Chapter 29
GRIFFIN
I haven’t slept in three days. I only just showered and changed my clothes after wearing my tuxedo for twenty-four hours straight.
The police have no leads. Landon Drake’s prints match those taken from the door, but the trail went cold after he sold his car and vanished.
There is no information on his current vehicle.
He’s likely staying off the grid, hiding under a hoodie at cash-only gas stations.
Landon’s parents admit that after Selena ran, he had a psychotic break.
It worsened when he recognized her on a famous influencer’s page and realized she married me.
They aren’t surprised he abducted her, and though they promise he won’t hurt her, I have my doubts.
What happened in the car park was violent and cruel.
The fact that federal agents haven’t found them yet scares the shit out of me.
I am calling in all my contacts. I’ll find him on my own. I have a name, and that’s all I need. I’ve unleashed hackers, private investigators, and straight-up criminals. He has her concealed, but I will find him, and when I do, I will ensure he doesn’t get another minute on this earth.
During all of this, Carl Besheir—the bastard—calls wanting to set up a meeting. I tell him to fuck off and I call Massimo immediately. I’m shaky and frantic, but I need the Society's help to find Selena and shut Carl down for good.
“Griffin, to what do I owe this honor?” Massimo asks. It is his way of saying Why the fuck are you calling me?
“Carl needs to be dismembered,” I say, not mincing words. “He’s trying to weaponize Beckett’s research and wants me to lock him into risky contracts. Find something on him and have him taken out.”
“I’m aware of Carl’s business,” Massimo replies. “However, he does the things no one else likes to do—arranges clean-ups and disappearances. Unless you want to take up the banner?”
I hate it when he challenges me. “With all due respect, sir... no. Just understand how dangerous he is.” I take a breath, my voice cracking. “I need your help. My wife has been abducted. I want her captor found and eliminated.”
Selena will hate me for this, but I don’t care. I need Landon out of our lives forever.
As I’m on the phone, an unknown caller dials in.
“I’ll look into it,” Massimo says. “And I’m sorry about your wife. You and Beckett need to keep better track of your women.” He hangs up.
I answer the unknown call without hesitation. “Calloway.”
“Griffin Calloway? This is Detective Mason with the Indiana police,” a calm, clipped voice says. “Is your wife, Selena Calloway, missing?”
My blood turns to ice. “Where is she? Is she alive?”
“A woman claiming to be her is at Lenox Hill Memorial. She is in critical condition with a gunshot wound and septic shock. Landon Drake has been arrested. We believe he abducted her.”
My knees give out, so I sit down on the edge of the bed. I’ve been running on empty—no food, no sleep, just the Quattro and I using every resource to locate her.
“Is she alive?” I demand. “How is the baby?”
“So far, both she and the baby are alive.”
I don’t need to know any more. “I’m on my way.”
It’s a twelve-hour drive to Indiana, so I call Cayden and ask to use his plane.
“They found her,” I say when he answers. “I need to get to Indiana. The fucker shot her.”
“I’ve got you. Head to the airport; the plane will be fired up. Do you need one of us to go?” Cayden is the youngest of us, but he has more maturity than Beckett or me.
“No, thanks. I just want to get to her.” I can't do small talk. I only want to break things.
I doze a little on the plane and arrive at the hospital three hours later, fully exhausted. The automatic doors whoosh open, and I storm in, dressed in an immaculate suit, wild-eyed with worry. I feel every inch of my control is gone.
“I’m Griffin Calloway,” I tell the nurse. “Where’s my wife?”
“Mr. Calloway,” a doctor in scrubs approaches. “I’m Dr. Patel. Your wife is recovering from septic shock. Some of the shot grazed her carotid artery, and since it was untreated for forty-eight hours, it caused an infection. She’s in the ICU.”
I’m speechless, overwrought with anxiety. “The baby? She’s pregnant.”
Dr. Patel nods grimly. “We’re aware. She’s early, barely four weeks. But yes, she’s still pregnant. Right now, both of their lives are at risk.”
I feel like I’m going to throw up. “What are the odds?”
“I won’t lie. Her condition is critical. We’re doing everything we can.”
“Do whatever it takes,” I tell him, my voice cold and resolute. “Just save her. Save them both. Please...” I swallow back tears I’ve never shed for anyone.
“I’ll take you to the ICU, Mr. Calloway,” a nurse says. “Selena is in good spirits, despite the severity.”
She calls her by her first name. “Tell me. Is she okay?”
“She’ll be okay now that you’re here,” she says softly.
I follow her down a corridor that smells of antiseptic.
Machines beep in a steady rhythm, but nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing Selena.
Her beautiful face is covered with a breathing mask, and she’s attached to tubes.
She lies motionless, so unlike the vibrant woman I’d fallen in love with.
Her arm is wrapped in a thick white bandage and elevated.
A line of bruises blooms along her collarbone.
“She’s stable,” the nurse whispers. “The infection was aggressive. She’s weak, scared. Memory’s patchy. She’s been asking for you.”
Me.
I nod with my jaw clenched. “Thank you.”
The nurse leaves, closing the door behind her. For a moment, I just stand there, then move next to the bed and take Selena’s cold hand in mine.
“I’m here,” I say, and my voice feels small. “I’m here, baby.”
Her eyes open slowly, and when they meet mine, she bursts into quiet tears.
“I don’t blame you for any of this,” I say, leaning in close. “None of it is your fault.”
“He’s a sick man, Selena. Now he will pay for his actions. The world doesn’t need him.” I pull a chair to her bedside. “I’m going to end him. I don’t care if he’s in a cell. I’ll pay whatever it takes; he’ll never hurt you again.”
“No!” Selena grips my hand weakly, pleading. “Don’t. You’re better...” Her voice trails off as she struggles to breathe.
“I’ve come to realize you are everything to me. From the moment I saw you, I knew. I told myself I didn’t want love, but I was wrong.”
I breathe in sharply as the tears renew.
I climb carefully into the bed beside her, mindful of her IVs.
She curls instinctively into my chest. “I’ve loved you since the beginning,” I whisper into her hair.
“I didn’t know how to feel it. I thought money was enough.
But you and our little one... you deserve love. All I have to give, it’s yours.”
Her frail hand meets mine on her belly. In this moment, we are a family.
Selena lays her head on my chest as her tears soak my shirt. “I love you,” she manages to say before she drifts to sleep.
I close my eyes too and, for the first time in days, I finally rest.