Kai left and I brought my attention back to my phone. Ace. What the fuck do I do about him? It was unsettling and I didn’t want things to escalate, so I sent a quick reply.
Sorry. I don’t know who this is? I lied.
You know exactly who this is, Isla.
My name is not Isla. I’ve just gotten this new number when I purchased my phone.
Shit. Sorry, Ace replied. I smiled to myself. At least he thinks I’ve changed my details. That should stop him.
What’s your name? Ace messaged.
Brad.
Uh. No. Bye.
I laughed and placed the phone on the coffee table before I stood up and made a beeline to the kitchen. The furniture had arrived, but I hadn’t done grocery shopping, and I was starting to get hungry. The contents of my fridge were minimal, so I decided to head to the local burger joint. I quickly grabbed my keys and made my way to the car. On my way to the café, Kai sent me a message which I could only read when I stopped in the parking lot.
Sorry, baby. I’ve just got an urgent call from work, and I need to go in.
I was slightly disappointed, but I knew it was part of his job. It’s okay, baby. I’ll missy you, I replied.
He never sent me a response.
It had been two days since Kai told me he received the urgent call from work. I never thought I would feel as worried, scared, and alone as I did. With no clue what was happening, all the thoughts that invaded my mind were disturbing. I needed to make sure he was safe.
My car keys were neatly placed on a wall hanger. I quickly grabbed them and bolted out the door, to make my way to the Police Station where Kai worked. Someone should be able to tell me what’s going on.
When I arrived at the same station I was brought into the night Oz was killed, a beautiful woman sat behind the reception desk. Her long sandy blonde hair reached down to her peaks, and her plump lips curved into a polite smile.
“Hi, how can I help you?”
The skin around my nails were peeling off from my teeth. My heart was racing and I was fidgeting. The woman seemed to notice. “Hi, I was wondering if Kai Storm was around.”
“I’m sorry. He’s unavailable right now,” she replied, her deep blue eyes were filled with concern.
“I know he’s probably undercover, I just need to know that he’s okay.”
Her expression softened. “You’re his girl, right?”
I nodded and she smiled again. God, she’s seriously beautiful.
The back door swung open and a man came out. His eyes were directly on the woman.
“Hey, baby. Are you ready?”
She turned her head towards him. “Almost.”
He noticed me and our eyes locked. “Hey, you’re Kai’s girl. Isla, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m his girl.”
“Please give us a moment.” The girl locked arms with the police officer, and they started to whisper.
I scanned the area and stepped towards an information board. After I scanned the notices, one flyer that was pinned just beneath the top stood out to me.
“Oh, God. No, that can’t be right.”
My eyes slowly closed and my body began to sway. The last thing I saw was black.
“Isla,” I heard a voice whisper, but I was in a dark place that I couldn’t bring myself out of. “Isla, are you okay?” the voice continued.
Black. That’s all I remembered seeing last, until I woke up and scurried against the wall behind me. I was crouched down with my knees against my chest and my head in between my legs.
“We need to call Kai,” the beautiful woman said.
“How long before the paramedics arrive?”
“Ten minutes out,” she replied.
“Try and talk to her, Natasha. I’ll give Kai a ring.”
Kai, my boyfriend who hadn’t contacted me in two days.
God, what the hell did I just see? I mean it can’t be real, can it?
The cop bent down and used her calming voice to soothe me. “It’s going to be okay, Isla.” She placed her hand on my knee with a gentle and slow movements “My name is Natasha and I’m a detective. Jake is my partner. We’ve called the paramedics to come and check you out.”
I don’t want the paramedics. I can’t. Oh, God.
My breathing faltered. It was like I was in a dream, but could still hear everyone that surrounded me.
Jake came back to talk to Natasha. “Kai’s coming by. He’s freaked the fuck out. Asked me to call her best friend in the mean-time.”
Natasha tried to comfort me by caressing the side of my arm. It was a welcoming touch.
“Who’s her best friend?” Natasha asked Jake.
“Some guy named Holden. I’ve given him a call. He’s five minutes out.”
Holden
I was on my way to the police station after receiving a call from a guy named Jake, telling me that Isla had fainted and she wasn’t talking to anyone.
My mind was racing and I couldn’t think straight. Isla hadn’t spoken to Kai in a couple of days and I knew that was worrying her. God, I hope she’s okay. The drive was quick, and I was sure I broke a few laws trying to get to her.
I pushed the door to the police station and walked in. Isla was on the floor with her knees to her chest and her head down.
“What happened?”
“We don’t know. She just fainted.” The man replied.
“Isla,” I whispered, bending down to try and talk to her. “What happened?”
Her eyes looked up, and she couldn’t focus on me but there was a light flicker. She was trying to find a way out of whatever her mind was stuck on. “Please, Isla. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Nothing. Fuck!
After quickly standing up, I stumbled over my feet and steadied myself.
“What was she doing when she fainted?”
“She was looking at the notice board over by the entry.” The woman replied.
