Chapter 31
After two hours, I stare at the names of three girls. One of them has to lead me to the final piece of information I need.
It has been a damn challenge trying to stay calm as I conducted the so-called interviews. Most came in for the appeal of quick money. Even if most of the students are trust fund kids, getting one million for babbling a bit is something no one can say no to.
“It puts a huge hole in your account,” Tyson says.
I don’t even care about the money. I am functioning on the resolve to get her back and desire to kill my father for daring to take her from me.
“How are you?” Celine asks in a gentle voice, placing a hand on my arm.
I groan a noncommittal response. After talking for so long, I am ready for action.
As Celine and I walk to the club exit, Tyson says, “Good luck. I hope you find her.”
“I will.” Whatever it costs. There’s no hoping. I simply have to.
But I also have to be smart and not let dejection make me lose sight of what’s important. Every hour counts, and our small gathering must surely have caught attention.
The moment we’re at the house, the group sits in the living room with their laptops open.
“Did you find something?”
“It will take me a while, but I think I know how they did it,” Bailey says.
“And you?” Hunter asks.
“We have three names,” I say.
“Let me check those,” Bailey says, and I tell her the girls’ names.
Bailey puts files together on each of the girls; they contain everything, from financial information to favorite foods. After she gives me their addresses, Kaden says, “I’ll come with you.”
We take my car, and I drive to the first location.
I knock and lean against the wall beside the door, trying to act cool when everything in me wants to rip this world to shreds with my bare hands.
“Patience, Blake. This is a good lead.”
“What if this is a dead end?”
“They have her, and they will gloat with that. Felix and Caleb want us to suffer and go crazy first.”
I thought about that, too, but it’s fucking working. Imagining everything she must be going through at the hands of my psychopath father is killing me.
“I know it’s hard, but you have to stay levelheaded.”
When the door opens, a brown-haired girl appears, rubbing at her eyes. When she sees us, her eyes widen, sliding her hands on her hips.
“Oh. Wow. You…” she stammers.
This can’t be the girl. She appears interested in us, but clueless. Kaden huffs, but I am too fucking mentally drained to bother with a reaction.
“Where were you tonight?”
At my question, the flirting pose ends.
“What?”
“I asked you a question.”
“I went for a run. I always do that at night. It’s more peaceful.”
“You left campus?” Kaden asks.
“No. I just take the main road.”
“Don’t lie to me,” I say, and her eyes go wide as she swallows hard––genuinely scared.
“It’s not her,” Kaden says, and I grunt in acknowledgment.
“Thank you for your time.”
We head to the next college house. All the lights are on, and pop music pumps loudly through the walls.
“Should we even bother?” Kaden asks.
He has a point. If you’ve kidnapped someone, you don’t want to attract attention, but we need to check, just to be sure.
We knock, but it goes unanswered, so I open the door and step inside.
The living area is filled with girls in pajamas, wearing various face masks, and singing off-key. For a moment, my chest constricts. Mia should be at the college house with her friends, or better yet, with me at our lodge.
Everyone stills as they see us. A blond girl approaches, tipping her nose up.
“What do you think you’re doing here?”
“I have a question for you, Arabella Dawson.”
“What question?”
“Where were you tonight?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
She’s too conceited and high on her own importance to do that.
“She’s not who we’re looking for,” Kaden says, and I know that too. That leaves one more choice, and I am losing my shit by the second.
I slam my fist against the wheel when we’re in the car.
“Drive to the next location. You can’t afford to lose it.”
“I remember someone wanting to kill me when you were in my situation,” I remind him.
“And you were the one who tried to calm me down. That’s what we do, Blake.”
“She has to be the right one. Fuck, I don’t want to think otherwise.”
“Then don’t.”
My steps are heavy as we reach the door. The house is shrouded in blackness except for a small light coming from an upstairs room. That has to be a good sign, but I’m not getting my hopes up, afraid it might splinter my rationality if it’s a loose end.
When I knock on the door, a girl opens it, peeking through the crack. I push her back, and once inside, I notice a scratch on her temple. She quickly hides her hands, tucking them into the sleeve of her hoodie. There’s recognition behind her brown eyes.
“Where were you tonight?”
“You know where I was. What is this? Some sick joke.”
She looks around us as if she expects someone to come out and “yell” prank at any moment.
Kaden and I exchange a look. I sigh a breath of relief so potent all the poison I gathered expels out of my body.
“I don’t even know you,” I say, and she steps back.
“That can’t be true.”
Fear flickers behind her lids, and I raise my hands nonthreateningly.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
She flits her eyes between me and Kaden, looking unsure, and I add, “I need to talk to you. This is important.”
“You won’t hurt me?”
“I swear I won’t.”
She peers behind us, surely thinking of an escape plan.
“Answer me a few questions truthfully, and I will pay you one million dollars.”
“What? But you already paid me ten thousand.”
