Graham
T he sounds of the party flow onto the patio as the doors open. More people flow from the ballroom outside for a breath of fresh air. I watch carefully, ensuring no one comes our way.
My brother’s pale green eyes glow under the moonlight. Despite the substance I saw him putting up his nose when I walked out here, the anger swirls, masking his high. Or maybe what I had to say ruined it.
He bares his teeth while he grips his neck, looking as if he wants to hit me. I would let him if I thought it would help.
He paces wildly and furiously back and forth in front of me. I hate seeing him like this, and I shouldn’t be pushing him so hard. The truth is, I feel like a bastard for doing it, but it’s time to face some hard truths. We’re running out of time.
“Jagger, Krista will be gone very soon. Noah will go to the nearest blood relative. That’s Casey. She cannot care for an infant.”
He spins on me, pure rage flashing in his eyes as he snarls. “So that’s what this is? You don’t want to share Casey. A kid would be a huge mood killer, right?”
I drag my hand over my mouth, trying to keep my temper in check. Of course, it’s what he would think. I’ve never given him a reason to think I consider him before her. The reality is I’m still not. I’m actually thinking about that baby, Casey, my dad, and Jagger. This is a fucking mess that will never untangle until we face facts. “Dammit, Jagger, no. Casey needs to heal from the damn trauma Krista has inflicted.”
He throws his hands in the air as his eyes grow. “And I don’t. Do you have any idea how I feel?”
“Jagger, I know…”
“No, you don’t. You don’t fucking know anything, .”
I raise my hands in surrender. “Okay, I don’t, and I didn’t mean to negate what you went through. What you’re going through now. But with Casey, it gets complicated. Social workers get involved. You’re his fath—”
“GOD, STOP SAYING THAT!” He covers his ears and spins away from me. “I know how it makes me sound, but I don’t even want to look…” He puts his hands on his knees and bends over as if he’s having a panic attack.
“Jagger, you don’t…” I drag my hand down my face. “Dad will continue to take care of Noah. He loves him.”
“Of course, he does,” he scoffs. “It’s the fucking spawn of his bitch wife.”
I grab his shoulders and spin him around. Making sure he looks at me, I say, “No. It’s because Noah is his grandson. No matter how he came to be, he is part of you.” Tears roll down his face and fuck it kills me. He doesn’t look twenty-three right now. He looks like the little boy who lost his mom. My epic failure is never seeing how tormented he is beyond the sarcasm and smile. “Casey can’t take him and hand him off to Dad. Dad can’t just adopt or foster him because one look at his financials, and he’ll be refused. But if you claim paternity, you’ll be leaving your son with his grandfather.”
His shoulders sag, and his head falls onto my shoulder. “It’s not fair.”
“I know, little brother. Fuck, I know, and I hate it.” I wrap my arms around his shoulders and squeeze tight. “I swear, Jagger, I will make her pay. For Casey. For you.”
He shudders hard, then pulls back. His hands scrub roughly over his face as his head falls back. “I’ll think about it.”
It’s the best I can hope for. “Let’s go back inside.”
He shakes his head and waves me off. “You go. I need a minute.”
Hesitant to leave him, but knowing I need to get back inside, I cross the lawn to the main patio.
I step through the doors, pausing for a moment to catch my breath and compose myself from the emotional drain. My fingers dig into the base of my neck as I roll my head, desperate to alleviate the tension.
I step further into the room, my eyes darting from one side to the other as I search for Casey. The need to hold her close is strong, knowing she is the cure to the sense of helplessness weighing on me.
As I search, the heaviness increases when I don’t spot her. My gut swirls with warning. Intuition digs beneath my skin as alarm bells sound in my mind.
The air tastes bitter as I inhale a breath, trying to calm my overreaction to not finding her right away, but the foreboding won’t release its hold.
My steps are tumultuous as I stride through the ballroom to our table where Lily and Ashleigh sit with the other women. They look at me, then around. The confusion alight in their eyes is like a fist squeezing my heart.
“Where’s Casey?” I shove my hands in my pockets and keep my tone light while trying to convince myself I’m overreacting.
“She went to the restroom a while ago,” Lily tells me, but her voice hitches with concern, doing nothing to alleviate my own. “We assumed you found her when she didn’t come back.”
I drag my hand over my face to hide my clenching jaw. “I’m sure she’s close,” I reassure them.
A hand darts out, gripping mine. I must be doing a shit job of hiding my worry because dark eyes meet mine filled with fear. I pat her hand and smile. “She might be in our room. Or maybe she found Jag.” The lie spills easily, and though I have no reason to believe it’s a lie, I know it is. “Everything is fine.”
I’m unsure whether or not she’s convinced, but I don’t linger.
My long strides are filled with purpose and determination as I head toward the exit, not caring how many I rudely ignore or bump in to. When I reach the foyer, I find Henry huddled with Will and two others. His eyes meet mine for a brief moment, then dart behind me. I know at that moment he’s looking for Casey, but he solidifies my knowledge when he asks me. The urgency in his voice makes the hair on my neck stand on end. “I was hoping you knew,” I tell him, unable to disguise my worry—and growing anger—any longer.
A panic-stricken look crosses his face. “She went looking for you.” My stomach roils so violently, I nearly double over. “Krista is—was here.”
A wave of fury so powerful rips through me that I don’t even realize I gave my body permission to move until I’m pulled away from Henry, my arms locked behind me. I struggle against the vice holding me in place. My throat burns as I yell without a clue what I am saying. Murderous rage tears through me like a hurricane, destroying all rational thought as the need to destroy consumes me.
