Chapter Seventy-Two
I've been sat at this piano for two hours, gently tapping at random keys.
I should be helping sort out the move into here, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
I want to be out on the road, looking for her, but Prez stopped me.
He's right, I'd just be riding around aimlessly. I have no idea where she is.
"Ice."
I spin, hearing Mason behind me. "You okay, buddy?" I ask. It’s a fucking stupid question but I don't know what else to say to him.
He comes over and climbs onto the seat beside me. His fingers start to run across the keys. "You know how to play, bud?" I ask.
He doesn't look at me, just shakes his head. "Not really. I used to watch Nova play. I'm just trying to remember what she does." His voice is sad, and it fucking breaks me.
"I'm sorry, Mase. I wish I knew where she was," I tell him, pulling him to me, giving him a side hug.
"She's all I've got, Ice. I don't have anyone else," he whispers.
"Hey." I turn to face him, grabbing his face to look at me. "You're not alone, you've got all of us. I know you need Nova, and we're doing everything we can to find her, but until we get her back, you need to know you have us all."
He doesn't get a chance to respond, Nitro comes through the door with Wrath and Marissa, and they make a beeline for us. "Hey, buddy, you wanna come with me, let the guys talk?" Marissa reaches for Mase, but he holds onto my arm.
"No. If it’s about Nova, I'm staying," he states.
"Please, bud, we just need to talk about a few club bits," Wrath tries.
But Mason shakes his head. "No. You're lying to me, I know you're going to talk about Nova. I'm not leaving. You have to tell me too."
I look at Prez and VP, expecting them to be mad, but they're both trying to hide smiles. Prez looks at me, and I raise an eyebrow and shrug my shoulder.
"Okay, Mase. You can stay," Prez tells him. He walks to the side of the piano and leans on it, his eyes trained on mine. "We just received a call from her uncle."
I stand from my stool quickly, making sure I keep hold of Mason as I do. "What? When?"
"Just now. He said he'll tell us where she is if we hand over her money." He looks at me, and I shake my head.
"She's trusting us with that money. She's trusting that we'll make the right decision, Prez. What are you thinking?" I ask him.
"Give them it," Mason says.
"What?" I ask.
"I don't want it, she doesn't want it, hand it over. I want my sister back," he states, his eyes focussed on Nitro.
He steps forward, lifting Mason to stand on the stool.
"I promised your sister that I wouldn't hand that money over, Mase.
She made me promise that no matter what happens we make sure you get that money.
I know you want me to give it to them to get her back, but I don't think they'll tell us where she is even if we do. "
"So that means I'll never see her again?" he asks, tears running down his face.
"You know my brothers are the best at what they do, don't you?" Nitro asks him. Mason nods but doesn't speak.
"Data is tracking your aunt and uncle now, we'll know where they are, and when we have them, we'll know where Nova is. I promise you, bud, we're going to do everything we can to find her and get her back. You trust us?" he asks him.
Without hesitation, the kid responds, "Yes."
"Prez." We all turn as Data comes running through the door with his tablet in hand and a smile on his face. "I've found them, and I think Nova is with them. I've sent the address to your phones. Go get her," he says before giving Prez a nod.
"Mase, stay with Marissa, we'll be back as quick as we can," I tell him.
He jumps from the chair and walks over to Marissa. She kisses Wrath and then grabs Mason’s hand and leads him out the door.
"Let’s go, brothers.” Wrath calls the others.
“We need a van," Nitro states as he turns and rushes out the door.
***
We've been on the road for forty minutes when we pull up the bikes, cutting our engines. We don’t want these fuckers to know we’re coming. They think we're just transferring money and then sending someone to pick up Nova once they're happy they've received all of it.
I watch Prez pull out his phone and hit call. "Yeah, Data, we’re here. Send it now." Then he cuts the call.
"Now what?" Blades asks.
"Now we wait. Data will carry out a ghost transfer to make it look like we've sent the money across.
They'll think it's all there and then confirm.
Once they do that, they'll call me to tell me where she is.
It should only take a few minutes for their account to show the transaction and a positive balance," Nitro tells the brothers.
Seven minutes it took for their account to show the money. I thought I was going to have a fucking heart attack waiting. We're stood outside the building she’s apparently in, waiting for Prez to give us the nod.
"You okay, brother?" Wrath whispers.
I nod. "Yeah, I just need to have my woman back in my fucking arms, brother. I'm going crazy without her."
"Just a few more minutes and you'll have her. A few more minutes and she'll be in your arms." He places a hand on my shoulder, giving me the strength I don't seem to have.
"Alright, boys, Data thinks there are heat signatures at the back of the building. Tread quietly, we don't want them to know we're here until we are on top of them," Nitro tells us, and then indicates for us to follow him.
As we make our way double-file toward the back of the building, we're carrying guns. We don’t use them often, we don't want to get caught with them, but tonight we figured we'd need them.
As we head further in, we can hear raised voices.
We can't hear what they are saying, but I can definitely hear my girl and a man.
I swear to fucking god I'm going to kill them.
Prez must sense my building rage, because he stops and looks at me.
"Almost there, hold it together just a little longer, brother. "
I nod and blow out a breath, trying to calm myself, but the minute I hear the voices get louder, multiple people shouting at once, my stress levels increase.
And then we hear it, a single gunshot rings out through the entire warehouse.
I'm done, I break out into a run, my brothers hot on my heels, and I burst through the door at the end.
My heart sinks when I see her at the back of the room, beaten, bloody and bruised.
A gun in her hand, trained on her uncle as he kneels next to her aunt on the floor, a gunshot wound to her shoulder.
Neither of them are a threat, not right now.
My brothers make their way over to them as I race over to my girl.
She barely even notices me. "Dragonfly, I'm here, baby.
I've got you, give me the gun," I tell her.
She doesn't take her eyes off her aunt and uncle, and she's shaking.
I gently place my hand over hers, closing my fingers around the gun as I slowly pull it out of her hands.
She doesn't resist, just lets go and drops her hands.
I put the safety on her gun and then mine and drop both to the floor next to me.
"Dragonfly," I call out to her, my hands gently cupping her face and slowly turning it a little toward me.
She winces in pain, so I stop moving her and kneel in front of her, my hands cupping her cheeks.
"Dragonfly, I'm here, baby. I've got you.
" Her eyes slowly move to mine, and the moment she sees me, she crumbles.
Her body heaves through sobs, and tears stream down her face. "Thank you. I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I didn't think you'd come," she cries out.
"I'll always come for you, Dragonfly. I will always find you."