Chapter Sixty-one
“Where is she!?” I demand, “Where is my wife!?”
“Malakai,” Sebastian urges from behind, “Calm down. We’ll find her.”
I’ve searched the entire house. She isn’t here, not in any of the rooms or outside, I’ve roared her name until my throat is sore, but she is gone.
“Malakai,” It’s Dean who speaks, his face twisted in grief.
“What is it?”
“Stefan.”
“What?”
My legs eat up the space between where I was pacing and where he sits at the kitchen counter. He was looking at the cameras while we searched so he must have found something. Relief softens the tension in my shoulders. He’s found her, she’s safe.
He turns his laptop around, hitting play on the recording.
There she is, my beautiful wife, in the garage, getting into my car. I’ll punish her later for taking the Maserati, but then I pause. There are tears on her face but before she can get into the car, something startles her.
She spins as Stefan plunges something into her neck.
Ice works through me, my heart stopping inside my chest. He holds her, hand across her mouth as the drugs start to take hold. I see it happening, as her body starts to go lax, in the way her eyes turn hooded. She fights to the very end, clawing at him but whatever he gave her is stronger.
And then she collapses, unconscious. My nails bite into the palms of my hands as I watch him manhandle her sleeping body into the car before he climbs into the driver’s side, hits the button for the garage and drives away with my wife.
“Where?” I don’t bellow. I don’t shout.
The type of fury working through me turns everything else quiet. I feel myself shaking with it, the promise of violence warming my blood.
He has my wife.
He drugged my wife.
I am going to kill him. Rip him to fucking shreds until nothing is left.
“I’m tracking the vehicle now,” Dean says, turning the laptop back around, “The location will update soon.”
“How soon?” I demand.
“Right now.” Dean grins triumphantly, his eyes promising the same kind of violence I feel. “He’s taken her to the warehouses by the docks.”
“Let’s go.”
“What about Hank and Regina?” Killian asks, following me as I make my way to the garage.
“I’ll deal with them when I get back.”
“Do you think there’s anyone else involved?”
“Yes. One other.”
“Who?”
“Iwan,” I confirm, “He didn’t speak up, but I guarantee we’ll find him at the warehouse.”
“Fucking kill them all,” Sebastian growls.
“Plan to.”
I take the corners at speed, pushing the car to its limits. It’s not the Maserati and doesn’t match it in speed but it’s fine, I make it work. Dean keeps an eye on the location to make sure they don’t move or change locations which they haven’t in the past twenty minutes.
“They haven’t given demands,” Sebastian notes.
“Because they’ve had to change tactics now that we have Hank. They were always planning to do this.” I say, my head working a million miles a minute, “Finding out about Hank and taking him just moved up their schedule. Any means necessary. They knew Hank would talk so used the opportunity of our distraction to get to Olivia.”
“Where was she going?” Killian asks, “Why was she in the garage in the first place?”
That, I didn’t know. She knows better than to leave alone, especially since the attack on her back at the hotel, so what prompted her to try and leave?
“Stefan was speaking with her in the kitchen,” Dean tells us, “The cameras in the house don’t have audio for obvious reasons.”
Too much is discussed within the walls of that house for audio to be recorded. If it were to fall into the wrongs hands a lot of things could fuck up.
“So, I don’t know what they were talking about,” Dean continues, “I didn’t show you because I found the garage footage after and that was more important but whatever he said prompted her to run for the garage. He followed and used that to his advantage.”
The tears. The grief. What could he have said to her for her to react that way?
“Call Willow,” I order Sebastian, “Make sure she’s safe.”
Bast nods, pulling out his cell to dial. He speaks a minute later, confirming Willow is fine. He then calls Savannah who is also okay.
I finally pass the city limits, not slowing despite the heavy traffic. The car weaves chaotically between lanes, a chorus of honking horns and angry shouts following as we force our way through traffic until I take a side road, the roar of the engine echoing down the street.
I can see the sea up ahead, rough and turbulent. The skies are an ominous grey and snow still lines the earth, leaving the roads icy and treacherous. I slam the brakes on just outside of the lot for the docks. The warehouses are further up but I don’t want to make them aware we are here yet.
“The only plan,” I tell them, “Get her out alive. Kill them both.”
“And if there are others?”
“Then take them out,” I demand, muscles stiffening as I force my heart to slow. I could rush in. I could shoot first but there’s a risk to my wife and I am not willing to make a mistake.
“And if Olivia…” Sebastian trails off.
If Olivia is dead…
A moment of grief stabs me right in the chest. There is no world to live in if Olivia is not in it. I don’t answer him because I don’t have one. All I know is that if Olivia is not here, not with me, then I won’t be in control of my actions.
I push the door open, refusing to believe that is a possible outcome. She’s their bargaining chip but they’ve rushed, they’re sloppy now they’ve been forced to do this too soon and that is their second mistake. Their first was going for Olivia in the first place.
