Chapter 9 Bastian
BASTIAN
“Fuck. Is he okay?”
Nash’s voice was the first thing I heard.
“He’s breathing.” That was Landon.
“What the hell happened? The place is a mess,” Cole’s voice was a low growl.
I opened my eyes. My head was throbbing, but I was mostly wondering why the hell I was on the floor.
Wait a second.
Lark.
I sat up too quickly and the room wavered. I pressed a hand to the side of my head and found a bandage there. I eyed my friends who were all gathered around me.
Alessio was there, as well. He stood by the sliding doors to the balcony.
“Where’s Lark?” I said with a rasp.
Nash’s eyebrows winged up. “She was here?” He cursed. “She did this?” He stabbed at finger toward the kitchen. I saw broken appliances, smashed glass, and tipped over furniture.
“It was a joint effort.”
“And she bashed your head in.”
I scoffed and slid onto the couch. Landon was watching me like a hawk.
“She didn’t bash my head in. I fell while we were scuffling and I hit my fucking head on the coffee table.” I glanced around and my gut tightened. I knew Lark was long gone. Fuck. I touched the bandage on my head again and frowned. I looked at Landon. “You did this?”
He shook his head. “Nope. You already had it.” He gestured at the first aid kit on the coffee table.
I glanced down at the pillow that had been under my head and emotions surged inside me.
“She treated your head wound,” Landon said carefully.
“But she’s trying to kill him,” Nash said. “I got a call from you, but you didn’t say anything.”
I glanced at the phone on the coffee table and my fingers curled. “I didn’t call you.” She’d called one of my friends, knowing they’d find me. “I told her about Ed. She was upset.”
“No shit,” Cole murmured.
And now she was out there, somewhere, alone.
She was trying to come to terms with everything. I’d blown up the only foundation of her life and left it in pieces.
“How the hell did she even get in here?” Cole asked. “The place is Fort Knox.”
“I can answer that.” Alessio nudged the sliding door. It was ajar.
I pushed to my feet, scowling as I strode over. Out on the balcony, I gripped the railing, a breeze whipping at my shirt.
“Fuck. She climbed in.” Probably down from the rooftop, or up from another level. She’d risked her pretty little neck. If she’d fallen…
My knuckles turned white.
“I have to find her.” I spun. “She’s alone. I just dropped a bombshell on her, and she’s hurting.”
Nash’s mouth flattened. “You really care about her.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d always felt a connection with her. I felt a lot that I hadn’t let myself examine too closely before.
“She’s been trying to kill you,” Nash said, one eyebrow quirking upward.
“Not really. She hasn’t really tried or I’d be dead.” I set my hands on my hips. “Look, the one man who’d been her hero, her father, her mentor… I just told her that he was a cold-blooded killer. I…I need to find her.”
They all watched me for a beat.
“Come on,” Nash said grudgingly. “Let’s get to the security office.”
My jaw worked. “Thank you.”
“We’ll get someone to tidy up in here,” Landon said. “Don’t jostle your head, you’ve likely got a mild concussion.”
I waved a hand at him and headed for the elevator.
When Nash and I strode into the security office, several members of the security team were sitting at the bank of computers. A few nodded or waved. The flat screens on the wall showed various security feeds from around the casino.
Nash and I strode into his office.
“You have no idea where she’s staying?” he asked.
I shook my head. “It’ll be close, but wherever she is, it’ll be hard to trace. It’s unlikely she’s staying at a casino, or a hotel with cameras.”
The urge to find her was growing inside me.
Fuck, I hated the idea of her out there, alone.
Nash sat behind his desk and fired up his laptop.
“I want you to check all facial recognition,” I ordered. “And I know you can hack into public CCTV. Do it.”
“I’ll do my best. But we both know she’s pretty good with disguises and avoiding facial rec.” He paused. “Why are you so worried?”
“Because.”
“So, you’re ready to admit you’re attracted to the feisty, little assassin?”
I stayed silent.
“You have strong feelings for her, Bastian. You can’t just ignore that.”
“I don’t need a therapy session.”
“I think maybe you do.”
“Dammit, Nash, just find her.” I raked a hand through my hair. “In her frame of mind, I’m worried she’ll do something dangerous.”
“I’ve got searches up and running. We’ll find her.” He sat back in his chair. “I get it. It’s how I felt with Georgie. When I saw her go after Snyder and Bruno, and they nabbed her. If I’d been one minute later, they would have killed her.”
“Georgie is safe now.”
Nash nodded. “And we’ll find Lark, but I want confirmation that she’s not going to try and slit your throat.” His gaze went to the bandage on my head. “Although maybe I already have it.”
My gaze dropped to the data running on the computer. Where are you, little bird?
“Find her, Nash. Fast.”