Suddenly, two people strolled into the police station. I turned my head and see Kai right beside Ally. What the fuck?
She smiled at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to reciprocate. My eyes locked with hers.
“Hey, Holden.” She grinned.
“What are you doing with Kai?” I asked her.
“Helping him on a case.”
My blood boiled beneath my skin. I brought my attention to Kai. “You can’t send one text to your girlfriend to let her know you’re okay?”
Kai ignored me completely and walked straight up to Isla. After trying to help her, his failed attempts of communicating with her went down the drain.
Remembering what the cop said, I made my way to the notice board. It was filled with missing person flyers and wanted posters. After scanning them quickly, something caught my eye.
“OH, FUCK!” I screamed.
That’s it. That’s the reason she fainted.
I took the flyer down and held it in my hand. I can’t believe what I’m fucking looking at right now. No wonder she won’t talk.
A harsh breath was released from my lips. The fury that was inside me a few days before, seemed to be resurface. My hands tightly gripped the paper.
Missing Person: Isla Jacobson.
Age: 6
Brown Hair, Blue eyes.
Unique Markings: A beauty spot just above her left cheek.
Location last seen: Isla was last seen wearing a short red and white polka dot dress. She was taken from Cranston Park. Please call the New York Police department if you have any information of her whereabouts.
“What is it?” Kai asked. He looked directly at me.
“This is it. This is why she fainted.” I thrashed the paper in the air before I shoved it against Kai’s chest.
He shrugged his shoulder looking at it.
“That’s Isla in the photo,” I growled.
His head shot up and his eyes locked with mine again. “What?” he continued. “Are you sure?”
“I’m fucking positive. That kid on th
e missing person’s poster is Isla.”
The colour drained from Kai’s face. His jaw was clenched. Kai’s probably walked past that picture a thousand times, but never really paid much attention to it. Until now.
After snatching the paper from Kai, I kneeled down in front of Isla. “Is this what you saw?” I placed the poster in front of her and her eyes scanned over it. Looking at it seemed to have brought her out of whatever she was stuck in. Isla nodded and tears formed in her eyes.
Kai kneeled down beside her. I handed the poster to him.
“Isla, baby.” Kai whispered.
Isla briefly gazed at him before turning her head to me. “Take me home?”
I nodded and reached out my hand to her which she accepted, and I helped her up to her feet, holding on tight to steady her.
“I’m going to sort this out, Isla. I promise you.” Kai said.
“Don’t bother,” Isla snarked.
“The paramedics are on their way, Kai. Don’t let her leave,” Jake begged.
“I’ll take her to the doctors myself,” I growled.
Kai
“Why did you let her go, bro? She’s not well.” Jake looked at me and shook his head.
“She’s safe with Holden,” I replied. “I need to find her parents.”
“Well her dad’s still in hospital, right?” Natasha chimed in.
“Hospital?” Ally narrowed her eyes.
“Holden beat the shit out of him when he found out what her dad did to her.” I replied to Ally. There was a hint of anger in her eyes.
“So, she was kidnapped and raped?” Ally’s jaw dropped, and I nodded slowly. “What the fuck is wrong with people,” she hissed.
I looked down at the poster and shook my head. “I need to pay her dad a little visit.”
“I’m going to stay out of this one,” Ally said.
My attention was turned to Jake and Natasha. “I’ll be back later. I’m going to the hospital to see her dad.”
“What about the assignment?” Jake questioned.
“I have most of what I need for now,” I replied.
Jake nodded. “Good luck, bro.”
My hands were gripping the steering wheel of my car so tight that the blood drained from my fingers. I knew Isla was probably upset with me, but I had to see her dad.
When I arrived at the hospital, I parked the car in the lot. There were only a few spaces remaining, but I managed to find one underneath a shady tree. After I stepped out of my car, I made my way inside to the Astral Ward, which is where non-critical patients were sent. God, what the fuck am I going to say to this lowlife piece of shit?
Isla was taken away from her family. From the people that would have taken better care for her, instead she was kidnapped and left with two of the worst, who didn’t give a shit about her.
After finding the lift to the ward, I stepped inside and rode it up to the third floor. The doors opened and in the lobby was the nurse’s station. I bypassed them completely and made a beeline to Room 8. The bed was made and the room was empty. Fuck. Where is he? Turning around, I went to find an available nurse.
“Excuse me, can you please tell me where the man went in bed 4?”
“Oh, he checked himself out against doctor’s medical advice.”
“Fuck!”
The nurse looked at me and narrowed her eyes.
“Sorry. I…Shit.”
Taking out my phone, I quickly called Jake and asked him to find him. I’m going to see my girl.
Isla
I was sitting on the couch in my apartment and Holden was seated next to me. The heat from the cup of chamomile tea in my hands, swam through my body, warming me up from the inside.
I turned to Holden. “How? I mean, how is it possible that I didn’t know? My photo would have been up there for years. And the only thing that changed was my last name. They fucking kept Isla.”
“How would you have known? And your dad’s friend was a cop. No surprise there that you weren’t found.”
