31. Jareth
She was fucking brilliant up there.
It had been the right move to ask Killain’s band, Wicked Ways, to be here. Even though Lance had promised to send someone, I knew having the guys here would be an extra incentive. And the crowd was packed with such a well-known name headlining tonight.
“The whole place is recording them. She’s going viral, Jareth,” Jess squealed next to me. She knew social media, and if she said this was getting big, it was.
Each time Hazel smiled at me, I knew Niki and Lacey were right. Once she got over her nerves, she was a natural, and the audience loved her.
The only concern I had was that Terri was nowhere in sight. I had Dex stationed out front and Tony at the back doors to ensure he would be unable to leave if he showed up.
“Mr. Vizier,” Trixie McBride said as the band began to wind down.
“Yes, Ms. McBride.” She was new to the company. I sensed the nervousness she tried to hide with the clench of her fists and admired how she kept my gaze. I’d have dismissed her if she couldn’t at least do that.
“I’d like to float the idea to Wicked Ways that we record a few of their tracks with Hazel singing lead. I believe it will breathe new life into their old songs.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Agreed. Send me a contract for Hazel by tomorrow morning.”
“The band members?—”
“Will do as I say.” I was sure Killian would give me shit, but I could handle him and Lance if they tried to say no. Hazel was exceptional, and my relationship with her had no bearing on my opinion.
“I’ll make sure you have it at the start of your day.” I had no doubt she wouldn’t sleep tonight and would be on speed dial with the VS Productions contract department.
I glanced at the stage as Hazel thanked the crowd for being so wonderful. She moved to exit the stage down the side stairs, but Killian grabbed her arm and motioned to the back.
“Where are they going?” I asked, not able to hide the edge in my voice.
Killian needed to get his fucking hands off her.
“The green room’s back there,” Lacey responded.
I narrowed my gaze, calculating how long it would take me to get through the mob of people crowding around the stage, hoping for one more glimpse of Wicked Ways.
“I asked them to head to the green room, Mr. Vizier, to avoid the crush of fans waiting for them. They hadn’t decided if they would mingle and sign autographs or head out afterward,” Trixie explained.
“I thought we’d get to see Hazel afterward,” Gran said, sounding as unhappy as I felt about this new development.
“I’ll go back and get her,” I assured her. Besides, I wanted to talk to Killian and give him my thanks in person.
My annoyance increased as we fought our way through the crowd. If I’d fucking known she was going to head this way after singing I’d have already been there. And if you weren’t late you would have known that, my conscience reminded me.
Fucking hell. It wasn’t wrong.
Once Mike okayed us, the security detail hired by the bar at the doors leading to the green room’s hallway let us through. I shoved the door open so hard it bounced off the wall behind it.
Trixie quickly showed her badge to the security VS Productions had placed in the green room as they jumped into action to stop us from entering.
“What a way to make an entrance,” Isaiah grinned.
I glared at him.
“You were right, J. Hazel’s something else.” Dante held up his hand for a high-five.
I strode past him not bothering to acknowledge his greeting. “It’s Jareth.” My gaze swept the room, not seeing Hazel in the small space.
Killian walked in through a side door. “Jareth, I take back all the shit I said. Your girl was on fire tonight.” The absence of his typical smirk let me know he was serious. “I’m surprised to see you.”
The chill that I’d felt earlier filled my veins with ice. “Why? Where’s Hazel?”
Killian’s brow furrowed. “She just left a few minutes ago with your guy Tony. He’d said you had an emergency and that they needed to get her out of here.”
I ripped my phone out of my pocket. “Fuck,” I muttered when Tony didn’t answer. Next, I dialed Dex.
“Jareth. Hazel sounded amazing even from out here.” His genuine joy for Hazel had me almost convinced he didn’t know she was gone.
“Where’s Tony?” I growled.
“Out back. I checked in with him about twenty minutes ago, and he gave me the all-clear. What happened?” Dex’s voice grew sharp.
“Hazel’s missing. The band said she left with Tony.”
Dex sucked in a breath. “That’s news to me.”
“Have you seen Terri?”
