Chapter 24 Mace
Mace
Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t take kindly to being told what to do. So, when my mother’s last words were to play nice, of course I put all my energy into doing the exact opposite.
I spent the flight home from New York with my brothers, planning our next move against Barrett.
Even the news, when it came through, that Alice had passed away didn’t disrupt our plotting for more than a minute or two.
We poured ourselves some whiskey, and when we clinked glasses, the grief I’d been dreading didn’t come.
By the time we arrive back in Chicago, we’ve agreed our next move.
The plan to run interference and delay the completion of works at Barrett’s estate is simple enough, and gives me time to make Lily my number one priority.
I even get Ash’s approval. He’s going to need me on my A-game and for that, I need to resolve my feelings for the only woman I’ve ever considered opening myself up to.
I need to see Lily. And if she wants to know my name, I’ll tell her myself. All she has to do is ask. Whatever happens after that, will happen because we’re both fully informed. My first challenge is getting her to meet me, but it’s not going to be as easy as it was before.
Lily’s mad at me, even more so now that she’s found the tracker on her car, but when I’d kissed her outside the motel, she’d kissed me back.
If I’d known my last-ditch attempt to find resolution with my mother would fail so miserably, I would have dragged Lily all the way back to the mountain lodge.
With that opportunity missed, I come up with another plan. It’s going to risk igniting Lily’s fury one more time, but I’ll take my chances.
Jake, our head of security, had sent one of our men to collect everything I’d left behind at the lodge, minus the items I’d already slipped into Lily’s bag.
There was no way I was going to leave behind her used underwear for someone else to collect, but I still needed to give Lily back the dress.
The easiest way to do that was to drop it off at her apartment.
Technically, I’m invading her space again, but Lily knows me better than Alice.
I haven’t played nice with her from the very start.
After leaving the dress and invitation, I park close to her apartment and wait for her to come home.
I tap into the listening device in her living room so I can hear her reaction. And it’s as colorful as I’d imagined.
“If you’re still here, Shade,” she says, “I should warn you that this latest stunt has royally backfired. I don’t care what your intentions are, or what’s in that damn envelope.” She hisses out a breath. “I want to punch you so badly right now!”
Her voice grows louder as she leaves the bedroom. She opens the fridge and I’m smiling as I picture her looking at the chocolate I’d left. “I swear, I might just kill you,” she says, but there’s a hint of affection in her tone.
It’s when I hear her say that she’ll be going out on Saturday that I relax back in my car seat. Mission accomplished.
I’m nervous as I lean against the balcony and train my eyes on the entrance to the VIP area, desperate for my first glimpse of Lily.
She’s wearing her green velvet dress, and even though I’ve only seen a grainy image of her on CCTV, she’d looked stunning as she left her apartment.
I’d do anything for that woman. I need her to know that.
Sipping a whiskey, I check the time. She should be here by now, so it’s only reasonable that I check her Uber account. My heart sinks. The car dropped her off on Clark Street. What the fuck?
My fingers fly across my screen as I begin the hunt.
There are a lot of cameras in the area, and the place is heaving with Saturday night revelers.
If Lily thinks she’s going to give any other guy the benefit of that dress…
I only briefly consider the possibility that she’s rejected me completely. She’s playing.
On a hunch, I check out her social media, but it’s when I switch to Kaitlyn’s that I breathe a sigh of relief. There’s a photo of them outside a bar. Lily’s smug expression says it all.
“OK, Slayer. Let the hunt begin,” I whisper.
I could race out to find her, but the trail Lily is leaving seems a little too obvious. I pull up CCTV around the bar she’d posed outside, and in a matter of moments, catch her and her friend walking straight past.
Taking another swig of whiskey, I tail the pair to a waiting taxi cab. She’s not using an Uber and when I check her card transactions, nothing shows up. I could try to hack into Kaitlyn’s accounts, but that would take time and resources I don’t have, and my guess is they’ll pay cash.
“Fuck.”
My attempts to keep track of their cab is futile, and unease creeps up my spine.
I try to ignore it. How many times had Lily and Kaitlyn been out clubbing on a Saturday night before I started following their every move?
Lily knows what she’s doing – clearly. The only thing I can do is wait for her to drop some more breadcrumbs so I can pick up the trail again.
She did threaten to kill me for breaking into her apartment, and fuck, I’m dying here.
“You look like shit,” Calder says as he slides up next to me.
I’m leaning over the balcony to the dance floor below. She could turn up here. And if she’s mad because I didn’t extend the invite to Kaitlyn, they’d appear down there.
“Can you ask Simon to call me if Lily Kendrick shows up.”
“Are you still chasing her?”
He sounds genuinely shocked. I’ve never chased after a woman for this long, and I’ve certainly never held onto them.
“Calder, just ask him,” I repeat, my patience too frayed to be polite.
“Done,” my friend says a moment later. I can feel his eyes on me. “Sorry to hear about your mom.”
“Alice wasn’t my mom.”
