by Bry Ann
“Hi, my name’s Lea.”
“Hi,” I barely get out. My voice is a mere whisper.
“Look, I’m really not trying to be mean or insensitive, like honestly.” Her voice is sincere. “But someone’s got to take care of him now. If there’s more to say, it’ll have to wait.”
I hear him crying in the background. Pure pain, pure guilt.
“There’s not,” I whisper.
“I’m so sorry,” she says.
Then I hear a click, and you know what, I have no idea who that woman is, but I respect the heck out of her. She’s strong and just protecting the man she loves. When my thoughts of Lea drift away, I expect the tears, I expect to be devastated. What I don’t expect is the anger. No, rage. Pure rage. This is why Nix stayed away. Did he know? I feel the puzzle coming together. The justice I’ve been searching for nonstop for a year now is in my reach and Nix is the missing piece.
I storm down the hall.
“Miss?” I turn to see a fairly new guard, one I faintly remember. He was in the car that day. The day Adam finally came to get me. I feel myself stiffen instantly.
“What?”
“I’m sorry to bother you. Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.”
I wipe a leftover tear that slips down my face. Great timing.
“Really,” I insist.
He looks like he doesn’t believe me, but he lets it go.
“Alright. I’m here if you need me. Or I can get someone else,” he adds with an eyebrow raise.
“Right. Thanks.”
I dart off, careful not to be seen. Adrenaline pumps through me. I run to my computer room first. I hack Nix’s phone, now that I have his number. With that, I am able to track his GPS coordinates. I figure out how to get that onto my new fancy phone. I tuck it in my sweatshirt when I’m done and sprint down the stairs. I sneak into the garage. I know where Adam hides one of his many keys. He put it there when he thought I wasn’t looking. I make sure to be quiet, feeling slightly safer since I turned off the alarm from my computer upstairs. I’ll have to drive out of here, which will, of course, alert Adam. I’ll deal with that then. Well, heck, everyone’s going to know when I open the garage. These are highly trained men. How I’ve even gotten here is beyond me. How I always seem to get past them, really. Adam wouldn’t care that I’m leaving, but he’d want to know where and he’d want to have someone go with me. No can do on either one of those. This is between me and Nix. Rod and me. Every goddamn person who took my one and only friend away from me. The one person who stood by me through everything, and never cowered. I won’t cower, either.
I stick the keys in the ignition and run to the garage opener. I let out a deep breath.
In. Out. You got this. It’ll be okay.
I push the button and dart to the car. I hear a commotion, but I block it out. Focus. Focus. I haven’t driven since before I left, and it was only for a short time. We couldn’t really afford it. Gas. Put it in drive. Steer. I’m really doing this. Anger and determination is fueling this reckless act. When I get to the gate, there’s a man standing out front, blocking it. I lean my head out the window. He’s quickly surrounded by others, all smart enough to lower their weapons when they see it’s me. Adam would kill them, quite literally.
“Move!” I shout.
“We weren’t informed of any—”
I rev the engine.
“Get out of my way!”
Both men stiffen, quite literally ready to be run over rather than disobey their Boss’s orders. Or maybe they can sense I’d rather die than kill a man.
I sigh. I’m going to be in so much trouble.
“Boss said I could run errands. I’m not a prisoner anymore. Louis. Shep.”
Both men look at each other like they have no clue what to do.
“If you—”
I pull out my new phone.
“Please, don’t make me call him. I don’t want to get you guys in trouble.” Guilt settles in my stomach, but my thirst for answers fuels me more. I know I’m not thinking rationally, but I can’t stop it. I hear faint footsteps behind me. Both men glance at each other before stepping away. I know it’s not the phone getting them, it’s the prisoner comment. I hear shouting voices, but I’m too busy flying out of the gate, trying to remember how to drive and deciding where to pull over to plug in the GPS coordinates.How do I do that?
