Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
ALARIC
“The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.” - William Shakespeare
The sound of monitors beep all around me. My eyes are like sandpaper as I slowly open them. My vision is a little blurred and I blink a couple of times to get a clearer view.
The last thing I remember is getting the living shit beat out of me and seeing Celeste’s face through swollen eyes.
I was pushed forward and tried so hard to reach her.
A gun shot rang through my ears and I could feel a bullet puncture my skin.
Her scream was full of agony before she was suddenly on her knees holding me.
After that, everything went blank. I don’t remember anything that happened after that.
How I got here is beyond me or even how long I’ve been out cold.
A groan rumbles from my lips as I shift to get up from a lying position.
The drugs must be wearing off as the pain radiates over my chest and ribs.
Great, a reminder of how pathetic I am for getting my ass handed to me.
The fucker cheap-shotted me. The room begins to spin and hands gently press against my arm.
“Take it easy! Please don’t barf all over me!” I hear Monroe warn as she helps me back to a lying position.
A call button is pushed above my head, no doubt signaling for the nurse. Once my vision clears, I notice Monroe is hoovering like a mother hen and Beckett is sitting over by the window with a concerned look on his face.
“How long have I been out?” I wince at my scratchy throat, instantly needing water for how dry it is.
As if she can read my thoughts, Monroe grabs a water bottle and hands it over to me. I take a long pull from it, like I’ve gone months without water.
“You’ve been knocked out for a week. Doctors said it was normal with everything your body endured. They said that it needed time to heal,” Beckett interjects.
I look around wondering where Celeste is.
If I’ve been out for a week, she must have had to step out to deal with the mess that occurred or maybe left for food or something.
A nurse walks in giving me a gentle smile.
She checks me over to see if any of my dressings need to be changed and also changes out my IV bags.
She then pumps some more of the good stuff to help with the pain.
For the next hour, the two of them fill me in on the aftermath and uproar of the office.
Apparently the Director was working with the Albanian Mafia, and low and behold with The Jawbreaker, Oliver.
It’s like all of them were intertwined at some point.
I didn’t believe it at first because he was so gung ho about getting the case closed, but he didn’t expect Celeste or any of the girls to come out alive.
He wasn’t part of the initial kidnapping, but he was presented with an offer, and apparently couldn’t resist it.
The Albanian Mafia leader was in cahoots with Bianca, who’s Celeste’s stepmom.
She wanted to eliminate Celeste from the picture.
Dalmat had heard about Oliver and somehow made contact.
He advised how she was a strip club owner full of sin and they needed her wiped from existence.
They paid him handsomely for the good work he was doing for the city.
Stevens was then contacted by Bianca and made some sort of agreement.
Any information we had on Oliver was relayed back to Dalmat.
When the time came for the huge event at the club, the Director had provided the information to Oliver and where to avoid cameras and who to watch out for. Little did anyone know, Celeste had her own plans and was prepared for Oliver’s kidnapping.
It makes more sense now why Stevens was so pissed when he arrived at the crime scene.
Seeing Celeste alive in my arms and Oliver dead ruined their plans.
That didn’t go over well with Dalmat and he was then informed about a drop that was happening.
There was also a new rat who gave them all the information and also that an ambush was going to happen.
The rat ended up being one of the Mafia leaders who betrayed their alliance.
Stevens then put two and two together and sent me in as bait.
He knew my relationship with Celeste and knew that would be the only way to break her and give them the leg up on destroying her.
Things went south and now she lives and they’re in hell where they belong.
The only kicker is, once Monroe and Beckett got there with backup, Stevens was found alive, barely.
He’s now in a separate hospital in a coma. I would have left him there to die, but that wouldn’t have been their protocol. Once he’s awake and healed, he’ll be locked up for life. Beckett was able to hack into all his communications and turned it over to the uppers for evidence.
“How’s Celeste? Is she okay?” I ask once they finally get done with their elaborate story.