“I didn’t pay you.”
“You did. You contacted me through the student chat. I am developing this app where you can bring your sexual fantasies to life. Your girlfriend really played that part well.”
“She didn’t play a part. She was fucking kidnapped,” I say, losing my control just like my mind.
“What? Oh my god.” She looks genuinely surprised.
“Tell me what you know.”
“I don’t know much. My role was to play the hurt hiker because you said she’s a sucker for helping people in need. And I did that. Afterward, I just went on my way.”
“You saw nothing suspicious?”
“No, there was no talking involved. It was like a scene, you know. I am so sorry, I had no idea.”
I look at Kaden, and he drags a hand down his face.
“But I found it strange that you were wearing this tattoo.”
“What tattoo?”
“The crest of the college.”
“Where?”
“On your neck. But you don’t have any tattoos. And the van seemed a bit too much, but…”
“Did you see it?” Kaden asks her.
“I took a pic just to be sure. It felt a bit too real.”
She gives me her phone, and I send the pic of the van to my number. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry. This should have never happened.”
I transfer the money to her, and when we leave, Kaden and I exchange a knowing look. They had already used two students, paying them off to do their dirty deeds.
“They’re recruiting their soldiers,” he says, slamming a fist on the hood of the car.
With Felix’s proclivity to want to own people, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that. They need people fighting their dirty war for power against the Family.
“It’s us versus them now. They chose the wrong side.”
“Fucking great fathers we got, huh?”
“As they never were fathers to us, it will be easier to fucking kill them and be done.”
When we’re back at the house, I send Bailey the pic and tell the group about the tattoo.
“Felix has always been obsessed with marking his property,” Abi says, anger glowing in her eyes while Dane lifts her wrist and kisses along the brand.
“I’ll run a scan program for anyone with this tattoo. Now that I have the plate number, it should be easier to find something.”
“I’m informing the Syndicate.”
The phone rings three times before Kieran answers. “I’m sorry about your girlfriend.”
“How do you know that?” My voice sharpens.
“I know everything. And my hacker is working on tracking the van down.”
“I just found out Felix and Caleb are recruiting. Apparently, their little lackeys bear a distinct tattoo—a crest of the Family on their neck.”
“I’ll have our people search for that as well,” Kieran replies. Then, without another word, he hangs up.
“Anything else?” Impatience rings in Kaden’s tone.
“No, just basically him telling us he knows everything that is going on.”
“If they fucking deliver, I don’t even care,” Hunter says.
I pace, feeling like the walls are closing in on me. I miss Mia and want her back with every beat of my battered heart. I miss her euphoric presence and beautiful face. I miss her smile and her chatter. I miss my peace.
I don’t want to lose it in front of my friends, so I go upstairs and into her room. It still preserves her sweet scent. I can see her on her bed, watching me, watching her. Since the very beginning, it was always a losing game. I was too damn drawn to her. While she had the emotional intelligence to accept her feelings, I preferred to ignore them. She was a weakness and in my family that is the worst thing that could happen. But with all the mess I was in, I couldn’t stay away. I would go to her room night after night and just watch her until I gave in. No force on this earth and above could keep me from her.
Sinking onto her side of the bed, I drag her pillow to my nose, inhaling deeply. Wetness gathers in my eyes.
Pull yourself together , but I can’t. She’s my strength, and I can barely keep this strong facade going.
The door creaks open, and Abi comes to my side.
She curls behind me and says, “I’m here. It’s okay. You’re not alone. Let it out. I have you.”
The sobs that tear from my throat are an ugly fit of despair.
“You know what I thought for a long time?” she asks me. I’m aware of what she’s trying to do, but I need to get my head straight, so any distraction will help.
“What?”
“That in our group, we would die for each other, but wouldn’t live for each other.”
“I don’t think any of us had high hopes we would live long.”
“But now you have a reason, don’t you?”
I sniffle, nodding, and she adds, “Remember that reason every time it gets hard because we’re so fucked up that we might forget.”
“I’m happy for you, Abi. I truly am.”
“And I’m happy you let yourself feel. Personally, you couldn’t have chosen a better one.”
“She chose me.”
“No, your souls chose each other.”
***
After three days of no sleep, we finally have two potential locations.
The Syndicate and Cassandra’s team have confirmed one; the other is what Bailey suspects.
We are at the estate, and no one is saying a word. All eyes are on the intel we’ve gathered and what the Syndicate sent us. The Syndicate’s location matches, making it the most obvious choice. But my gut tells me otherwise. I made the mistake of not trusting my instincts one too many times.
“You go to that location. I will go to the other,” I inform the group.
“Blake, be reasonable. It’s the right spot,” Kaden says.
“In theory.”
“I can’t let you go alone. Both of these locations are two hours away from the estate. If we split our manpower, we will be at a disadvantage,” Cassandra says.
