340 Where is He? 2

Name:This Time You Are Mine Author:mekane
Eybelle closes the gun case and places the cabinet and closet back in their proper places after ending the phone call with Slayne. Her actions are quite stiff and become stiffer upon hearing Yve's voice behind her.

"What's happening?"

Eybelle turns around to face her Lady Boss but no words would come out from her mouth because she literally has no idea on how to calmly explain her hunches. There is no concrete evidence and she's not like Sylvan whose hunches are 100% correct.

"Tell me, Eybelle. Do you have any idea on where Vince might be?" Yve pressures Eybelle to answering as she approaches slowly, making her steps heavier than usual.

"…"

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Does it have something to do with your group? The CONFERENCE?"

"…" Eybelle swallows an invisible lump on her throat as Yve gets to pinpoint her thoughts accurately.

"Eybelle, Vince already told me about the group. I know it can be dangerous and this is exactly the reason why I'm worried now. Please tell me." Yve's voice becomes softer towards the end as her eyes turns watery.

"Young Madam, nothing is confirmed. All I can say is that he wasn't abducted. He left his office on his own accord." Eybelle weighs her every word. She wants to comfort Yve by answering her question without giving her any false hope or information.

"Did he go somewhere dark-related?"

"Might be. I called Slayne to check on that angle."

Despite giving Yve vague yet comforting answers, Yve is still anxious. The fact that he left without informing her, something big must have happened. Big things in business may go both ways but not in the underworld. Even without full knowledge on CONFERENCE, knowing that it's a mafia group, danger awaits during emergency cases. Eybelle recognize Yve's reaction really well. She saw it often on Vince's face every time their lead on Yve was a false one or a dead end.

"Young Madam, I'm sure it's nothing big."

"What makes you say so?"

"He didn't inform nor bring any of us. When Primo goes to dangerous missions, we always tag along or at least two of us depending on the difficulty."

"But last time, during Mom's abduction, nobody from your team left the country."

"Yes, but we were informed and were given own missions. The other team went with him and Secondo."

"The other team?"

"We call them Team Bravo. I bet Slayne is already communicating with them."

Yve dejectedly walk back and sits on the couch.

"I feel so useless, Eybelle. Every time something bad happens to Vince and his other business, I can't help him. But he… he's always involved in my life, in the company, in my school. He's there ready to help."

Tears flow from her eyes as she looks down to her feet with her hands clutches her dress tightly. Eybelle doesn't know how to stop her and has no idea on what else to say to be of comfort to her. She just stands there waiting anxiously on Slayne's call.

The air is getting heavier as time passes by and hearing Yve's sobs isn't helping either of them to calm down as they continue to wait for information. By now, Yve's collar section of her dress is wet from her tears. Eybelle has given up on telling Yve to go home without even trying after witnessing the latter's reaction on the current situation.

To Eybelle's delight, her savior has arrived. Edward arrives in the office with Nyelle closely following behind him. Nyelle instantly hugs her best friend in comfort.

Edward and Nyelle were eating dinner together in one of Haru's restaurants when Yve called him. Hearing Vince's name from Edward's mouth, Nyelle got an idea that it was Yve calling. When the phone call ended, Edward explained the details to her and with full understanding of her best friend's reaction, she asked Edward to drive her to the office and help her friend. Edward readily agrees as he understands how weak the couple can be if they lose each other even temporarily.

"Nyelle, what are you doing here?" Yve asks after she has calmed down a bit in her friend's embrace.

"We were together when you called. Edward can help you look for Vince but who will calm your anxious heart?" Nyelle smirks and winks just to make her friend a bit better.

"Thanks."

"Secondo, I may have a lead already." Eybelle reports to Edward after seeing her Lady Boss smile with Nyelle.

"I know. Slayne already informed me on the way here." Edward walks away from the two ladies while signaling Eybelle to follow him as they will talk about the status at hand.

"The gun case and cabinet��"

"Yes. It's there for his protection and at his disposal when he needs to go to a mission without going home." Edward answers her without even letting her finish.

"But his phone is left here. Has this happened before?"

"Yes. It often happened in the past because I was with him and calls related to company matters end up on my number."

"So, this might not be something big after all?" Eybelle asks Edward with full confusion of the things that are unfolding.

"I don't really know Eybelle. He never heads out to any CONFERENCE related matter without me or any of you or at least giving us the heads up." Edward sincerely answers his subordinate's questions.

"If there's one person who can give us an answer, that would be Sylvan but without concrete details, his hunches might miss this time as well."

"So what should we do for now?"

"Slayne and Jaleb are already gathering information. Sylvan is on his way to the base to help as well. Chrysthe is already strengthening the security at the house. It would be best if we drive Yve back and let Nyelle stay with her." Edward carefully plans out their next step.

"Chrysthe will be the full time guard and I believe you will foresee things at the house, too. How about me?"

"You will be on standby with your assassination squad just in case we need to deploy." Edward answers in a plain tone with a dark expression making Eybelle swallow the lump on her throat.

"Roger that."

Eybelle temporarily leaves them to forward the instructions to her team while whispering a thought on her mind similar to Edward's.

'I hope those traitors are not the ones behind this.'