We walk toward the warehouses, ignoring the curious looks the few dock workers give us until we get to the rows and rows of warehouses. The alleys between each building give us the shelter we need until we get to one of the smaller warehouses closer to the water. None of the buildings have windows, making it impossible to see where exactly they are holding her but right there is my Maserati, parked directly in front of the shutters, the water beyond smashing against the concrete wall that keeps the sea from flooding the city.
“Move in as one,” I order, withdrawing my weapon and preparing, “Do not take the shot if you risk Olivia.”
“Understood,” One of them replies but the only thing in my head is getting to my wife, it’s all I hear and see so I don’t know which one of them it was.
Silently, as a unit like we’ve worked a thousand times before, we move toward the entrance to the warehouse. I pause, noticing the shutters are open and from within I hear voices, two males arguing softly. With no one around to hear, their guards are down.
I pause before the main entrance, at a door to my left used for when the shutters are down.
I try the handle, finding it unlocked and gently push it open, stepping inside. The stench of rotting fish stuffs itself up my nose and fishing gear is piled high across the entire space, old nets and rods, crab cages and rusty knives laying across the gritty warehouse floor.
I keep my steps light, careful not to disturb the loose dirt on the ground and the guys behind me do the same until I use some old crates for coverage and peer over the top, seeing both Stefan and, as I guessed correctly, Iwan. They argue quietly, the older man’s face twisted in a mix of worry and anger while Stefan looks bored.
“Send the demands!” Stefan growls, “The sooner we do this, the better. Malakai is smart Iwan, if we don’t do it now, he’ll only find us first and then what!?”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen yet!” Iwan snaps back. “We do not have the backing of the council. It is just us!”
“They’ll back us,” Stefan says nonchalantly, before he disappears from view by crouching, “Because this little beauty is going to help us, aren’t you sweet Olivia?”
My spine straightens at the sound of her muffled cry. “We don’t need the backing when Malakai will step down and when he does, we will end him. We will not have the respect of the council if we kill him first.”
I needed eyes on Olivia so I knew how to take the shot.
Olivia cries again and I hear shuffling, like she’s struggling on the ground. I dampen down the rage pushing me to thunder for her, to save her and shelter her.
“I’m not so sure the organization will be better off in your hands,” Iwan grumbles, typing on his phone, “We should have waited.”
“And let Malakai sniff us out?” Stefan snaps, “It is now or never.”
I couldn’t agree more. I signal for the guys to get ready to aim and follow, keeping my eyes on the two of them as I prepare to show myself.
“I have to agree with Iwan here,” I walk out from between the crates, gun drawn and aimed at Stefan. The guys follow quickly behind, Sebastian aiming at Iwan and then I finally see my wife.
She’s tied at the wrists and ankles, laying on her side in the dirt with tape covering her mouth. And a gun is pointed at her head. Stefan was quick to draw, something I hadn’t counted on which tells me he already had his weapon out.
I ignore it though, he won’t shoot her. Not yet.
And even though everything in me tells me to go to my wife, to cover her from the threat, I don’t.
I don’t even look at her bar that first glance when I stepped out from the crates.
She whimpers and my teeth snap together, grinding painfully, “Get your gun away from my wife,” I warn Stefan, my aim true.
“Do you think you can shoot me before I shoot her?” He asks with a menacing grin.
“Should we find out?” I ask. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Sebastian edges toward Iwan who has his hands up, his gun still holstered but I don’t hear Killian or Dean behind me. Where the fuck did they go!?
Olivia shuffles on the floor, trying to get away but the ropes restrict her. I keep my eyes on Stefan though, but I can see her out of the corner of my eye.
“Let her go.”
“Step down,” Stefan counters.
“There is no road here where you win, Stefan.” I warn him.
“Do you not love your wife, Malakai?” He taunts, “Is the organization more important to you than her life?”
“Get the fuck away from her.”
“Choose, Malakai,” Stefan clips, “Her or the throne. You can’t have both.”
“I will kill you, Stefan,” I vow.
“And I’ll kill her,” he shrugs indifferently, “You don’t get both, Malakai. Isn’t that right, Olivia?” He asks her directly. Whatever answer she gives is stifled beneath that tape.
“I’ll count to three,” Stefan continues, “By three, I expect your choice.”
Movement beyond Stefan captures my attention and I just about see the shadow of one of the guys moving between the crates behind Stefan.
“One.” He starts.
It’s Killian, he has his eyes on Stefan. He won’t shoot in case he misses and Stefan fires on Olivia. He’s planning on disarming him.
My heart thumps wildly inside my chest.
“Two.”
Olivia screams beneath the tape, the sound of it, no matter how stifled it is, twists inside my gut.
“Th–” Stefan is cut off before he can finish the number, his breath rushing from him with an oof.
A gun goes off.
And it wasn’t one of ours.