Chapter Sixteen
E than
I quickly walk into Shawn and Emory’s house and make my way down the hallway to the living room.
People are everywhere—we have been moving them non-stop.
I stayed on the property making sure there were no more bombs.
Emory is talking to Shawn and I can feel something isn’t right.
As soon as I stepped into the house I knew something was off I just can’t fucking figure out what it is.
I quickly put my gun in the back of my pants as I walk around the couch and stop. Emory stops talking to Shawn and turns and looks up at me. “Where is she?” I ask in a shaky voice. I need to see her.
Shawn wraps one of his arms around Emory’s waist and pulls her into him. She rests one of her hands on his chest. She takes a deep breath which makes my heart sink. Something is fucking wrong.
Emory shakes her head, and I can see the tears building in her eyes.
“Emory, where is Jennifer?”
“She isn’t here, Ethan.”
“What? I told Oliver to go get her hours ago. She should be here.” I can’t hide my panic. There is no reason why she shouldn’t fucking be here.
“Ethan.” Shawn says my name in a low voice, trying to get my attention. And I have learned he only does this when he has something important to tell me.
I was on the fucking property, and I checked everything, so I know for a fact that she and Oliver are not there. Where the fuck are they?
“What?”
“Oliver took Jenn.” Shawn states calmly. But I can see his breathing is becoming more unsteady as he tightens his grip on Emory.
“I know. I told him to bring her here,” I reply a little louder, feeling my body start to shake.
“No, Ethan,” Emory and Shawn both say at the same time.
“He took Jenn.” Shawn isn’t able to hide his own anger.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I snap, feeling my emotions crumble.
“He’s been working for Tristan this whole time, Ethan,” Shawn tells me in a pained and stern voice. The fuck he means, working for Tristan?
This is why Tristan was so calm. This how he knew where she was and how they got the metal gate open. Oliver betrayed us
“Where the fuck is he?” I yell feeling my entire body shaking now. I tighten my hold on the gun.
“In Shawn’s office waiting for you,” Emory says softly. She is scared. I am scared ... we are all scared.
That’s how he was always ahead of me. Why he never showed any fear with anything I did. Why burning the studio didn’t affect him the way I thought it would. He knew. He fucking knew all of our plans.
I nod and turn to walk down the hallway, but Emory grabs my arm stopping me.
I look down at her trying to catch my own breath.
Shawn kisses the side of Emory’s head then quickly leaves the room heading toward his office.
I watch the tears roll down Emory’s face.
“Ethan, you have to get her back,” she whispers to me.
“I know.” This isn’t her fault, this isn’t Shawn’s fault. This is my fucking fault. I trusted the wrong person.
Emory and I both stand in silence for a moment, searching each other’s eyes. I can see that she wants to tell me something. “Ethan, she’s pregnant,” Emory whispers. I almost didn’t hear the words coming out of her mouth.
“What?” I ask, needing validation, needing to know that I heard her right.
Jenn has been acting weird for a while with me and I thought maybe what I did to her father and his men was finally catching up to her. I thought maybe she was second guessing loving me, but I never thought in a million years that she was keeping this kind of secret from me.
More tears escape Emory’s eyes and roll down her face. She tightens her grip on my arm. “She told me this morning. She was waiting to tell you” She was waiting until the right time to tell me that our lives are about to change.
“She’s pregnant.” I say it out loud more to myself than to her.
Emory nods. The tears continue to roll down her face. “You’re going to be a father, Ethan.”
Emory releases my arm. I nod at her because right now I have no idea what to do. I turn and start walking down the hallway toward Shawn’s office. I reach to my back and grab the gun that I just put in the back of my jeans.
I quickly make my way to Shawn’s office. Shawn and Oliver are both standing up. Shawn has Oliver against the wall holding him by the throat. Oliver is holding tightly onto Shawn’s arm.
Oliver’s eyes grow wider as I make my way over to Shawn’s side.
I slowly lift my gun and take a small step forward, placing the gun against his forehead. Shawn releases his hold and takes a step back. I move into his place, lifting my free hand and grabbing Oliver’s throat.
“Where the fuck is she?” The rage and guilt are clashing together inside of me. I should have known something wasn’t right with Oliver. But he has been with us for years. He helped save Emory when we found her in the room.
I never thought he would betray us, that he would betray me. I never saw it coming and now I’m paying for trusting him. I’m paying for actually believing that he was family.
“Ethan I—” Oliver starts. I shake my head, making him stop. I don’t need to hear his fucking excuses, and I am done playing games. That’s all this ever was—a fucking chess game. And I am sick and tired of it.
“No. No, I am not playing any fucking games. Oliver, where the fuck is she?”
“With him,” Oliver states in a shaky voice. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
I open my eyes and look at the man that I thought was my friend. He is scared. Good, he should be. He should know this is not going to end well for him. “Tristan. She is with Tristan?” I snap at him.
He nods. “Yes.”
“Where?” Shawn asks the question before I can.
“At his penthouse,” Oliver offers quickly. I don’t know why I’m starting to see relief in his eyes. Does he think because I used to call him family that I will show him mercy? He lost that title and everything that goes with it the moment he took my fiancée from me.
“Why?” I whisper, my voice just as shaky as his. I want to know why he did this. Why he betrayed me. Why he betrayed us . But I know he won’t tell me and even if he did his fucking excuse would just piss me off more.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Oliver states with so much guilt and shame. But it doesn’t change the fact that he gave Jenn to Tristan. That we trusted him and in the end he used that trust to fuck us over. This is all because of him. The bombs. Everything.
He took everything we planned and used it against us. He must not have felt that guilty and ashamed when he took her. He could have come to us, to me, but he didn’t. He became Tristan’s little bitch.
I release my hold on his throat and take a small step back. I keep the gun against his forehead as I watch the tears roll down his face.
“I’m sorry I trusted you,” I state as I pull the trigger. I feel his blood cover me as his body slides down the wall. I take several steps back and look down at his limp body. His hands are at his sides, his head to the side. His eyes are open, but the light is gone.
I feel my heart racing as I feel a hand grab mine. I look over and see Shawn. His eyes are on me as he slowly takes the gun from my hand.
“We have to get her back, Shawn.” I can’t hide my fear or my pain. I fucking need her. I love her. And not only that but she is pregnant with my child.
I can only imagine what Tristan will do to her and the baby growing inside her when he finds out that she’s pregnant with my child.
“I know,” Shawn says. That’s all he says because, honestly, I think we are both lost for words. I feel my heart aching with knowing that I trusted Oliver with Jenn. And Jenn trusted me.
“She’s ... she’s—” I can’t even get the words out. But he nods. Emory told him. Of course she told him. This changes everything.
Emory comes to my other side and grabs my hand. I keep my eyes on Shawn as I try to catch my breath.
“We will get her back, Ethan. I promise” Shawn and Emory, both promise me at the same time. They are trying to reassure me but right now everything is crashing and burning inside me.
She is the only one that can calm the darkness inside me and now she is gone. She is with that prick. The one that has been abusing and raping her for years.
I made her a fucking promise, a promise I will do anything to keep, even if it means giving up my life to save hers I will. I fucking will.