Sebastian came back in right as Alex tried to stand up in the tub with a limp woman in his arms, quickly taking her and drying her off the best he could with the small hand towel. He saw her tangled hair and wasn’t sure if there was really anything to do about it. Right now wasn’t the time.
“I’ll get word to you,” Sebastian said, putting the oversized long shirt on Summer, her head leaning against his chest as he held her sitting up on the counter. “Just don’t let Chase know who I am.”
“I won’t Black Spy,” Alex said, happy that the man took his nickname.
“I’ll send him a message once you’re on your way. It’ll take him about ten minutes to get here, maybe less.”
“With any word on where she is, he’ll be here within minutes,” Alex said. He knew the Prince was having a horrible time with his wife missing. They would be reunited when they were both safe. It could either be tomorrow or in a year.
They weren’t all that far, and Sebastian had no idea how they were able to get Summer back to their home state. She had to have been drugged the entire time.
“Let Jack know too,” Sebastian said, feeling sad for the boy who thought this was all his fault. It would have happened sooner or later.
With that, Sebastian carried Summer out to the car, buckling her into the passenger seat. He then quickly ran around to the driver’s side and started it up. He turned the heat up as far as it could go, blasting the warm air on Summer.
The windows were tinted in his BMW 750i, so no one would see in as he sped out, pushing mud out behind him. He told his phone a number to call, as they got out of there.
“What can I do for you, sir?” the man spoke after one ring, his voice light and low at the same time.
“I need you at my place ASAP,” Sebastian snapped, feeling he was on a time line. For all he knew, he very well could be.
“I’ll be there waiting,” was all that the man said before hanging up the phone.
Sebastian, once dropping his phone into the cup holder, reached over and laying a hand on Summer’s hand. Feeling the cold seep from her skin. He hoped that she’d start to warm up soon. Summer was too pale, too still, even with her passed out it still concerned him. Sebastian wasn’t sure why she was in the state she was, and Alex had felt the same thing.
Something was very wrong.
He felt like he was going to lose her. That wasn’t an option. He would do anything in his power to save her.
Chapter 30
Chase paced, his hands gripping his hair, nearly pulling it from his scalp. The pain not registering one bit. It had been an extremely long week.
Although he had shut himself off from the world - for their safety, not his - Chase had been working furiously to find his wife. He refused to give up. She would be found dead or alive. He hoped, God he hoped, she was alive.
He wasn’t’ sure what he’d do if Summer wasn’t alive. Just the thought crippled his heart into a million tiny pieces.
He wouldn’t be able to go about day to day if Summer was dead. He could survive if she were injured, but the ones that caused her any harm would pay dearly. As it was, they would pay anyways for taking his wife from right under his nose.
After a half way the good night of sleep, the night Summer was taken, he took total control of the situation. He made phone call after phone call, having men here, there and everywhere keeping tabs of where exactly everyone was at.
He sent some of his men to deserted properties in nearby towns, looking everywhere for his Princess. She would be found if it was the last thing he did.
Trent’s words echoed in his mind, giving Chase the reason to keep on fighting. The younger man had been right. Chase needed to act like the next Don in line; he held the power in his hands, and he had to take charge. He had to prove he wasn’t a man to be taken lightly. He should have started years ago instead of thinking he could take care of things with a laid back attitude.
Chase knew he’d very likely chew anyone out that crossed his path, so he shut himself away and dealt with things from his office. No one dared to bug him, although Trent had braved the Prince the day after to clear out any and all alcoholic drinks. Not a bottle nor a drop was left of his favorite whiskey. It was probably a good thing as Chase fought his sorrow.
He wanted Summer, and anyone that dared to stand in his way would die. No questions asked.
He did feel bad for ignoring Clare, as she was beside herself with worry also, but who could blame her. Kayla had put her on bed rest, not wanting to risk the baby’s health, or hers. Minutes turned into hours, which turned into days. Chase was officially lost on what to do. There had been no sighting, no hints, whatsoever on the Princess.
It was like she had never existed.
The note that Trent had found was the only clue on the safety of his wife. Otherwise, there had been nothing!
Gripping his hair harder, enough to cause a shot of pain and possibly pull some of his hair out again, Chase fell to his knees, begging to God to let Summer be alive. She had to be. His heart was shattered, and he was sure it would never be put back together. Not if Summer was gone forever.
Black Spy, whoever he was, only sent one other message mid-week, by text, and by an unknown number that was untraceable.
Working. Have eyes on her.
~Black Spy
Chase had no idea who this person was, and he was positive it wasn’t any of his men, as he was keeping a close eye on each of them. Ryder was also running a search, along with Asher, on each member of the Marcel family, working and non-working men.
