things from the Jeep. There,” he taps the screen again, “she reaches in her pocket for her phone.”

As the video continued, Blair made the mistake of turning her back to reach inside the passenger door of the Jeep. In horror, they watched the man move up behind her just as her phone came up to her ear.

Daniel pressed pause. “She called Mags here. Mags thought she answered too late but,” he pressed play again as Samson grabbed her from behind and took her phone, ending the call.

No one said another word as they watched. Daniel clenched his jaw when the bastard turned enough to the camera for it to capture his face.

They watched stone-faced and still as he shoved Blair’s tiny body against the seat and lay over her. She struggled beneath. They could see her legs squirming and kicking, but she had no chance to throw him off.

Samson was able to use his hands while his body weight kept her down. His hands were up and pulling something apart.

Barr growled. “Tape. He taped her mouth.” Catriona let out a whimper and Barr immediately pulled her against him, murmuring, “I’m sorry.”

They saw a flash of metal in his hands.

Handcuffs.

Daniel felt himself sway. His dad stepped against his back and clasped both arms hanging limply at his sides, giving him strength.

The rest of the video was of Samson dragging Blair to his car. There wasn’t a good camera angle to see what he did before returning to Blair’s vehicle. He shut the doors and grabbed her bags.

Samson spent less than a minute looking at Blair’s phone before typing on it.

No one else that Daniel had heard from had received a message from Blair’s phone except him.

“If that was the text to me, the timing is way off.”

“We don’t have her phone records yet, but he could have sent you a timed text, to be delivered the following day. Thomas is working on the CCTV footage leaving the garage. He stopped somewhere after he left and threw the phone away because her location pinged at a landfill,” Barr informed everyone.

“There is a warrant out for Samson’s arrest because of Blair, but also because of the teacher they found in his flat.”

The thought of that woman who had taken her own life sobered everyone further. They landed in two hours. Daniel had to keep believing that, among the police, detectives, MacGregor, and Blair’s father, Blair would be found. Soon.

There were so many questions and worries.

Was she scared?

Was Samson aware that she was pregnant?

Was she hurt, hungry, or thirsty?

And the worst, was he hurting her, touching her, abusing her like he’d been doing for so many years?

forty-three

BLAIR

Oh, Christ. Oh, God. He knows.

Blair could not, no matter the duress, admit to anything.

She shuddered as she felt his soft fingers push roughly over her tender flesh. To feel him touch her breasts and splay his filthy hand over the place where her child was growing had vomit surging.