“I don’t care.” Knowing my father, he’s playing his mental fucking game with me, making me a mouse in his intricate maze, chasing me around until I go mad.
“We need you there,” Hunter says.
“You have this,” I say, moving to the weapon room.
“Don’t be stubborn. Not now,” Kaden insists while strapping a gun to his side.
“I will be fine. If there’s nothing, I will join you,” I say, getting more ammunition. “Promise me you’ll save her.”
“I promise.”
“I don’t like splitting up. What if he’s right?” Celine asks.
“I’ll go with you, Blake,” Abi says, looking at Dane.
“I go where you go,” he replies.
My friends will be safer if they’re together. “No. I have this.”
Maybe I’ve finally lost my mind. I will definitely lose it if I arrive there and there’s nothing.
Bailey approaches me. “I made a lot of mistakes the last time.”
“I trust you. I wish you’d trust your instincts as well.”
She offers me a comm and a pair of goggles.
“I can multitask. Just tell me when you’re there, and I will be your eyes.”
I nod and get into my car. It’s a two-hour drive and the farther of the two locations from the Family compound. I follow the GPS directions, and when I park, all I see is a damn hill surrounded by overgrown trees and snow.
Fuck. There’s no building here. Even if it’s underground, I don’t see an entry anywhere.
If I hurry, I could still reach the group at the other location, but I decide to double-check first, needing to be sure. I scan the perimeter with my goggles on, and two birds catch my attention. Birds always fly in a flock, and the movements of these two are pretty robotic.
I press my comm and say, “Bailey, can you check those birds?”
“They’re drones. Scan the ground. There must be an entrance.”
I do a full visual search of the area.
“Do you see the big stone?” Bailey asks.
I focus my vision on it and reply, “I do.”
“It’s a door. There is some warmth coming from behind it. You need reinforcements. Let me tell Kaden.”
“I am on my way. Just wait for me. Fuck,” Kaden says as Bailey must have linked our comms.
“We still need to check the other location,” I remind him.
“You’re going in, aren’t you?”
“I have to. Promise me again—if it’s between me and her, save her.”
There’s a pause on the other end.
“Kaden,” I insist.
“You’re my fucking brother and best friend.”
“I love you too, man. And remember what you would ask of me if our roles were reversed.”
“You’ve always excelled at this emotional blackmail shit. Don’t get yourself killed. What am I supposed to do with those two assholes, Dane and Hunter, without you?”
I chuckle. “I’ll try my best.”
When Bailey returns to the comm, she says, “The moment you move, they’ll know it. There are sensors everywhere. I’m trying to make you disappear into the background as we speak. Just stay low until I say so.”
“Bailey, I’m barely hanging on here. She’s been there for far too long.”
“You won’t save her if you go with guns blazing and no cover. Okay, done. Move exactly as I tell you.”
I run through the field as she instructs me, climbing a small hill. It’s fucking hard to notice anything with snow covering every inch. Taking a few steps to my right, I come face to face with the stone and see the difference in the surface. There’s a panel on the side. I can’t get in without the code.
“Fuck.”
Bailey notices the same thing. “Let me try to hack that.”
I can’t stop thinking how near I am and how fucking far at the same time. My entire body buzzes, feeling her close.
“Done,” she says and gives me the six-digit code. I type it on the panel and the stone parts.
I draw my gun, attach my silencer, and step inside. As I walk down a flight of stairs, I hear voices. Despite my height and build, I can move stealthily, blending into the shadows.
Two guards stand watch at a shiny elevator door. Without hesitation, I shoot them both. Bending over one, I pull out a key card and a walkie-talkie. I don’t know how much time I have before someone notices they haven’t checked in.
But when the doors slide open, ten guards stare back at me.
I duck behind the corner and shoot one in the leg and another in the arm. An alarm blares, fucking up my cover.
“Bailey, tell me where she is.”
“The goggles need time to map the perimeter.”
“I don’t have that. Fuck, whatever happens, just don’t let those two escape.”
“She’s at the far end of the shelter.”
Guess I am going to have to fight my way through. I’m coming, Silver. And not even hundreds of these fuckers will keep me back.
The moment another guard runs to me with his Glock pointed at my head, I shoot it from his hands. Yanking him back, I use him as a shield, even though I wear a bulletproof vest. While they try to shoot me, the guard takes all the bullets. One more guard to go, but I need to reload. It’s a race to see who does it faster. I win—he drops dead the next second.
“There are ten more scattered around and they’re all coming your way.”
Fuck. “Where is she?”
“Still there. But she’s not alone anymore.”
I focus on one thing—she’s alive. I drop to the ground, playing dead as two more approach. A quick shot, and one falls on top of me while the other lands at my feet.
Two more guards come at me, and in the commotion, I lose my comm and goggles. It doesn’t matter. She’s behind one more metallic door at the end of the hallway.
I’m coming, my love.