I’m being an idiot, but Nix knows. He knows. He can get justice for Rose. I have no clue what the story is with him and his father, but I frankly don’t care.
Not one bit.
He stayed away from me for a year, avoided this for a year. Did he really think I’d let this go? Did he really think I wouldn’t find out?
He underestimated me.
Boss
“Listen, I don’t give a fuck! I want fifty percent. It’s on my turf.” I could kill this asshole.
Buzz. Buzz.
I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. I don’t bother with it, don’t even give it a second thought, as I glare at the bastard in front of me.
“Look, sir, the most we can do is forty, like I said.”
“Fifty. That’s the deal. Don’t fucking act like you don’t need the resources I’m offering you.”Buzz. Buzz.
What the hell? Stop calling me. It better be fucking important. Just let me finish this. I’m almost there.
“We would benefit from your resources, but fifty percent is steep.”
I scoff. “Benefit? Please!”
Buzz. Buzz…. Buzz. Buzz.
“I have to take this,” I growl, storming out of the room.
I glance at my phone to see I have received texts and calls from nearly every single one of my men, but Sven is the one who has been calling me nonstop. Immediately, my mind goes to Lacey and the baby. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I can’t ignore my phone anymore. Lacey told me straight up. The baby comes first. My hand goes through my hair and I tug as hard as I can. Fuck!
I dial Sven’s number, feeling more panicked than I have in a long time.
“What is it?” I get out, the second I hear the faint click of Sven answering the phone.
“Boss, I’ve been trying to call you.”
“I know.” My teeth grind together.
“I don’t know details…” Sven warns. He actually sounds sober, which, in this case, is bad. So bad.
“Boss, Lacey took a car. She’s not here. No one knows where she is or where she went. All I’ve gotten is that Ricardo saw her talking on the phone and she seemed upset. I’d go after her myself, but I wasn’t informed until she was gone. I don’t know where to even look. Give me a lead and I’m there.”
“HOW THE FUCK DOES SHE KEEP GETTING PAST EVERYONE!?” I roar. “Track her fucking phone!”
I spout off her number.
“On it,” Sven says. My brain is whirling with worst case scenarios. Sven is about to hang up, but he hesitates.
“Boss?”
“What?” I snap.
“We’ll find her.”
Then I hear a click. I dart out of there. I have one of my men close the meeting, and I bring the rest with me. I demand to drive and I’m pretty sure I exceed every known speed limit getting back.
Where the fuck did she go?
She was upset? She’d only call one person: Kevin. I growl.
“Enzio! Track Kevin Martin’s cell phone. He’s in his twenties, blond, surfer hair. He’s got a girlfriend. Don’t interfere with his life, just get me his number.”
I need to fucking know what he told Lacey! I should have handled this. I knew I should have.
“Boss? You’re pushing one hundred.”
“So what?” I snap, but slow down slightly.
When we pull up to the gate, I whip around to face the garage and park. I immediately jump out and start barking out orders.
Where are you, Lacey?
I find my way to the hall, where no one is left. I run my hand over my face. Human. She constantly brings out my humanity.“Boss?”
I glance up to see Sven standing there. He’d obviously been drinking before the news came that Lacey was missing, but pulled himself together to help find her. I know it’s because she’s pregnant. He’s the only one who knows, and his loyalty today has gained him rewards he has yet to even know of or believe are possible.
He has cemented his way in.
“Yes,” I groan.
“She’s on the move.”
“I know who to call. Where I can get a lead.”
Sven pauses. “Are you okay? I know I could be overstepping my bounds here but the question stands.”
He stands tall. Doesn’t flinch. I have no clue when Sven got this maturity, this type of courage. Maybe it’s a matter of having nothing left to lose. Who knows? But I respect him more for it. We’ve both grown as men because of two random women thrust into our lives.
“She’s pregnant,” I barely get out. “What if—” “Don’t go there. You know Lacey. She’s smart. Probably one of the smartest people in this house.”