Calder rests his elbows on the balcony next to me. “So, she isn’t the reason you’re in a pissy mood?” he says. It’s a rhetorical question so I ignore it. “Then it’s just the girl with the auburn hair and the peachy ass that you take one look at and just want to…”
I turn my head slowly as he mimes biting into a piece of fruit. “If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to crowd surf after falling from a great height, I’d be happy to satisfy your curiosity.”
Calder grins at me. “Mace, you can’t even satisfy your girl.”
I close my eyes and swipe my tongue slowly across my lips as I straighten up. I won’t go as far as hauling Calder over the balcony, but punching him is a compromise I’m willing to make.
My friend’s laughter reaches me from a safe distance. He’s already backed off. “I’m going,” he says. “But give me a shout if you need back up.”
The fucker winks, and I return to scowling at my cell phone.
I hate not being in control, and this is torture.
Lily’s played me at my own game and she’s won.
Fine. I don’t care. We can talk about how reckless she’s being later.
But this ends now. I call her. She doesn’t answer.
No surprise, so I tap out a message ordering her to tell me where the fuck she is.
A minute passes, and either she’s dancing and hasn’t noticed my attempts to speak to her, or she’s ignoring me. To kill time, I keep refreshing Kaitlyn’s Instagram account as if that will summon her next post. And after an excruciating wait, it does.
The photo is another selfie of the two of them outside a nightclub. Syndella should have been shut down years ago, and this had better be another red herring. Lily is going to be in so much trouble if she–
I stop analyzing the photo long enough to register the caption I should have read straight away.
Help! Now Shade!
I spring away from the rail and barrel straight into Calder. “What’s the quickest way to get to Syndella?” I bark.
“That dive?” he asks, but the second our eyes meet, he knows this isn’t the time for quips. “Go out the back and turn right. Do you need backup?”
The truth is I don’t know, and I don’t want to waste time scoping the place. “Can you spare Simon?”
Calder’s already putting his phone to his ear. “He’ll be waiting at the back door with two extra guys. Do you want me to join you?”
I’m already stepping past him. “This isn’t your mess.”
Simon meets me at the door and hands me a gun. As promised, he’s with another two of Calder’s guys.
“Tell me what I need to know,” Simon says.
I shove the gun into my waistband beneath my jacket as he leads the way through the back alleys.
“Lily and Kaitlyn are in the club as far as I can tell. Kaitlyn posted a message that just says help,” I explain.
“I don’t know what we’re walking into, but you should know that I’m ready to kill someone whether they deserve it or not. ”
Second to my fear that Lily has been harmed, is the real possibility that I’ll do more than break bones if someone has so much as laid his eyes on her for too long.
“I understand. We’ll contain the situation,” he promises, “even if that means containing you.”
We stop in front of a set of fire doors covered in graffiti, and Simon hammers a fist against it. It opens immediately. The nightclubs don’t share security, but they do share intel. They’re already expecting us, and the bouncer who lets us in simply gives Simon a respectful nod.
“Try to keep it discreet,” he says.
Simon glances at me. My eyes are laser-focused and my mouth cuts a thin line across my face. I’m on a short fuse, and just the suggestion that we should keep things civil has me ready to explode.
“We’ll be in and out before you know it,” Simon tells him as he gestures for me to head to doors that take us into the main dance area.
The place smells of stale beer and the décor is past its best, but the promise of cheap alcohol has drawn in a crowd. Strobe lights pick up writhing bodies on the dance floor, but I don’t see Lily.
“We need to find them,” I yell over the heavy beat of music.
“We’ll split up, but I’ll stay with you,” Simon says. To his colleagues, he adds, “You two check the dance floor. We’ll take the tables and booths.”
I don’t need to ask if the others would recognize Lily. All the staff at Heatrush know to watch for her and Kaitlyn. Calder always has my back despite his smart mouth.
I prowl the edges of the club as I search the shadows untouched by the spotlights on the dance floor.
My gaze flicks from one table to the next, one profile to another.
I don’t see her. I dare a quick glance at my cell.
There are no more messages from Kaitlyn.
What if they’ve gone? What if we’re too late.
Simon puts a hand to his earpiece. “We’ll be right there.”
I remain tense. “What have they found?”
“They have Kaitlyn. She says Lily was over by the booths,” he says, pointing to the opposite side of the dance floor. “They got separated.” The situation sounds containable, until he adds. “On purpose.”
I’m on the move, and I take a direct route across the dance floor in the direction Simon pointed towards. I elbow sweaty bodies out of the way, not caring who I manhandle or who I upset. Simon is right behind me and his job is to threaten the partygoers brave enough to challenge me.
The crowd shows no sign of thinning and I’m wondering if a couple of gun shots in the ceiling would be a more effective way of clearing a path, but then we’re through.
I check left and right, and see Kaitlyn emerging with Simon’s guys.
Her tear-stained eyes meet mine for a heartbeat, and then I follow where her finger points.