Chapter 25
Noel
My mind is buzzing, every instinct I’ve got howling like a fucking siren.
I didn’t see her message until it was too late.
Tinsel
The guys went to help hotel security and I’m running down to check something with BCE before the gala starts. See you there! xo
If I wasn’t scared to death I’d have grinned at the little xo she sent, but fuck me, I can’t do anything but drive.
I barrel through traffic, headlights flashing off brick and steel as I tear down the alley behind the Stargazer.
Shortcut.
No time for pretty entrances.
Not when my comms are lit up and Kai and Ego are reporting from every floor like men possessed.
“Where the fuck is she?” I growl into the mic clipped to my jacket.
Balor was right to ping me the moment her tracker went still.
Not offline—still.
No movement for too long.
Not in a place that should be quiet.
She was supposed to be prepping for the gala, not disappearing off the grid.
Not vanishing when my back’s turned for one damn second.
I was so sure the lead with Patrick Greer was going to be something.
The guy had stalker written all over him—sweaty, too-thin, the type who posts fan videos of himself strumming sad indie songs with captions like
"This one’s for her."
But he was just a creep. A harmless one.
Well. Harmless now.
I left him with a black eye and a warning he won’t forget.
And it bought me nothing.
Nothing but wasted time and the growing sense that I’d made the wrong fucking call.
See, the chip I installed in the bracelet I gave her only works at full capacity when I’m within the same structure.
“She must have left the suite when we went to check on an issue,” Kai pants over the comm.
“We’re sweeping the west wing and ballroom floors now. Ego’s checking the staff halls. No sign yet.”
Goddamn it.
The second I cross the threshold into the Stargazer’s security grid, I know I’ll be able to pinpoint her exact location.
“Get me eyes on all storage-level feeds,” I bark. “Kai, Ego, converge on sublevel three. Everyone to me.”
The moment I shove through the staff entrance, her signal flares to life.
The data comes in hazy at first—thick walls, too much interference—but the moment I pass the doorway and move into the hall? It’s all live feed.
One of the south corridors.
Utility access, maybe?
Fuck. She’s not moving.
I take off at a sprint, boots pounding marble and concrete as I blow past shocked hotel staff and event security.
I don’t care who’s watching.
I don’t give a fuck who is attending this gala tonight—they can all wait.
Someone took my girl.
God himself could be sipping champagne in the ballroom.
But I’ll still blow the whole fucking building sky-high if that’s what it takes to get her back safe and sound.
“I’m coming for you, Tinsel,” I snarl under my breath, heart hammering like a war drum.
“Hold on.”
I knew something felt off.
I knew.
I should’ve never left her.
Not even with backup. Not even for a minute.
But I have no time to beat myself up right now. Holly needs me.
My knuckles go white as I tighten my grip on my gun.
“Everyone to me!” I bark over the comm.
Boots thunder overhead and down hallways. But I’m already moving faster.
The signal’s stronger now, steady.
And yeah, it’s coming from deep—somewhere in the staff storage levels.
A place only employees and security have clearance for. Which means whoever took her has access.
My blood goes cold. Then boils.
I tear through the hall like a man possessed. Security guards scatter. People gape.
I reach the stairwell. Jump the last three steps. My boots slam against the tile of the basement level.
The signal’s so fucking clear now.
I’m close.
“Sublevel. West corridor,” I snarl to Kai and Ego. “If you see anyone down here, they don’t fucking belong. Take them out. I don’t care if they’re wearing a damn chef’s hat.”
A door slams down the hall.
Then a scream—muffled. Weak.
Tinsel.
I growl under my breath, heart pounding like a war drum.
“Hold on, Tinsel. Just hold on.”