Chapter 29
With the sweet taste of Celine’s lips on mine, I park the car in my designated space. My eyes travel up the skyscraper, the headquarters of the Family’s financial empire. I step inside through the sliding doors and nod in everyone’s direction.
In front of the bank of elevators, I press the button for the top level.
When Felix’s assistant sees me, she shoots up. “Mr. Astor awaits you.”
I dip my chin in acknowledgement and step inside his office. Behind his massive desk, there is floor-to-ceiling glass looking over downtown.
Felix’s eyes are on his phone, his entire posture buzzing.
“Kaden, my son.”
I cock my head to the side, trying to gauge the reason behind his good mood.
“I am proud of your involvement.”
“Thank you.”
His eyes lighten up when his phone rings.
“Is it done?”
The person on the phone must give him confirmation. He says, “Good. I am on my way.”
He pats my shoulder, and on his way out he says, “Tonight, we celebrate.”
He calls my mother next, informing her of the celebration. There’s nothing warm in his tone, or his eyes. He gives orders and we, mere soldiers, comply and swiftly execute them.
Through a clenched jaw, I force a smile on my face.
Soon, this will be all over.
Thinking of Celine, I take a fortifying breath. She’s the source of my strength, and I can do and achieve anything. Nothing is impossible as long as I have her. A life together is my greatest motivation.
He saunters out of the office, and I type a message to her.
I miss you.
I wait for her reply, but she must be in class. I shake the unease away, blaming it on seeing my father. He always makes me jittery, questioning if he knows what I have done or plan to do behind his back.
Two of the company’s board of directors come to my office and I spend hours listening to them. I offer my input, suggesting changing our approach. We would earn more if we funnel money into struggling companies and revise the business strategy. The companies could adapt to the ever-changing market than sell the parts until there’s nothing left. One of them says, “I like your way of thinking.”
What he doesn’t say is I have a totally different approach than my father. Felix likes to take businesses apart, to be the lion of the jungle. But I am not into conquering the world. I want to make a difference.
After a long day, I get in the car and check my phone for the hundredth time. Why isn’t she answering? I call Celine but it keeps ringing, sending me to voicemail. I tug at my tie, suddenly queasy, and call Abi next.
“Give me Celine.”
“Yes, hello to you too.”
“Abi, check her room to see if she forgot her phone.”
She must sense my unease because she complies.
Maybe Celine got her period and is in pain, but I need to know.
“Her phone is on her nightstand.”
Celine wouldn’t leave her phone though. The last time she did that, she wanted a few days off. Worry has me speeding toward the college, searching for her in her class. When I open the door, panic seizes me.
Every head turns, but she’s not here either.
“Mister Astor, this is not your class.”
“I apologize.”
I shut the door behind me and rush back to my car. Something is not right.
When I get to the house, everyone’s car is there, except hers.
My pulse thunders in my ears. I palm the hood and bend over, trying to get a grip on my erratic thoughts. Nothing happened. Stop being a paranoid idiot.
Inside, they are all around the kitchen table staring at the map of the tunnels, laboratory and its surroundings.
“Good, you’re here. Sit,” Blake says,
“Where is Celine?” They look at me as if I’ve lost my damn mind. “Where the fuck is she?” With each passing second I don’t know where my wife is, my sanity threatens to break.
Blake answers. “They got her.”
Everything in me revs up. I march over to him and back him into the fridge.
“How do you know that?”
The conviction of someone who thinks he has done the right thing blares in his eyes.
“This was the only way.”
I punch him. My fucking best friend and brother. The betrayal tears at my composure. Nothing will ever be the same.
Hunter shoots up from the chair. It scrapes and lands with a thud behind him. Abi’s hand flies to her mouth. Mia blinks at him, and Bailey fidgets with her fingers.
“Blake, what did you do?”
Dane steps inside the kitchen and halts, taking in the scene.
I raise my fist, and Blake says, “I don’t want to fight.”
“You don’t want to fight, asshole?”
I push at his chest again and Hunter says, “Tell us everything.”
“All I did was make sure you wouldn’t be on their radar. All of you with your tough bullshit going against the Family as if you had a chance. I’m surprised they didn’t find out about the money we’ve been funneling from them, but that’s likely because the hacker is brilliant. And even if we faked our damn deaths, they would have found us. They have watched us twenty-four-seven because, except for Bailey and Celine, the three of us are fucking chipped. I had to buy us more time by any means necessary.”
I am in his face when Dane drags me from him. I have never had such a murderous energy coursing through me.
“Sugarcoating betrayal, asshole?”
Blake stiffens. “You wanted out, but none of you would like what I had to do. So stop fucking looking at me as if I am a traitor. We have had the same end goal. My tactic was just different.”
Abi crosses her arms over her chest, sending him an icy glare.
Hunter says, “If something happens to Celine, you can enjoy eternal freedom.”
“She knew. It was her choice.”
“You knew she would,” I scream in his face, fisting his collar.
“Celine was the piece we were missing. Fuck, man. I know you love her. She is family to me too. Now, let me fucking explain how things will go, so we can get her back.”
“Back doesn’t mean she’ll be the same,” Abi says, her eyes fixed on a spot on the wall, the ghosts of the past making an appearance.
“How long has she been there?”
Please, let it be under one hour. I can deal with a lot of shit, but not this.
“Eight hours.”
I roar and pound into him, yet he doesn’t even flinch.
“I’ll never fucking forgive you for this.”
He eyes me pointedly, wiping the blood from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand. “She’ll handle this. You won’t lose her. I swear.”
I yank at the ends of my hair. “You didn’t go through the initiation, did you? You don’t know shit.”