“No, I’ve been here at the entrance all night. There’s no way he’d have gotten by without me seeing him.”
“Call Tony and get right back to me.” My instincts screamed at me that something was wrong.
Killian stood by my side. “What do you need?”
I didn’t want to believe I was right about the accusations that pounded through my head, but with what I found in that journal, there was no way I was wrong. “I don’t know yet.”
“I’ll do whatever you need.” It was nice to know when the chips were down I could count on him.
My fingertips dug into my scalp as I waited for Dex’s call. “I’m fairly certain I know who killed my father and it’s fucking likely I tipped him off tonight.”
It was shit luck that I talked to Terri before I flipped through the journal on the way here or that Bill hadn’t called an hour earlier.
An itchy sensation burrowed its way into my skin. I wanted to dig in and scratch at my twitchy muscles until they bled. I was going to kill Tony and whoever he was working with.
I needed to work through the energy sparking between my nerve endings. My long legs ate up the distance as I paced to the brick wall of the building and then back to the chain link fence.
A sharp pain tightened my chest. I needed to be doing something to find Hazel. Not standing here. Fucking helpless.
“Who do you think did this?” Killian asked.
I ran my hand through my hair. I hated voicing my suspicion. “My dad’s best friend. The man I’ve looked up to for the past twenty years.”
“Oh, fuck,” Killian’s sharp inhale reminded me I needed to breathe. “How did you figure it out?”
“Dad left a journal behind. On the way here I realized he’d written dates, times, and account information his bosses had used to embezzle money from their company in our secret code. He thought someone was helping the Sultons but he wasn’t sure who.”
Someone like Terri.
The first ring had barely started before I answered. “What’s his status?”
“Shit. He didn’t answer so I ran around back. He’s gone,” Dex responded.
“Fuck. I’m going to fucking kill him.” My pulse sped up as I thought of all the ways I’d make Tony suffer.
“Jareth there’s more. I talked to some of the kitchen staff, and one of the servers was out back. He said he saw Tony usher Hazel into a limo with tinted windows.”
My heart stopped. “Did he get the plate or any identifying information?”
“He said he only saw the first letter of the plate as it sped off. It was a T.”
Terri had a fleet of limos at his disposal. They were all his first and last initial, and a number.
“Are you still out back?” I forced the words through my tight throat. Fear for Hazel was making it hard to keep a level head.
“I am.”
“I’ll be out in a minute. If I find out you had anything to do with this, I’ll fucking kill you too, Dex.”
Killian gave a weird choked laughter and grabbed my arm, forcing me out from the silent green room. “He’s such a kidder.”
In the hall, I wrenched my arm from his tight grip. “I wasn’t kidding.”
“I know, but everyone in that room heard you. Not exactly the greatest alibi if people start turning up dead, you fucker.”
I stalked down a back hall that led to an exit and likely the kitchen if the sounds beyond the other door were to be believed. I stuck my head into the kitchen. “Someone get Mike to the back entrance.” When it seemed that everyone was just going to stare at me I barked out, “Now.”
One of the servers disappeared into the front room, and I headed back out into the hall. “I’ll go with you. You need back up,” Killian said. “Give me a few minutes, and I can try to get a hold of the other guys, too.”
“You don’t need to involve yourself.” I was used to working alone.
“Fuck that. You can’t trust your closest guys right now. You need us.”
I rubbed my forehead. He was right. Until I knew for sure I couldn’t trust Tony, Dex, or anyone else on my staff. “Fine.”
Killian immediately started to text the rest of the guys.
I shoved open the back door. The scratched, and scarred metal struggled to give way and let out a groan of protest once I got it to open. The first person I saw was Dex.
Red clouded my vision. In seconds, I had my forearm at his throat, and he was slammed up against the wall. “If you had anything to do with this?—”
Dex didn’t try to fight me. He stayed still. His throat bobbed under my assault. “I didn’t. I know you don’t believe me yet, but I’d never hurt Hazel.”
Footsteps thundered through the alley toward us. “What the hell is going on?” Mike asked. The man was smart enough not to get between me and Dex.