“They had photos of me when I was a baby, Holden,’ I screamed.
“They probably weren’t of you.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to remain as calm as I could. Not wanting to go back to that same place I was at the police station, I tried to focus.
“What are you going to do about Kai?”
My eyes fluttered open and I brought my attention to Holden. “I don’t know. I mean I’m still angry that he didn’t call me, but I love him.”
Suddenly, the buzzer on the intercom goes off. Holden stood up and looked at the camera.
“It’s Kai. Do you want me to let him in?”
I nodded. Holden buzzed up and opened the door for Kai when him when he arrived.
Kai stepped towards me and kneeled down in front of me. I placed my chamomile tea on the coffee table behind him.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I wanted to call you, but I wasn’t allowed,” Kai apologized.
“I get it. Is this what it’s going to be like? Me not knowing where you are for days on end?”
Kai swallowed hard with no response. I was living in fear that something had happened to him.
Kai placed both his hands on my legs and massaged them in circular motion. “I went to the hospital to see your dad,” he whispered. “He wasn’t there. He checked out voluntarily.”
“Fucking asshole,” I barked.
Kai turned to Holden. “Thanks for going to her.”
“She’s my best friend. I’m not about to abandon her.” There was a hint of disdain in Holden’s tone.
“I know,” Kai breathed.
“Isla, will you be okay?” Holden asked.
Turning to Holden, I gave him a faint smile. “I’ll be fine, Holden. I promise.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Holden offered.
I nodded and Holden pulled me into a hug before he stood up, shook Kai’s hand, and walked out of the apartment. Kai sat down next to me and tapped his thighs.
“Come here, baby.”
He moved his arms and I took refuge, laying down, I placed my head in his lap. Kai used his fingers to streak through my hair.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologized.
The lump in my throat was getting bigger and the tears in my eyes slowly trickled down my face. Even as I was lying on him, I didn’t feel safe. How could I feel safe again?
I woke up in bed and Kai’s arms were wrapped tightly around me, and he was still sleeping soundly.
My feelings for Kai were so strong, and I never thought I would see him after that night on the bridge. Everything terrified me. I was scared because of how strongly I felt for him, and the thought of losing him made me anxious. And that could happen with the line of work he did. And where the hell would that leave me? Broken without the person I loved the most.
Kai’s eyes fluttered open and locked with mine. We stared at each other for the briefest of moments before he took his hand and placed it on my left cheek.
“Please don’t leave me. I know you’re scared, but I can’t live without you,” he continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I wanted to but I had an emergency I needed to deal with. Can you forgive me?”
My eyes closed when his thumb slid across my bottom lip. I loved the way I felt when he touched me, the way my body lit up. How could one simple touch from him make me crave for a thousand?
“I love you, Kai Storm,” I whispered.
My body moved closer to him and his arms wrapped around me. I buried my head in his chest and took a deep breath, his natural scent tickled my nose, and I marveled in the aroma that belonged only to him. I could never leave you, Ki Storm. Not ever. I loved him too damn much to give up.
The next week was a bit of a blur. Not wanting to be alone, Kai stayed with me in my new apartment until I felt comfortable to get out of bed again.
The police had been looking for my dad, but he had gone into hiding.
“Come with me into work today, baby.”
> “How come?” I replied.
“I’m going to find your parents for you. Your real parents.”
It hit me that I may have had a whole other family living somewhere else. I smiled at the thought, wondering what they would be like. Were they kind? Would they have done to me what that asshole did? Do I have any siblings?
Kai’s phone started to ring. He reached underneath his pillow and quietly answered the call. The blood drained from his face and he hung up the phone.
“They found your dad,” he whispered.
“Where is he?”
“He…he’s dead.”
19
Gotcha
Ally
My name is Ally. For the past couple of days I’ve been hanging out with Storm. He asked for my help with a case that he’s been working on. I first met Kai at the party where he wanted to make his girl jealous. They weren’t together at the time, but I have no idea why he was holding back. She was sexy as fuck.
Kai seems like a good guy unlike some of those assholes that were there that night. I love what I do, but when a guy looks at me like he owns me, that’s when I become a bitch.
The moment a man starts treating me like a whore, they’ll see a side of me they never thought existed. I will fuck them up.
I was invited to a party in a penthouse suite. I looked around the room and few eyes met mine.
A man was sitting down on one of the lounge chairs. He was sexy, but his eyes weren’t on me. I followed his gaze and saw him staring at a brunette-haired girl who was with someone else. I knew he wanted her. I could tell by the way his intense gaze was piercing through her.
I strolled up to the man and sat down on his lap, giving him my signature smile. His arms wrapped around my waist and I leaned in to whisper something in his ear.
“How badly do you want to fuck her?”
The man’s grin widened. He knew I was onto him.
“Am I that obvious?”
“Completely. I can feel how hard you are and it’s not because I’m sitting on your lap, it’s because you want that girl over there.”
“Come with me,” he demanded.
His Desire Page 19