“She was shot but nothing life threatening. They stitched her up and she’s fine. Pissed, but fine.” Monroe averts her eyes away from me.
I catch the quick glances the two exchange and I have a feeling they aren’t telling me something.
I reach for my phone that’s sitting by the chair and check to see if she sent any texts to check in.
I have no doubt that one of them had let her know I was awake.
Wouldn’t she be here by now? There’s no way she wouldn’t stop what she’s doing to come to the hospital. Something doesn’t seem right.
“Where’s Celeste?” I ask slowly, watching as their bodies shift uncomfortably.
What are they not telling me? They told me she was fine. She had nothing life threatening. So why are they acting like something happened and they’re afraid of how I will react?
“Alaric, she’s gone.” Beckett’s voice is almost a whisper. I almost think that I hear him wrong.
My chest starts to squeeze as if I’m having a heart attack. It can’t be. How is she gone? They have to be wrong. They have it all wrong. My hands begin to tremble and I use every ounce of strength I have to push up and swing my legs off the edge of the bed.
“What do you mean she’s gone? You just said that she had no life-threatening injuries. What the fuck do you mean?” My voice rises causing them to flinch.
Fear glazes over in their eyes. They open their mouths to speak but stop short. I can see the wheels turning on how to give me the news. How to tell me without me lashing out at them. I can’t promise I won’t burn this fucking world down if her life was taken from me. I can’t do this.
“She’s alive. She told me to tell you that she loves you and that you’re the brightest star that guides her through the darkness.
That you need to heal and live your life.
She feels guilty for the things that happened to you.
I think she’s trying to protect you from all the chaos her life brings,” Beckett finally comes out with it.
We promised each other that we would stay by each other's side no matter what. We opened up about our pasts, how we have our own demons to deal with. Once things went south, she ran. She doesn’t realize that this hurts me more than any of the shit her lifestyle would bring.
My job puts me in the same kind of danger.
That at any time, I could be shot down and killed. What the hell is the difference?
I’d already made the decision to accept everything about her and what comes along with it.
Nothing else matters. Nothing matters now and that won't change. If she’s worried about my job and having a criminal girlfriend, I choose her.
I’m just as fucked up in the head as she is, I just use it in a different way.
“We need to find her. She’s not giving me up that fucking easy.”
One month. It’s been a month since I left the hospital and we still have no idea where she went.
It’s like she’s a ghost who vanished without leaving a trace.
Her apartment is empty of any signs of life.
The mansion, no one occupies it. I was able to pick the lock and get in.
The home looks the same and the only things moved out were her belongings and any trace of paperwork.
I knew she wouldn’t get rid of this place as it’s the last trace of her family, but sheets cover the furniture with no signs of life.
I paid a visit to Samantha at the house Celeste bought for her and her daughter.
She has no clue where she is. She still works for her but from home and gets sent cash with no return address on the envelopes.
She has communications with Angela but, again, there are no traces even back to the assistant.
She calls from an unknown number and email exchange.
I’ve even tried to get Beckett to trace the IP address but Celeste has her own tech guy who surpasses his skills and makes sure that it isn’t traceable. Whenever Beckett gets close, his systems shut down and a virus takes over.
She knew I would come looking for her and she made every trace of her nonexistent. Her best friend is even gone. I’ve tried every resource with the agency and I come up empty handed every time. I was able to find her office that she had in the city, but that too was deserted.
I won't give up though. I was trained to find someone who doesn’t want to be found. When I find her, I’ll have her begging for forgiveness. She won't be able to escape me, not again.
My body has begun to heal, despite the extreme exhaustion and lack of sleep.
The only thing I’d agreed to do out of my Little Reaper request was to heal.
I attended all my PT appointments, follow ups with the doctor, and built my strength up with the gym sessions.
Beckett was in my ear every damn day to get my shit together, so I forced him to join me.