Reading me, Sven takes a deep breath.
“Rose was reckless and naive, Boss. Lacey knows what she’s doing. This is probably about Rose. She probably got a lead, and you know her. She trusts you with herself, but…”
“Not with those she loves, I know. She’s made it abundantly clear.”
“For a woman of few words, she’s sure good at making points.”
He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest.
“That she is. What if someone gets her? I still have enemies. Not every Castello is dead. Does she even know to drive?”I feel desperate. She’s pregnant. I’m a father. Holy shit. It all sinks in in this moment. I’m going to be a father and I didn’t answer my ringing cell phone. My hands ball into fists, while Sven remains completely cool and collected.
“I’m certain she’ll be fine. She wouldn’t risk the baby.”
“Things aren’t always in our control.”
“We’ll find her. Until then, trust her.”
“Boss! We have his number,” Frances says, rounding the corner.“Text it to me and find Ricardo.”
“Yes, Boss.” “I need Ricardo now. I’m waiting to talk to him before I make this call!” I snap.
“Yes, Boss.”
While I’m waiting, I try to dial Lacey’s number. Like I expected, she doesn’t answer. I shoot her a text.
ME: I’m going out of my mind here Lacey. Please just let me know you are okay.
I keep my phone in my hand. I don’t even put it away as I continue pacing. Less than five minutes later, Ricardo rounds the corner with two others by his side. Before I can blink, I am in his face.
“She was upset!” I scream.
“Before you bite my head off, hear me out,” Ricardo says calmly. I’m fuming and I need an outlet, but I force myself to relax.
“Go on.”
“She was on the phone, pacing the hallway. She was upset. I asked if she was alright. Offered to talk. She said she was fine.”
Of course she did!
“I knew she was upset. However, she’s your woman. It’s not my place to pry the information out of her, nor is it my place to follow her. I did what I could from my post.”He’s right. I know he’s right. He knows he’s right. But he was my one chance for an outlet.
“Fine.”
I don’t say anything else. I turn down the hall and dial the number I had my men get me: Kevin fucking Martin’s number. This is the second time that talking to him has made Lacey do something reckless. He is lucky we aren’t face-to-face.
“Hello, this is Kevin’s phone. Lea speaking…” A hesitant female voice answers.
“I’m looking for Kevin Martin.”
I can almost hear her stiffen.
“Who the hell is this?” This girl’s got more fight than he’s got.
“I’m Lacey’s…” Baby daddy? “Boyfriend.”
That doesn’t seem right. Not at all. My eyebrows tighten. She’s pregnant and I haven’t even asked her to marry me. I sigh and run my hand over my face. I can’t seem to ever do the right thing by her. She should run and not come back.
“Look. I told this to your girlfriend. I’m really, really sorry for what happened. I honestly think it’s awful.” There is pain in her voice. “But I love Kev, and he’s hurting still. He needs more time to heal without someone up his ass every five seconds. I hope you understand when I say there’s no way in hell I’m letting you speak with him.”
This girl’s got balls of steel. It’s a good thing she doesn’t know who she is talking to.
“Look, Lea, this isn’t up for discussion. Lacey’s missing and Kev was the last person to talk with her.”
“Missing?”
“Yes, missing. As in, she took a car, pregnant, and drove off somewhere and no one knows where she is. She hasn’t answered her phone. I have no clue where to even begin looking. I have no intention of bringing up Rose or what happened.”
There’s a long pause.
“Pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“Hold on... Kevin! It’s for you.”
“Who is it?” “Just answer it,” she says with a sigh.
“Why were you answering my phone?”
“Just please…” I can almost picture a random woman’s guilty, pleading look as she extends his cell phone out to him.
There’s another pause, and then…
“Hello, this is Kevin. May I ask who’s speaking?”
“Lacey’s boyfriend.”