Each man that was found to have anything to do with John Meads instantly had a death warrant. Many traitors had already died by other means and were already feeding the fish in the high river. Trent was great at making cars not work correctly, and causing someone to lose their life.
Chase didn’t even care if the men had their family with them that week, it just meant collateral damage. He would do anything to get his wife back, extra blood on his hands be damned. Kidnapping a Princess shouted war, and Chase would not rest until there was no one left. Even then, everyone working under John would be dead within days, if not hours.
If only John could be found.
Ivan came barging in, not the least bit surprised at his son’s position. He sighed deeply before roughly grabbing Chase, pulling him to his feet. He staggered, hands still in his hair and eyes clenched tightly closed.
“Get up,” Ivan growled out in demand. “Who’s Black Spy?” he then spat, wanting answers right then and there.
“Hello to you too,” Chase seethed, flinging his arm away from his father and making his way around to his desk chair, where he then proceeded to throw himself down before putting his head back in his hands.
“Black Spy?” Ivan repeated, crossing his arms across his chest.
“I don’t know,” Chase sighed out, telling the truth.
“Do you trust him?” Ivan asked, dropping the sternness in his voice. He felt for his son, he really did. It wasn’t something any person should ever go through. It was important to know who was giving information out and to whom.
“I have to,” Chase said, defeated, as he lifted his green eyes up to his father's. “I can’t find Summer; my men can’t find her either. He’s the only one who knows where she’s at.” As he talked, his voice grew stronger, despite the fear and worry he held.
Ivan cocked his head to the side, watching his son. He wasn’t sure how to word what he wanted to say, but yet he had to say it. His son needed to know things that had been kept from him for years.
“Your mother was taken about a year before you were born,” Ivan finally said after a long deep thought. That one sentence captured Chase’s attention. “I thought I would never see her again, someone helped me find her. It was also the time that I knew without a doubt that I had to take my role and do what needed to be done.”
Chase wasn’t sure how to respond. He didn’t know if he should
“It’s not something sh
e talks about, so I’m sure you wouldn’t have known,” Ivan went on. “I found her hours later, thanks to Sebastian, rest his soul. I’m still not sure how he did it, but he brought her back in one piece. That was how he became my right-hand man.
“He proved to me that day that he was trustworthy, and would do anything for me. He helped keep you safe after that accident, and he never once gave me doubts that he couldn’t be trusted.
“Kayla was returned without any marks, but it did frighten her. Right then and there, she had decided she didn’t want to be included in what I did, and I respected that.
“I knew Sebastian for many years before I found Kayla, and he had helped me out more times than I could ever count,” Ivan said, lowering his voice more to himself than anything before swallowing and meeting Chase’s eyes once more. “So now, I’m guessing that Black Spy is someone we know.”
“I’ve looked them all over. It’s not one of our men,” Chase quickly said. “I have no idea who it could be.”
“You have Blackhawk, any chance it’s Alex?” Ivan asked, seeing his son’s mind going, finally. It was about time to get his ass in gear.
“No,” Chase said after thinking it through. It wasn’t possible, as Alex had been with Chase at the time the text message came through. Plus, Alex was working on finding a few men that were defiantly on John’s pay. Chase shook his head for good measure, letting his hands rest on the desktop.
“Just checking,” Ivan said. “So, what you will do now that I have your attention,” he went on after a pause, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rocking on the balls of his feet. “You will be getting a house visit from the FED’s tomorrow. Ryder called to let me know what was going down. Someone planted the idea that you were behind Summer’s disappearance. They had some sort of evidence to get a search warrant.”
“Absolutely not!” Chase shouted, standing and slamming his hands on his desk. He had done no such thing! He was just barely able to contain his fury at whoever said that.
“Sit,” Ivan ordered, pointing a finger at his son. He waited until the Prince sat back down with a huff before continuing. “Now, I know you didn’t have anything to do with it, but the officers that will come look through the house will try to find anything to prove that you had a hand in it. You will put everything that could possibly tie to where Summer came from in a box, which I will take and dispose of.
“You are not to answer any questions. You won’t stand in the way and make this worse than it already is, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Chase spoke, his head reeling. He knew his office was the only place that would possibly contain anything that could be used against him.
“They will be here first thing in the morning. I’ll send a lawyer, just to make sure they don’t get carried away, and to keep you out of the way,” Ivan went on. “And then, you will stop pouting, and we will find out who Black Spy is, and get the Princess back.”
“Okay,” Chase said, tiredly.
“Now, get to work,” Ivan said, leaving the room, leaving the door wide open. “I’ll be back in half an hour to collect the items.”
