Chapter 19
It is precisely one o'clock in the morning when the front door crashes open, hinges screaming, as the SWAT team floods the main bar, a wave of heavy boots and weapons.
With a deep breath, I stand, ready to face them head-on, feeling the adrenaline surge. Bring it on, fuckers, I have nothing to hide here tonight.
Romeo stands beside me, as Onyx steps before me, his hand a shield against whatever might threaten.
“Police! We have a search warrant! Hands where we can see them!” one of the officers calls over the music as they rush toward us. They fill the room quickly with their guns drawn and their Kevlar on.
Sally and Myriah both move out from behind the bar and raise their hands. Me and the boys follow. There are a few jacket-wearing patrons who stand in a rush. With guns trained on us, we are forced to line up against the far wall as they shine flashlights in our eyes and over our bodies. Looking for concealed weapons I’m sure, but no one who is working for me tonight would be stupid enough to turn a weapon on them. We all know if we comply, this will be over quickly and without too much hassle.
Detective Wilder enters the club, with his coworker by his side. I can’t remember what her name is. Her eyes fix in on me as he approaches, a very obvious warrant in his hand. He looks over the men at my sides, Onyx and Romeo, with a new distaste I don’t quite understand. Then his eyes rake over me. He eats up every inch of me, his eyes eventually landing on my face. He’s enjoying his newfound power. “I didn’t want to do it like this, but my hands are tied, Sloane. This is a court-ordered warrant, and I need to do my job.”
I nod, understanding and giving him the go-ahead to proceed. Thank fuck he gave me the heads-up and I was able to clear the space before they got here.
“We have reason to believe someone by the name of Ava Kingsley is being held hostage on these premises. We need to take a look around. Don’t fight me on this or I will have to arrest you.”
I blink back at him, not sure who the fuck he’s going on about. “To my knowledge, no one by that name is working here or being held against their will here tonight, but you’re welcome to check ID badges and search the place. Knock yourselves out.”
I glance at Romeo, but he looks just as confused as I am. “We’re happy to comply in any way you need,” he adds.
My bouncer guarding the door to the VIP room stands aside, watching as one of the cops repeatedly slams against the solid oak door of the strip club, unable to force it open. “You want my card to get through? I have nothing to hide, Detective.” I feel the smirk stretching across my lips as I challenge him with my gaze. We both know this is bullshit. “It’s around my neck.”
He reaches over my head taking my security card, passing it off to another officer who proceeds to open the door. They move on through to the next room, and even though the girls had been warned, squeals of panic still echo through the room. My girls are nothing if not a bit dramatic.
Detective Wilder doesn’t move, though. He stays here with us, his eyes locked onto mine with unwavering determination, a seriousness in his expression that doesn’t suit his gorgeous face. “It will be easier for everyone if you just turn her over, Sloane,” he says softer, as if he thinks I know who that girl is.
“I have no idea who you’re talking about,” I snap back, getting irritated.
He closes the gap between us. “I think you do.”
“What?” I glance at Onyx, wondering what the fuck is going on. His piercing eyes are fixated on Reef in a threatening way that makes me think there really is more going on here. “I’ve never heard that name before in my life.”
“How about you show me your ID so we can tick you off the list of suspects.”
I feel Onyx stiffen beside me, his muscles taut, and I glance his way, a knot of worry tightening in my stomach. Does he just feel out of control, or does he know something I don’t?
I push down the panic, knowing now’s not the time to crumble. I don’t know anything about this girl. What’s the worst that could happen if I show him my ID? “Happily, I have nothing to hide. It’s in my office.”
“Lead the way.” His piercing gaze fixes on Onyx. “Alone. With your hands still above your head,” he demands, and fuck if his dominance doesn’t turn me on just a little.
“I… I need a swipe card,” I stutter, losing my edge. The way he’s looking at me is unnerving.
“You can take mine.” Romeo shows him he’s reaching into his pocket for the card. He hands it to me cooly, not at all flustered under the threat of this situation. Reef watches him, scanning his face in a way that confuses me.
I step out of the line and walk toward my office, with Reef closely behind me. Swiping us through, we walk down the long corridor to my office. The silence between us is almost deafening. Once I swipe us through to my office, I flick on the light and turn back toward him. “If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do is ask. You really didn’t need to go to so much trouble.” I grin at him playfully, trying to lighten the somber mood he has created.
But his serious expression, set like stone, doesn’t change even once we’re alone, and I get a sinking feeling.
“Reef, you’re scaring me,” I whisper, not sure what to make of this. Was every interaction we had in the past a lie and he’s really been getting to know me so he can somehow fuck me over for his job? If that was the case, why would he have warned me they were coming tonight?
His kind eyes meet mine, softening a little. “I didn’t want to do this out there in front of your staff and the rest of my crew.”
“Do what?”
From his pocket, he produces a piece of paper, a birth certificate. My birth certificate according to the name printed on it. “This is a fake, Sloane.”