“Phone.” Dex immediately handed it to me. I gave it to Killian. “Check the most recent calls.” I’d reach out to Amelia to scour his phone and anyone else on the team I thought might have been working with my godfather.
“The last call went out at 12:00 to you. The last text at 1:00 to Jen.” Dex had been dating someone named Jen. I’d have Amelia dig into her background too. “Nothing in the texts, calls, or messages suggest he was involved.”
I slowly released my arm. “Keep Dex here with you, Mike. Don’t let him out of your sight and hold on to his phone until I say otherwise.”
“Jareth, come on. You know me,” Dex said, his voice slightly hoarse. “He was my friend. I need to be there when you confront him.”
“I can’t take a chance with Hazel’s safety, Dex.” Not until I trusted him.
“Hazel?” Mike asked and sent a glare to Dex that was pure fire.
“Someone took her. I think it was my godfather and one of my bodyguards, Tony.”
Dex’s head snapped to me. “Terri?”
I dialed Elias. “I need you to meet me?—”
“I’m already here,” Elias responded. I shifted my gaze to the end of the alley and noticed the familiar front end of my car.
“Killian. Let’s go. Mike, I’ll be in touch.” Mike lifted his chin in acknowledgment.
The back door swung open, and Alden came barrelling out. “What the fuck is going on? Mike’s not at the front door.”
I buried my pride and asked the last person in the world who would want to deal with me. “I need your help.”
Alden had former military training and now worked as a bodyguard. He also had experience with kidnappings, and for the first time, I was embarrassed I’d been the root cause of one of them. He had every right to turn me down, but he loved Hazel just as much as everyone else. For her sake, he’d put aside our differences and for that I’d rip up the ridiculous contract I made him sign.
I took a deep breath, and expelled any fear associated with Hazel’s disappearance. Tonight I needed to don my mask of indifference, shove down my feelings, and do whatever it took to get Hazel home. Usually, I was alone in my pursuits, but today, I had a pair of unlikely allies.
I was in uncharted waters. In the past, I didn’t have an emotional tie to what I was dealing with. Now I did. I’d get Hazel out alive. The same couldn’t be said for my uncle.
Alden rubbed at the scruff coating his chin. “You need my help? Why the fuck would I help you?”
“Because I can’t lose her.” Just saying the words ripped my throat raw.
Alden’s eyes narrowed. “Hazel? What the fuck happened and who do I need to hurt?”
“I’m pretty sure my godfather and Tony took Hazel.”
He looked at Dex. “Is he in on this too?”
“That’s to be determined.” The pain of Tony’s betrayal cut deep. “We’re wasting time.” I hurried toward my car, knowing Killian and Alden were behind me. That was the kind of loyalty Hazel inspired.
The three of us climbed into my car.
“Where to?” Elias asked, his concerned gaze meeting mine as he turned to face me.
“That’s what I need to figure out.” I dialed Amelia. The second the phone picked up, I barked out my commands. “I need you to track Hazel’s phone. Then, do an in-depth search into Tony and Dex. I want to know who they’re talking to and if they’re someone in contact with Terri.”
She didn’t hesitate. “Is Hazel okay?”
I crossed my fingers that she wasn’t also compromised. “No. I need to find her immediately.”
“On it. The second I get Hazel’s location, I’ll message you. It’ll take a little longer for the rest.”
After I hung up, I turned to Killian. “Any luck reaching the others?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ll keep trying.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and looked Alden dead in the eye. “You have every right to tell me I deserve this and that karma’s a bitch.”
Alden crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you love her?”
“I do.” My voice sounded stilted even to my ears.
Son of a bitch.
Hazel should’ve been the first person I said that to. I was such a fucking idiot to think pushing her away would protect her from my world or me. If I hadn’t let my obsession get in the way, I’d have been in that green room with her, and Terri wouldn’t have had a chance to take her.
“She’s the only person who sees the wicked man below this fa?ade and still finds a reason to care for me. I’ve never met someone with more sunshine in their lives than her. She wraps everyone around her little finger because she is so good. She’s the best of us. And I failed her.”
