Chapter 12
TWELVE
At this point, I can’t even tell how much time has passed.
Was it a week? Two? A month? A whole year?
I don’t know. It’s all going so quickly, and the results are not showing just yet.
If I say that I’ve done everything in my power to track down Raven, only to help Arlo, I truly mean it.
I’ve had no luck, and it’s irritating me that I can’t be of more help.
No matter how much I want to be there for Arlo, I can’t do that unless he lets me.
He isn’t letting me. In fact, he’s completely withdrawn into himself, barely speaking, eating or talking.
I have to almost pull the words out of his mouth.
Despite drowning in his grief, he’s still as attentive as always.
He’s always bringing me my favorite snacks, making sure to leave his scent lingering in the apartment because he knows it makes me feel more secure, and every night, he holds onto me like he’s holding onto dear life.
“You can’t force these things, Blair,” Freya says, offering me a glass of wine. I decline with a shake of my head, slumping into the soft, plush sofa, staring into the ceiling.
“I know,” I groan, rubbing my temples. “I’m not trying to force him to talk to me. I’m trying to be patient, but I’m scared. He’s been pulling away from me more and more, and I don’t know how to go about this without being pushy or accidentally overwhelming him.”
Freya sips on her wine, staring out of the window.
Spring is near, and all the coldness is slowly disappearing.
The chilliness in the air promises a rather warm summer, and I’m uncertain whether or not to look forward to it.
“Look, Blair, there’s one thing you could do, but that would be…
how do I say this?” She pauses for a moment, pondering on the thought. “Evil on your side.”
“I’m listening.”
“You will leave.”
I blink. “Excuse me? Do you want me gone?”
She rolls her eyes — well, her eye. “Did I say that? No... Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Then, please, elaborate,” I scoff, but I’d be lying if I said her words didn’t pique my interest. Freya puts her empty wine glass on the coffee table between us, then leans in, skimming my face thoroughly.
“From what I’ve figured out about you, you work best under pressure. So, leave. Without a word. Well, maybe just leave a note or something so Arlo knows you didn’t get kidnapped again.”
A frown etches on my face. “Why would I do that? It would crush him.”
“Yes, but you’d also be able to actually focus on finding Paul and ending him. Meanwhile, Arlo would focus on tracking down Raven and dealing with that. You have Ekaterina-fucking-Kalashnikova on your side. She’s faked her death once before, so she can definitely help hide you.”
“I don’t know about this,” I bite the inside of my cheek. “Wouldn’t it be… I don’t know, a little too much to just disappear and leave Arlo hanging?”
“He’ll get angry, and Arlo works best when he’s angry.”
“Why do I get the feeling you just want me out of the picture?”
Freya snorts. “Please, if I wanted that, I would’ve gotten rid of you ages ago. Besides, you’ve been acting like a sitting duck.”
“That’s because you and Cove put me in charge and I’ve been struggling to get the hang of this. It’s not exactly a business you can take an online course for.”
“Sure, but that’s not an excuse to do nothing. So, get off your ass and get shit done. That’s the only way this will end.” she scolds.
“I’ll think about it.”
The idea as a whole seems terrible to me.
For one, if I were to just up and leave, there’s a possibility Arlo would never forgive me.
I’m not sure if I would ever be able to handle losing him.
He’s the light of my life, the only ray of sunshine in this dark, terrible world.
On the other hand, I can’t help the plan that already starts to form in my mind.
I’d be working with Kaya closely, and that means that the moment she spots Paul, I’ll know, and will have the opportunity to grab him before he can flee again.
The news has been covering his escape since the moment they realised he’d left the prison.
Everyone’s eyes are on his family, but he isn’t stupid.
He won’t just waltz back into his home as if nothing had happened.
However, this man has been a politician for decades. He has connections, he has dirt on people. There are plenty of his former colleagues who would have no other option but to help him out, unless they wanted their dirty laundry aired.
The longer I think about it, the less I hate the idea and the more appealing it becomes.
I can’t tell Arlo about the plan about running away and going after Paul myself, because he’ll protest. He’ll claim it’s unsafe, and that I’ll get hurt, but I could get hurt anywhere, at any time. He wouldn’t let me do it, but right now, I have no time to waste.
Damn you, Freya, for getting inside of my head.
