Chapter 21
21
ANTHONY
I t’s been an entire day. One fucking day since Tatum was stolen from me.
I haven’t slept. I have barely eaten. My mind is too focused on finding him, on bringing him home. I can’t think of anything else. I’m consumed by it, with a rage that is boiling inside of me.
This morning they delivered his finger in a box. Bane almost shot through the wall, howling with frustration when he saw what it was.
I could have murdered him in that moment.
Stupid, stupid man. I will never let him live this down. Thankfully he’s made himself scarce. I haven’t seen him since he rushed out, muttering something about knives, blowtorches, and kidneys.
I have no idea what he plans to do.
And I couldn’t care less. As long as he brings me Tatum back.
“Where the fuck is he!” I shout, my fists balled on my desk, my eyes flashing with frustration. “Where the fuck is he?”
“We’ve checked all their known properties. We have Robbie looking into it from the FBI side of things. But we just don’t know,” Luca says.
“That’s not good enough,” I hiss.
Sebastian leans against the fireplace, wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt with dark jeans, looking completely unbothered by this.
“I could help now, if you’d like.”
My gaze flashes up to him. “Now? And why the hell didn’t you answer my calls earlier?”
“I was at Disneyland. I wasn’t checking my phone. Trust me. I’d rather have been here. The screams of happiness…” he shudders.
I feel my heart squeeze, and I give him a clipped nod. To be honest, I was surprised he agreed to cut his vacation short and come at all. Apparently Tatum had quite the effect on his Matty.
He has that effect on everyone.
“Fine. Please help us find him. I’ll be in your debt. Again.”
Sebastian nods and then pulls out his laptop and gets to work, his fingers flying across the screen. Along with all the other shady shit he does, no one can hack a system like Sebastian LeClerc.
I try to just sit there and wait, but I can’t fucking stand it. Patience is not my virtue at the moment.
“Luca,” I bite out and nod toward the door. He follows me outside, and I flick my wrist out. “Cigarette.”
He pulls out his pack and hands me one, pulling out his electric lighter and igniting the end.
I take a drag and feel the smoke enter my lungs.
“You may need something stronger, Boss,” he says, and I shake my head.
“I want to be clear-headed when I find out where they are. I’m going to murder them all and then burn their bodies to ash.”
Luca nods and then stares out across the gardens.
“I’ll come with you.”
“No, you’ll stay here. If something does happen to me, you need to take over.”
He hesitates and then lights up his own cigarette. “Fuck. That’s depressing as hell.”
“It’s the reality of what we do.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want this, Anthony. I never have. I’ve only stayed to be close to you. To the boys. To Laura.”
“And she’s gone. Just like Tatum.” My voice cracks, and I take another inhale.
“He’s not gone. We will find him and then we’ll kill them all.”
“He’s hurt. He’s alone…” my voice trails off, my eyes starting to sting. Luca doesn’t acknowledge it, just stares out into the distance and blows smoke from his mouth.
“We’ll find him.”
“We have to.”
“We will.”
We finish our cigarettes, and I take a deep breath, my mind no longer wandering and lost, but focused once more. Finding Tatum.
I will find him.
Sebastian suddenly appears from the shadows and he runs his tongue along the front of his teeth, looking a bit smug. I straighten and face him, hope bubbling in my gut.
“It’s done. I just messaged you the coordinates. Would you like me to come? Matty wanted to do Disneyland fireworks tonight, but I wouldn’t mind a little murder beforehand. Really gets the blood flowing. He won’t mind waiting here for me. Anyway, he’ll be upset if Tatum dies, and I don’t like anything upsetting my sunshine.”
“Yes.” I turn to Luca. “I need twelve men, armed heavily. I’ll be ready to leave in five. And text Bane. Tell him he’s been located.”
And then Sebastian and I are striding toward the SUV, my eyes laser focused.
I’m going to bring him home and nothing will ever harm him again.