Alden stopped. “Don’t be a dick. Hazel is more important than any grudge I have against you. It doesn’t mean I forgive you or that we’re friends, but Jess and many people in there would be devastated if she didn’t make it back.”
And this is why Alden was a bigger man than me. Until Hazel, I’d have turned him away if our roles were reversed.
My phone pinged with a message from Amelia and a link.
AMELIA
They are still on the move. The link will allow you to track her in real-time.
I bellowed out their current location to Elias, who quickly threw the car into gear and took off. He knew these streets better than anyone.
I yanked a glass tumbler from the sideboard and poured myself a shot of whiskey.
“We need to know what we might be walking into. Why would your godfather kidnap her and what’s to be done with him when we find him?” Killian asked.
I knocked back my drink in one gulp. “He’s mine,” I spat out. “I want to be the one to put a fucking bullet in his head. I think he’s the person who killed my father or had a hand in it.”
“What the fuck, man. That’s twisted.”
I’d been grateful my godfather had stuck around when I had no one. Now, the fingers of betrayal reached into my chest, ripped out my heart, and shoved it into the jaws of a feeding frenzied shark. The serrated edges of treachery would forever leave a scar.
I missed the signs. Every fucking one. Fire crept up my throat. I deserved the pain causing my vocal cords to seize.
I turned to Alden. “I want to trust Amelia, but I can’t. Can you ask Gage to dig into Dex and Tony’s phone records and her?”
He took out his phone. “And I’ll send him Hazel’s number to be sure we’re tracking the right cell.”
I nodded my appreciation.
My phone rang.
Hazel’s number flashed across the screen.
That same itchy sensation beneath my skin returned and I fought the desire to rip away each layer down to the bone.
For the first time in my life, I fervently murmured a prayer. I needed her to be alive.
I didn’t hesitate before accepting the call and putting it on speaker. “Hazel?” I forced my voice to sound calm.
“Jareth!” Hazel sobbed through the phone. “I thought… oh, God, is everything okay? Tony said there was an emergency, and they had to get me out of there. I wasn’t safe.”
“Where are you?” I tried to keep my tone impassive, but knowing she was scared didn’t help.
“I’m with Uncle Terri. He said he’d take me to you, but we’re just sitting in a parking lot.” I checked the tracker. According to the blinking dot, the car Hazel was in had stopped. “Are you nearby?” She sniffled. “Hey! Give me back my—” A sharp crack of flesh hitting flesh filtered through the phone, along with Hazel’s cry of surprise.
My vision tunneled to a single point as rage stoked the fire in my blood to boiling.
“Fucking touch her again and I’ll kill you,” I warned.
Terri had signed his death warrant if he killed my father. I’d make sure it was exceedingly painful for hurting Hazel.
“Oh, now, Jareth. We both know you want to kill me anyway. You forget how well I know you, son.”
“I’m not your son. Where are you?” I ground my teeth together.
Hazel piped up in the background. “Terri… we trusted you.” Her sadness came through loud and clear.
“I want the journal you found and anything else in that box, Jareth,” Terri said, ignoring Hazel. It didn’t matter that I’d only flipped through part of it on my way here. There had to be something incriminating in there than my father suggesting it was Terri for him to tip his hand like this.
“I want my father’s fucking ring.”
There was a slight pause, then a low chuckle followed. “How did you know?”
It was a guess. “The photos I got from Bill.”
“Well, damn. The wild goose chase I sent you on was my downfall. I’ll be in touch when we get settled. And Jareth, don’t do anything stupid, or I’ll send Hazel to you in a body bag.”
“No, you won’t,” Hazel’s low, ferocious growl came across the line.
“Restrain her,” Terri yelled. “She fucking scratched me.”
“Don’t—” Hazel’s name flashed off the screen as he hung up.
“Fuck.” I couldn’t do a goddamn thing.
Warmth trickled down the side of my hand. I glanced at blood seeping from the jagged gashes lacing my palm made by the crushed tumbler in my hand. The red beads slowly fell to the floor. Drip, drip, drip. It mocked me.
I was going to find her and make those two men and anyone else who took part in this suffer.