Blake squints at me, a rare emotion flashing in his eyes. “You have no clue what I did or didn’t do. How fucking far I went to protect you!”
Abi shoves at his chest. “You’re not only a traitor, you’re a fucking liar and a coward.”
“Whatever. Do you prefer to rip me a new one, or should we fucking stop losing time and make sure no one gets killed tonight?”
“We had a plan,” I shout, curling and uncurling my hands at my sides.
“And that fucking plan wouldn’t have worked.”
Mia approaches Blake and asks, “What was in the letter?”
“What letter?” he asks, and Mia smiles.
Is everyone going crazy?
“Just so you know, Celine always has a Plan B. Don’t think she went in there without one. You’re right. She’s strong, but there’s more, isn’t it?”
Blake looks her straight in the eyes. “Her mother.”
“Is she even alive?” I ask.
“Yes.”
This time, both Hunter and Dane hold me back. “You’re dead.”
“Calm the fuck down. We need you level headed,” Blake has the nerve to tell me.
My best friend turned into a stranger at the snap of a finger.
“We extract her mother first,” he informs us.
“No. Celine.”
“Kaden, stop thinking with your damn heart. Why the fuck did you think I wanted her there?”
I breathe in and out slowly to hold on to my flimsy control. Blake being right angers me even more.
“In five minutes, I am out that door, with or without you.”
“Who will wait at the laboratory?” Blake asks.
“Me,” says Abi.
Dane says, “Me too.”
“I’ll take the tunnels,” I say.
“I’m going with you,” Hunter says and looks around. “Where the fuck is Bailey?”
She is where she’s supposed to be, in her room, behind the screens. “We’ll fill her in after we get Celine out,” I say instead.
“I’ll be in charge of the drone, guiding you,” Mia says.
“The cameras won’t be a problem,” Blake says.
When everyone rushes out, I hop on my bike, speeding away, with Hunter behind me in his car.
I call Sebastian, informing him we’re going in. I doubt I will ever be his top choice for his daughter, but I don’t care. Celine is mine.
“This plan is highly risky,” he says.
“It’s the same plan, just a different role distribution.”
“Both my girls are suffering at the hands of your father.”
“Anything else?”
“Just get them out of there. We’ll be there shortly.”
“That is the plan.”
“Afterward, we’ll talk.”
“Sir, let’s make one thing clear. I have loved your daughter since I can remember. I know the blood that courses through me, but it doesn’t define me. I won’t leave her.”
“You’re quite determined.”
“Never been anything else when it comes to Celine.”
When we hang up, I hear Bailey’s voice in my com.
“I’m here. Let’s focus on getting your girl back. I have seen your initiation. Abi’s as well.”
“Because Blake never had one,” I grumble.
“Don’t be so harsh on him. You need to hear him out first before you jump to conclusions.”
“He had all the time in the world to confide in me.”
A gasp rings in my ears. “What is it?”
“I’m watching Celine right now.”
I grip the handlebars. “How bad is it?”
“Your father might burst a vein soon. She’s tough. You should go on a vacation afterward.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“She’s drenched in sweat, her body is trembling, there is saliva running down the corner of her mouth, and her head is lolling from side to side. But she’s alive.”
I bend my upper body closer to the bike and speed up. Hold on, I’m on my way, baby.
“I shouldn’t have told you. You need to focus. She’s not screaming, and she doesn’t beg. She has said absolutely nothing aside from calling them every name she can think of. She’s my hero.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
Reaching the forest, I hop off the bike with Hunter next to me.
“Okay, lead me,” I say in my com.
“The mysterious hacker?” Hunter asks.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“As if he’d care.” Bailey sighs.
What was that about?
“Okay, two are approaching. Wait,” Bailey says in my ear when she checks the heat map. “Now.”
We slip behind them and tase them. They slump, heads lolling to the side as we lower them to the ground. We undress them, and tie them to a tree with rope. Moving quickly, we seal their mouths with tape and inject them with a sleeping drug. Then we change into their uniforms and take their walkie talkies with us.
I pull the door leading to the tunnels up, and we jump in.
The drone Mia is in charge of takes off to scan the property.
“There are men patrolling the tunnels. Someone is on high alert today.”
“Do you have any good news?”
“Yes. Don’t get caught, and we should be fine.”
We hop on the ATV and some guards nod at us.
“Abi and Dane are trying to get inside the base,” Bailey says. “Five guys are approaching.”
I hop from the ATV with Hunter on my other side.
I take my gun and shoot their walkie talkies before they can even point their guns at me. Bullets fly around me. I roll and shoot the first guard, then duck and take the second one out. The third man pauses to reload, and seizing the moment, I knock him onto his back. He collapses to the floor with a thud.
Hunter takes care of the other two. He gazes at the bodies on the floor, an appreciative look in his eyes.
As we emerge from the tunnel, the forest opens in front of us. Armed men patrol the perimeter.
One of them asks, “Why are you wearing different uniforms?”
“We’re new, sir,” I say.
A man’s voice crackles through the walkie talkie. Bailey’s urgent tone follows, “Your cover is blown.”
We quickly take them down and Hunter and I split up, each darting around bushes for cover.
“One approaching. In three.” Bailey starts counting and I point my gun at him. After the pop, he drops on the side.
“Almost there, Kaden.”
“How many did you get?” Hunter asks.
“Three.” The asshole laughs and says, “Five.”
I hit two more, and we keep going like this until an alarm sounds around us.
A car flies out of the underground garage. I put myself right in its path, locking eyes with my father’s, whose expression widens.
Oh, you will find out who I am.
I shoot the tires, causing him to swerve and tip the car on its side. When it comes to a stop, I march over, yank open the door, and drag him out.
“Whatever you want, I have it,” he stammers.