For the next ten minutes, Chase placed everything he could think of in a pile on top of his desk. The file that contained the pictures of the girls he had once considered but no longer needed. There were more than just the ones he considered, but right now wasn’t the time to sort through them.
A notebook of Summer’s abuse over the years that he could figure out over time so far. It had detailed accounts of who did what, and where she had been over the years. Each person that caused her pain would pay in some way or another. Either before Summer was found, or after. It didn’t matter.
A thumb drive containing more information about Clare, Summer, and Jason. There was also files with account numbers for a few people that Chase had long gotten rid of.
It wasn’t much but more than enough to put Chase away for many, many years. He was never one to write things down, so there was nothing about his plans, his ideas, or where things were hidden.
There were no hidden agendas to anything. All work related papers for Marcel Industry was left at the office, and even there, there would be nothing to be found if the FEDS went that far.
Next, Chase checked his computer, making sure there was nothing there, even though he already knew that. Asher was a wonderful geek and cleaned everything up regularly if Chase were to miss anything at all.
He just shut down his computer, closing the lid, as his cell phone rang.
“Alex,” he barked out, although with a desperation to find his wife. Every time the phone rang, he held his breath, waiting for news.
“Black Spy sent me an address. You need to get here,” Alex said, his voice smooth and controlled. “I’ll text it to you.”
“Summer?” Chase asked, needing to know if his wife was found.
“Not here, man,” he sighed sadly. “But there is a note here for you from Black Spy.”
“Why the hell didn’t you call me sooner!” Chase jumped in, quickly belting his gun, car keys, and throwing on his leather jacket.
“You aren’t in the state to check out places, Boss,” Alex said with a miserable laugh. “I was just going to check it out, not expecting to find someone tied up here that was surely part of whoever’s plan to take the Princess. She is alive, though.”
“Okay,” Chase said, slightly calming, but not by much. What would he find there?
“See you in a few,” Alex spoke, hanging up than sending a message with the address.
“Carter,” Chase barked out, walking at a fast pace from the office. “Let’s go.”
“Be safe,” Ivan called from the living room as he lounged on the loveseat in front of the TV. He almost seemed like he knew what was going on, but was staying out of it.
“Are you just going to sit there?” Chase balked, not impressed with this lazy man. When had he gotten so lazy?
“No,” Ivan answered. “I was waiting for you to find a reason to fight.” He then stood, walking over to where his son stood with an angry look on his face.
“Every man has something worth fighting for. Reasons to not give up. Reasons to live. It won’t matter what you find at that house you are headed too because Summer won’t be there. Just knowing she is safe will help get you to get out there, find John, and end this.”
“How?” Chase asked, wanting to know how his father knew John was behind this.
“John is smart, but Black Spy is smarter,” Ivan shrugged before walking off to gather what he needed. “Oh, Chase, take a knife with you.”
What the fuck do I need a knife? he asked, not sure what had gotten into his father. He never seemed so laid back. Did he know more than he was letting on?
Probably so.
But now wasn’t the time to question his father.
It was time to find out who was waiting for him, and why his father thought he needed a knife. It was time to find his wife and find out where John was, making that man pay for his life of threats and actions.
And pay he would. Chase would see to it.
Chapter 31
Pulling up to the house, Chase took a moment to take it in as he sat in the passenger seat. Carter had driven, speeding and taking every shortcut he possibly could. He didn’t care if there were cops out. Money always spoke more than a ticket ever did.
The house was located not far from Chase’s house, and in the middle of another small community made up by families that lived off government help. Chase had a few houses here, mostly to store and sell drugs or other shipments to be sold to a number of different people. The houses had already been cleaned and he hadn’t thought to check them again.
The house, the one of few that needed new paint, sat between two empty mobile homes. The two wooden steps were also in need of repair, the wood splitting and rotting from the weather changes.
The house was small from the outside, but it did contain two bedrooms, one soundproofed and made to look like a cell, as it had been the pla
ce that held the drugs. On the outside, the white paint was peeling and the windows that he could see, one was broken, a board covering the window frame, doing little to keep the cold air out.
Snow covered the ground, showing several footprints going in and out, along with different tire tracks from at least three different vehicles, excluding the SUV Carter drove. That alone gave Chase what he needed to know: this was where his wife had been. She wasn’t here anymore, but Chase was sure that there would be a clue to where she was at now.
Stepping out of the SUV, Chase instantly felt the chill of the winter season even with the sun high and bright, the air was frigid. Alex stepped out the house, arms at his sides like the cold didn’t bother him at all. He did look tired and in need of a vacation, but so did Chase.
Becoming His Princess (The Dark Prince #2) Page 26