“Fine, let’s say I go for it, what about the things here? You put me in charge. I can’t do both at once.”
Freya shrugs. “It’ll force Arlo to come back, and I’m good with that.”
I sigh. “You’ve truly thought this out, haven’t you? You have an answer for everything.”
“Well, yeah,” she chuckles. “I wouldn’t just offer something like this without thinking it through first.”
“That’s a good point,” I say, and as I’m about to start commenting further, the door of the base opens, then closes with a loud slam. Freya and I are in one of the bedrooms, and although I can’t see who the person is, I can tell by the clicking of high heels and the shift in the air.
The door swings open, and Kaya enters. She glances at Freya, though it’s brief, barely half a second, before her eyes settle on me.
“Good. You’re here. Something happened.”
My heart sinks to my feet. “Is it about Simmons?”
“No, but I think I’m closing in on him,” she says, then sits next to me. “Ever since you got kidnapped, I took the initiative to put a trail on other Alexander Hawks’ off-springs.”
I blink. “You mean his son and daughter?”
She nods. “And the boy… Well, he’s not relevant here. However, something happened to Theodosia.”
Immediately, I straighten in my seat. A wave of chills runs down the length of my spine, and something in my stomach twists and turns, as if I’m being repeatedly stabbed with a sharp, piercing knife.
“What is it?”
Kaya bites the inside of her cheek. “Her grandparents have just reported her missing.”
“What?!” I yell out, and Kaya nods.
“Yeah, apparently, she took the bus to school yesterday and hasn’t been seen since. She was not in school.”
“Wait, where is she? The States or in Greece?”
“That’s what’s bothering me, it happened in Greece.”
My whole body litters with goosebumps, bile rising in my throat, “Tell me everything.”
“Unfortunately, there’s not much to go on.
Around her house are some street cameras, and they definitely captured her getting in on the bus.
I saw her face and all, it’s definitely her.
Then, I tried following the bus, but there are some stops that don’t have any security footage, and then the next thing we see is the school.
However, she never got off the bus, and she was definitely not inside. ”
“Fuck,” I breathe out, running my fingers through my hair. “It can’t be a coincidence, can it?”
“Coincidence takes a whole lot of planning, Blair,” Kaya says, and the words echo in my mind.
“Who do you think did it?”
“I don’t think it was Simmons,” she starts explaining, and she has my full attention.
Freya, to her credit, remains silent, though she’s equally as invested in the conversation.
“Because he’s way in over his head right now.
Adding the kidnapping of a teenager; in a foreign country to his very long list of criminal charges, is not something he can afford to do.
Besides, there’s not a single chance that man has left the States. ”
“He could’ve paid someone else to do it,” I say, but Kaya looks unconvinced.
“Why would he bother with Theodosia? He has his hands full. If anything, he should be coming directly towards you, not a fifteen-year-old who isn’t even in this country.”
“Then, who do we have left?”
“Raven,” Freya speaks for the first time since Kaya got here, and judging by the way Kaya glances at her, I know she thinks the same thing. My eyes close, and I feel a migraine incoming.
Kaya rolls her eyes, “That’s just fucking perfect. It means he was able to leave the country without anyone spotting him.”
“To no one’s surprise,” I drawl out. “He is very, very good at what he does. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been with the organization for as long as he has. To make matters even worse, we have no one in Greece to try and find her,” I say, a nauseating feeling consuming me.
“You don’t,” Kaya shrugs. “I do.”
I blink. “Well, are you going to speak?”
“Godfathers of the Night.”
“Fuck, you’re friends with the Greek mafia?” Freya all but jumps out of her seat, her eye widening almost comically.
“Mmm, their daughter is one of my closest friends. So, I can have her ask around. However, unless Theodosia already has ties with the mob, the chances of them helping are slim. They can find her, then the rest is up to us.”
“That’s all I can ask for, honestly,” I sigh. “Fuck, I hope she’s okay.”
“Are you going to go there personally to save her?” Freya questions.
I shake my head. “No, I don’t want to meet her. I want her as safe or close to that as possible right now. We have to work quickly.”
“Then, before I actually contact my friend, how about you try going about this through another route?”
My eyes snap to Kaya’s, and I see a plan forming inside of her head. “There’s one man that you know who could find her. After all, finding people and infiltrating organizations used to be his full-time job.”
“You mean X.”