I take a step back from him, my heart kicking up a beat. “What are you talking about?” When he doesn’t answer, I snatch the paper from him, looking it over. It appears perfectly normal to me. “I got my license with this. No one ever said it wasn’t real before, this is legit,” I snap back, panic filling my voice.
I see a flash of sympathy in his eyes, then pity. “You really don’t know?” he asks, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise as his eyes search my face for answers.
My heart hammers out of control in my chest, trying to process what he’s saying or not saying.
“You’re the missing girl, Ava Kingsley. It’s you, Sloane.” His voice holds a deathly serious edge, one that sends a shiver down my spine .
My eyes meet his, and I stumble back, hitting my desk with a thud. “W… what?” I stutter out, confusion swirling through my brain.
He produces more papers, laying them down on my desk in front of me. You’re a missing person; you have been since you were four. I have been following your case for years. It was a big deal at the time when you were taken, because of the high-profile position your father held. When the vice president is assassinated in his home and his child kidnapped, the story doesn’t die even after twenty-one years. Just today this intel came across my desk, Sloane. My boss wants this case solved, and I knew I had to intervene. This is you, I’m sure of it.”
I collect up the image, an artist impression of a girl who looks an awful lot like me. Then a photo of a little girl she couldn’t be any older than four. She has wispy white-blonde hair in pigtails and a sweet little pink dress on. She’s held in the arms of a woman who looks like she could be my identical twin. I drop the image like it just burned me. I can’t be that girl. The missing daughter of the vice president.
“Sir, we have searched the premises, no sign of the girl,” comes through his radio transmission. “All rooms are empty. I will gather the team and head on out.”
“Copy that,” Reef says back to him through the radio. Then his attention comes back to me. “I’m not sure why yet, but Commissioner Sedgwick has poured a lot of her resources into this case. She wants the missing girl found as a matter of urgency. And for whatever reason, she believes this club has something to do with her disappearance. She ordered the search tonight, she’s seen this image. Sloane, I could lose my job for coming to you and covering up what I have found. But fuck, that girl is you, isn’t it?”
I stare back at him, not wanting to give away that I’m actually freaking the fuck out right now. “It’s just a witch hunt. We don’t know anything,” I reply, my voice uneasy .
“Look over the papers, I think you will see what I did. A DNA test would prove it.” His hand comes to my waist, his eyes filled with sadness for me. “I’m sorry you had to find out like this. But if you are that girl, you could be in danger. I needed you to know before anyone else worked it out.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, not sure if I can look at those papers again. What he is saying is too much to process. I can’t be this girl they are searching for. I’m Sloane Stryker. I grew up here, this is my home. I have four big brothers, a twin. I looked like my mom, well, we had similar features anyway. “I’m not her,” I whisper, forcing the words out through clenched teeth.
“I think we both know you are.” He watches me, his hand tangling into mine. “If you need me, I’m here for you. Your secret is safe with me, but the longer it takes you to come to terms with this, the more danger you could be in. If our squad is already getting close, someone else could work it out as well.”
I pull my hand free, his kindness not what I need. “I don’t need your help,” I seethe, stalking away from him, my gaze dark and dangerous warning him to stay the fuck away from me. “You have a job to do, do it.”
“Sloane,” he calls after me, but I’m already halfway down the hall.
Shoving my way back into the main bar, Reef slinks past me, glancing back over his shoulder just once before he rejoins his SWAT crew. I don’t wait for them to leave before I take a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf and pour myself a glass. My hands shake uncontrollably as the liquid fills the tumbler. Help me . Fuck him, he never wanted to help me. He wants to be some big hero for his new boss, bring in the missing girl they’re all searching for. Well, I’m not her.
They leave via the front door, his eyes meeting mine for a split second just before he disappears out the door. I glare in his direction as I throw back the entirety of my drink. The burn down the back of my throat is just what I need to take away the pain he just left lodged in my chest.
Onyx and Romeo are at the bar within seconds of them leaving. “What the fuck was that, Sloane? I thought they were searching for signs of illegal prostitution or sex trafficking or drugs, not some missing girl,” Romeo asks, his voice filled with concern and confusion.
My head spins, and I take hold of the edge of the counter to keep myself upright. Fuck, I need another drink. I fill my tumbler again and throw it back until I feel strong hands on mine, stopping me.
“What are you doing? You think you can drink this shit away? Bet you’re about to pop some more fucking pills as well. We need to deal with this new crisis together. Not hide behind booze and pills,” Romeo tells me.
I pull out of Romeo’s hold on me. Fuck him for trying to tell me what to do, he has no idea what I’m going through right now. “What I put in my body is none of your fucking business.”
I quickly glance at Onyx—the silence between us heavy with unspoken words—and I know he understands we need to talk immediately. His expression is a stark reflection of my own dread. My soul hurts already, knowing he’s about to rip my heart to shreds with the truth.
“Give her some space,” I hear Onyx grumble at Romeo as I take off for my office. When did they start communicating?
As the door to my office clicks shut behind Onyx, a chill runs down my spine, making me turn to face him with a fresh wave of determination. “You knew all along, didn’t you.” I stare at Onyx in disbelief. I trust him more than anyone else in my life, even my brothers. But if this is true and he knew about it, he’s been lying to me forever.