The feeling of something wrapping around my neck, constricting my airways, and darkening my vision forces me to focus on breathing instead of my wrath. Blood roars in my ears making the whispered Italian almost indecipherable.
“Non puoi avitarla se non riesci a pensare. Respira, amico, respire.”
My vision grows hazy, but the red tinge recedes.
He’s right. I can’t do anything if I can’t see past my anger.
Sensing I’m under control, the hold around me loosens. A deep breath fills my chest, cleansing away the remnants of the fog clouding my vision. I glance over my shoulder, finding the two-toned eyes I haven’t formally met.
“ Davis,” Henry waves at me, “Sebastian Delrie.”
“You bought my company,” I say as I extend my hand. Will clears his throat, warning me to keep quiet because now is not the time or place. And he’s right, but I’ve already said it.
Sebastian takes my hand, a wide grin spreading across his face. “I did. I made your daddy my bitch, and all I did was make an offer.” He rakes his eyes over me and tilts his head. “Like father, like son?”
“Not even close.” I look at Will and Herny. “I need Casey found. Now.”
“What do you mean found?” Liam appears next to us ready to unleash hell. It’s an interesting look on him.
“Calm down all of you. We don’t know she’s missing.” Henry tries to be the voice of reason, but the look in his eyes makes it clear he’s not buying his own bullshit.
“Like hell we don’t,” I yell as Sebastian says, “You’re an idiot if you believe that.”
“Did you do this?” Liam points at me. “Is this someone using her to get to you?”
“No.” I spit, not saying what I want because it will only start an argument.
“Talked with the manager across the way,” Maddox tells us, appearing out of nowhere. “She checked in earlier. They’re checking the grounds for her now.”
“Krista?” Liam asks, shock raising his deep voice an octave.
I don’t have the time or patience to explain just how insane his ex-wife is if he hasn’t already figured it out. “They won’t find her,” I say with confidence.”
“Track Casey’s phone,” Maddox suggests, but I’m already shaking my head.
“She doesn’t have it.”
“Why didn’t you put a tracker on her?” Liam yells. “You have the damn resources.”
“I did,” I tell him as I pull out my phone and bring up her location. I joked with her I didn’t, but I put the microchip in her the night I did the IV. It was a moment of weakness, and I swore I wouldn’t use it. Her phone was enough. Now I’m thankful for that obsessiveness.
“I like you,” Sebastian says before turning to the guy on his right. “You can track the other woman’s number too, right?”
“Why are you here again?” Maddox asks, nodding to the other guy, suspicion rolling through his blue eyes. “And with Christian no less.”
The guy—Christian—is already tapping on his phone. “I already have her number. And Lambert’s.”
“Who is Lambert?” Liam demands.
Henry explains, but I’m getting irritated. It doesn’t fucking matter who he is. It matters that Casey is gone moments after an encounter with that damn psychopath.
“Got them,” Christian announces. He hands me his phone. Will comes to look over my shoulder, and we compare locations. I’m going for Casey, but Krista is next if she’s not with her. We see she is, and a sharp intake of breath sounds. I turn to see his brows dipped as he drags his hand over his mouth. “Do you know where they’re going?”
He nods, looking at all of us. “I do. We need to go now.”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I’m already heading for the door.
“I’m coming too.”
I spin and face Liam. “No. You’re not. You’re staying here because I won’t have you interfering with what I plan to do.”
“She’s my daughter,” he growls, stepping into me.
Henry grips his shoulder, pulling him back. “And we’ll get her back, but he’s right. You need to stay here because you won’t like the outcome.”
Liam argues with him, and Maddox argues with Sebastian. They can continue their discussion without me.
Will is behind me when I exit the building. With the valet hot on our heels, we search the stand until we find the keys and take off across the parking lot.
When we reach my blacked-out SUV, I pop the back. I unlock the compartment on the right and retrieve the black case that sits inside while Will grabs the one hidden on the other side, then lifts the compartment in the floorboard where we have Kevlar vests stored. I shrug off my jacket, reach for a vest, and slip it on, then grab the holster that sits with the vests and pull it over my shoulders. After I tap in the code to the lockbox, I retrieve the .356, check the cartridge, then grab another clip, and place them in the holster
“It’s a bit concerning you just have this in your trunk.” I turn after I grab the compact 9mm.
I pop the clip, check its rounds, and slide it into the other side of my holster as I face Henry.
“Why?” I ask, but I really don’t care.
“You’re a businessman, not an assassin. Why do you even have all this?”
“ Because I’m a businessman,” I tell him as I look over at Will to see if he’s ready.
“Makes sense to me,” Sebastian—Bastian says as he walks up. He opens his jacket, revealing he’s been strapped the whole time, and shrugs. “Business can get dirty.” He grins wide.
I start for the front of the SUV, pausing for a minute, then face them. “It’s unnecessary for you to go.” I wave my hand at all of them. “Any of you.”
“I already told you, whatever the fuck happens, I’m there,” Henry replies.
Bastian’s lips spread wide, a maniacal. “I’ve been bored as shit at this thing. No fucking way I’m missing the show.”
I nod, not wasting the time arguing. We all climb into the SUV, Will behind the wheel. The smell of burning rubber singes my nostrils as we peel out of the parking lot.
I’m going after my girl, and I’m ending this bullshit once and for all.