Chapter 30 Declan
Someone has taken Xavier from me. Someone has what is mine. Someone will pay. I’ll bleed them out one drop at a time and make it last for days. I’ll burn this city down to find him. My skin is too tight, and I feel like I’m going crazy. Sitting here is not finding him.
“I found something,” Ronan says, breaking into my thoughts. He points to the screen. “I got a partial image from Xavier’s phone. I matched it to the mall’s security footage. This is the guy who took him. I’m running facial recognition now.”
“How long?” I ask as I stare at the dead man on the screen.
“It’ll take as long as it takes.”
“I want to know now,” I yell. Why doesn’t he understand that we need to hurry? How is he so fucking calm?
“I knew there was something off about that guy,” Liam says, pointing to the screen.
“Who is he?” I round on Liam.
“That’s the fucker at the church that I told you about. He seemed sketch, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. Guess we know now.”
“Ronan.” My dad says.
“I’m on it.” Ronan types on his keyboard. His fingers fly across the keys. I want him to type faster.
“Kevin Dowser. Twenty-six years old. He lives in an apartment with his mother on the east side. He has a white transit van registered in his name. Conor, look for that in the mall footage while I check for family properties.”
Conor pulls another laptop toward him and starts reviewing the footage. It’s taking too long. The need to get to Xavier is drowning me.
“We are going to find him.” Aunt Alessia says from beside me. I nod but don’t speak. The only thought that comes to mind is, are we going to find him in time? If Xavier dies, I’ll no longer be fit for public consumption. The monster that lives in me will fully take over.
“Finn, you come with me. We need to be ready to go as soon as Ronan has the target.” Kieran and Finn leave the room.
I know they will get the gear and weapons we need.
I look down at my hands. These are the weapons that I want to use to end the fucker’s life.
I’ll wrap my fingers around his neck and squeeze until the life drains from his eyes.
Anything that he does to hurt Xavier, I’ll give it back to him tenfold.
It seems that Ronan is taking forever to find what we are looking for.
I check my phone. Thirty-six minutes. It’s been thirty-six minutes since Kenji told me Xavier was missing.
Thirty-six minutes since my world stopped spinning.
I knew he was mine when I first saw him.
What started as my obsession turned into fascination, and more.
I can’t even explain to myself why he is it for me.
He is so much more than I deserve, even though he thinks it’s the other way around.
When I get him back, and it will be when, not if, I’ll never let him out of my sight. No one will take him from me again.
“Got him on the mall footage,” Conor says. “The van was parked in a delivery drop-off area that led straight to the hall with the restrooms. It left and went south.”
“That tracks. His grandfather owns a hunting cabin. The man’s dead, but the deed was never transferred. I’ll track the van through CCTV en route.” The wall screen flashes image after image of the van carrying Xavier, farther and farther away from me.
I barely hear him reference the streets. I’m already walking out of the room. Aunt Alessia stops me. It takes every ounce of restraint I have to not explode. “Bring him home.” I nod and continue walking to the garage, where Kieran and Finn are waiting.
Dad slips his suit jacket off and exchanges his dress shirt for a T-shirt that Finn hands him.
Kieran has already changed. We each grab a tactical vest and our weapons of choice.
I grab four throwing knives and a Sig Sauer P220 .
45. It’s my handgun of choice. Liam loads his Heckler & Koch G36C.
We are all trained in close-quarter combat.
Our parents made sure to hire the best for our training.
The lessons started when we were in our early teens, when Alessia was sure about our diagnosis.
We trained with specialists in every field of combat.
I used to think it was overkill for what we do, but today I am thankful for it.
“I followed the van’s movement as far as I could on the traffic cams, and it’s heading toward the cabin.
ETA for us is forty-three minutes.” Ronan, still holding his laptop open in one hand, grabs a handgun from the table without looking at it.
He then slides into the back of the black SUV closest to us.
“Let’s go.” I grit out. We split up between two large blacked-out SUVs.
Me, Dad, Conor in one, and Kieran, Liam, Finn, and Ronan in the other.
Conor hands us the earpieces for our comms. Dad pulls out of the garage and follows Kieran down the long drive.
Forty minutes now stand between me and getting my A Ghrá back.
Once I have him back, I won’t ever lose him again. Fuck his autonomy.
I call Taylor. “Call off the search, we have his location.”
“Where do you want me?”
“Meet us at the compound. And Taylor, don’t ever let me see Kenneth again.”
“Yes, sir,” He says before hanging up.
I check my watch. Thirty-four minutes.
“When we get there, Declan, your objective will be getting to Xavier. Leave this bastard to us.” Dad says.
“It’s my kill.”
“And none of us will take that from you. But I know you, you are going to want to make his pain last.”
“Xavier will need to be removed as quick as possible. He is going to be traumatized enough without seeing you skin someone alive.” Conor adds.
Twenty-nine minutes.
I lay my head back against the headrest and close my eyes.
Was it really just this morning that I had him next to me?
It seems like so long ago. My mind is crowded with my thoughts.
Usually, when I’m like this, I either find an underground fight or get to play with one of our targets.
It’s the only way to sate the monster prowling through my brain.
Now I am stuck waiting to release him on the fucker that has Xavier.
Fifteen minutes.
Dad follows Kieran as he turns down a dirt road.
Zero minutes.