“Uh…. o… kay.” I can tell that he thinks I think she’s cheating on me with him. The nerves are coming off him in waves.
“We—”
“She’s missing,” I cut him off. “You were the last person to speak with her, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“Oh God. I have no clue. Earlier she had some questions for me. I answered them. That’s all. I…”
“I know they were about what happened to Rose. It’s all she’s thought about for a year. So I’m betting wherever she ran off to has something to do with that. I get that you don’t want to talk about shit. I don’t want to have to ask you to, so think. What are the locations or people you can think of that she would to go to to continue getting answers based on what you told her?”
“I… give me a second. She could have gone to the location where it happened…”
“No. She knew about that already. Lacey’s only reckless and bold when she gets a sudden idea to protect. This would have been something that came to her on the call.”
I’m being really fucking nice.
“Um… Thinking back, I really didn’t mention any locations. None that I know of. None that stand out. I did mention two names though. I got just as much of a reaction out of her on both of them.”
“Who?” I say quickly.
“Rod, the man who… killed Rose.” There’s a pause as he breathes to control himself. “And Nix.”
Immediately, I stiffen.
“Nix?” I breathe, feeling rage build up inside me.
“Yes.” “I need details on that,” I say quickly, slipping into business mode. Lacey wouldn’t go after Rod alone. I’m sure of it. She can be reckless and driven, but she’s not stupid and careless with her life. Never was, and especially not now that she’s carrying another life. Nix, on the other hand…
“The reason behind my kidnapping and Rose’s death was to get Nix to go back to work for his father. They were going to kill his girlfriend, but decided that would break him too much. He chose Rose instead. Her father is a heartless bastard!”
I faintly hear a female voice whisper, “Shh, Kev.” He’s lucky to have her. I can tell he’s close to falling apart on the other end of the phone. Thinking more of the the protective, tough chick than him, I end the call, wishing them both the best.
I storm out back down the hall.
“Did you get answers?” Sven says, keeping pace with me.
“Yes.”
“Care to share?” He sa
ys with forced calm. I stop walking and turn to him.
“Nix.”
I see the feelings cross his face, even though he tries to hide them. I continue walking and point back at him.
“You stay here! Pick up if I answer, don’t drink, and get yourself to damn therapy.”
I slam the garage door. It’s the same one Lacey went out of, the same one she managed to slip past all my men to get to. And oh, Steph and Louis are in so much fucking trouble! They let her out. Although, I can only imagine the mind games she pulled to get them to do so. Even so. I need strong men working for me, not weak pussies who are easily outsmarted when they know I would have wanted Lacey protected, or at the very least I’d want to be informed before she bolted out the door to play detective.
I don’t have time for them now. I jump in my car and call two of my best bodyguards to trail behind me. I inform them that Lacey comes first if shit goes down. I have no reason to think that will happen, but nonetheless, I plan for the worst.
Always, always plan for the worst.
Because, usually, the worst is precisely the thing one needs to plan for.
Nix
“Sage? Sage?” I call, careful not make my voice too loud. She’d never admit it, but she hates when I raise my voice. Raised voices are synonymous with yelling in her mind, and we all know she’s had enough yelling for one hundred lifetimes.
I walk into the bedroom. Instantly, everything inside of me softens. Sage is lying horizontally on the bed. Her black hair with its green hue is spread all around her. She’s out like a light, which is rare for her. Sage doesn’t sleep well, not anymore. She’s restless and reads practically all night long to get her mind off things. She copes with it well, except for times like this, where it all catches up to her and she falls into a mini coma.
I walk over, rub her shiny hair back, and kiss her neck.
“Love you,” I whisper.
She twitches in the bed. I grab her small, stuffed hippo and tuck it into her side, like I’ve seen her do one hundred times before. It’s her ‘nightmare catcher,’ or so she calls it. It keeps the bad dreams away, and, well, whatever works. That small hippo’s become a very big part of our lives.