“I promised your mom I would protect you at all costs. ”
My chest heaves, each breath a ragged gasp for air as pain radiates through me. “Answer me honestly. Am I this missing girl?”
His head drops, and I feel the weight he’s carrying. “Yes,” he murmurs, his deep voice barely audible.
My legs give way, trembling with exhaustion so much I drop to my knees. Every moment of my existence has been a carefully constructed lie.
He reaches for me, but I pull away. “Sloane, you have to understand, we did it for you. To protect you.”
“To protect me? I grew up in a fucking brothel! With a dad who was dealing drugs and running a biker gang. Whatever you were protecting me from couldn’t have been worse than the life I lived.”
His eyes darken to scary, and I know it was.
“What?” I mutter, needing to know it all.
With a soft thud, he drops to his knees beside me, his breath catching in his throat. “Your birth mother was scared for your life. There had been constant threats on all their lives, and they knew they were running out of time. Your father wouldn’t listen. He thought he had the situation under control, but your mother knew better. All I know is in a chance encounter, she ran into Katrina Stryker, and she promised to take you and protect you as if you were one of her own. You know what your mother was like, Sloane, she had a heart of gold.” His thumbs gently caress my cheeks as his eyes bore into mine, a heartbreaking gaze that shatters me all over again. “One week after you came to live with us, your entire family was assassinated in their home.”
A crushing pain overwhelms me, constricting my chest and making it hard to breathe. “My birth parents?” I whisper, imagining the horror .
“Yes. Your mother saved your life by giving you up to us. This club and Ravens Hollow might not have been the lap of luxury you would have grown up in with your vice president father. But Katrina loved you with everything she had, and she protected you until the day she died like she promised your mother she would.”
My bottom lip trembles, but I won’t let the tears that threaten fall. “She died because of me, didn’t she?” A silent sob escapes me, and my heart aches so badly I can barely breathe. All this time I had blamed Syd, but that night they were after me as well. They said something had been stolen from them and Syd and Katrina had to pay because of it. I remember it clearly, their cruel words etched into my brain.
“All I know is when you were fifteen, your mother hired me to watch over you behind Syd’s back. I had been working for him for years at that point and had no idea who you were. Katrina must have known they were getting closer to you. She came to me one night frantic, said I needed to promise her I would never let anything happen to you. She told me all that she knew, and I swore to her you would be safe with me.”
“They were after me that night, that’s why you made us run away instead of staying to help her, because you knew.” My tortured eyes meet his. They are just as haunted, remembering what happened the night we lost her, the night I was nearly raped and killed as well. If it wasn’t for Onyx, I would have been.
“I had to save you, Sloane.” He pulls me onto his lap, his strong arms encircling me, the warmth of his body close to mine as he hugs me.
“After Syd died, why didn’t you tell me the truth?” I eventually ask him, still not pulling away. I need him close, I need him to take this pain away .
“We couldn’t. I was scared if you knew the truth, then whoever was after you would work it out as well and come after you. As Sloane Stryker, you should have been safe.”
“Why did they stop? When they didn’t get me that night, why didn’t they come back?” I ask, needing to know what I’m up against.
“Jagger said he took care of it.”
I stare at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Shit went down that night, Sloane, people died, and it shifted the power of the underworld. Finding the lost girl was less important.”
“Until Reef worked it out. He knows, Onyx, and the commissioner is looking for me. It’s just lucky it was him she gave my case to. I think he set this whole thing up to clear my name and get her off our case. I think he’s going to lie for me. But how long do you think he can get away with that?”
“He won’t tell her.”
“He’s risking his job to keep this secret. I don’t know him all that well, and I know his job is important to him. How do you know we can trust him? If push comes to shove, what if he gives me up?”
His eyes come back to me with more determination. “You make sure he doesn’t. I saw the way he looked at you last night, you can manipulate him easily to do whatever you want. Use your charm to keep him on side with us.”
I blink back at him, I think in shock. Is he actually telling me to date the cop just so we can keep this a secret? “How the fuck am I supposed to continue on like nothing in my life has changed, when everything has?”
“You’re the strongest person I know, trouble. You will find a way.”
A bang sounds at the door. “Sloane, let me in,” comes Romeo’s booming voice, his patience obviously worn thin being kept in the dark .
I sigh heavily, not wanting to deal with his shit anymore tonight. He’s probably here to demand the date that he didn’t get to have because we were waiting for the police to arrive. I pull myself up to standing using my desk, and Onyx joins me. His arms wrap around me as he hugs me into his solid chest. The two of us stand together in silence as he holds me tightly, giving me everything I need right now, comfort only he can provide.
Romeo bangs again. “Sloane,” he calls, more desperate.
I huff out a breath then move out of Onyx’s hold on me, opening the door for Romeo.
He barrels through, looking like a raging bull on steroids. He collects his swipe card from my desk and pockets it. His dark eyes come to mine. “Time to tell me what the fuck is going on, doll face.”