“You’re all crazy,” I whisper under my breath.
“You sure about that? You’re going to have one hell of a surprise when your boyfriend comes to rescue you.”
I shake my head at his absurdity. “Jaxon isn’t my boyfriend, so he won’t be coming for me. Why do you even need him to? This entire scheme of yours is… it’s nothing short of idiotic. What do you hope to accomplish by kidnapping and…” I don’t want to say murdering. Giving him more crazy ideas isn’t going to be in my best interest, especially when I am still bound to this chair.
The bed creaks as he sits. “It’s business. He’s trying to ruin me by buying up every property I make a play for, so I need him out of the picture… permanently.”
“And you’re the one he’ll come for.” The queen bitch herself stands in the doorway, her eyes laser-focused on me.
The only way I am ever going to survive this insanity is to play along. “You said it yourself. He never… bit me. He won’t come.”
“He will if your life is in danger,” she says with ice-cold authority.
JAXON
It is nearly a week since Maitlin went missing, and I am going out of my fucking mind. I can’t imagine the pain Mason must be living with. Every lead that we receive ends up going nowhere but to another fucking dead end. I pace endlessly in my apartment day after day, feeling helpless.
Mason reached out to his father and brought in the best tracker from their Pride. I can only surmise that he explained Maitlin was his mate, allowing him to use Pride resources to find her. We still haven’t spoken about his shifting.
Every time he attempts to bring it up, I dismiss the conversation. I don’t need his explanation. His actions are speaking louder than words. I just can’t get my mind and my heart to agree to let her go.
I’ll continue to search for her until I spend my last penny and draw my last breath if that's what it takes. It doesn't matter to me that the moment she is found, she’ll belong to Mason. I will love her forever.
“Fuck,” I mumble to myself, running my hands through my hair for the millionth time today. Whatever I feel, it can’t be love.
Lust? Sure.
Infatuation? Most likely.
But love? I don’t do love, or at least I haven’t since Marra.
I am deep in my self-deprivation when Kap walks in. I don’t hear her enter until she’s directly behind me—just more proof that my head is up my ass.
“Jaxon!” Kap yells and snaps her fingers to get my attention. “Did you hear what I said about the Boston property?”
She is just as worried about Maitlin as I am, but like always, she has my back, even in business. Maybe after all this gets resolved, I’ll step away and let her have at it. I have enough wealth to last me hundreds of lifetimes over. But it is all for nothing.
“What’s wrong with Boston?” I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. I haven’t paid attention to my business since Maitlin walked into my life. Fuck, I miss that little black skirt and white button-down with its straining button. “Or should I say, what's wrong with Boston now?”
“Colebrook Holdings, again. They were able to put a hold on our permitting. I’m afraid you’re going to have to go to Boston. The jet will be ready tonight at eleven. I’ve set the meeting up for—”
“You’ll have to go,” I interrupt. “I’m not leaving the city until we have something solid on Maitlin.”
The frustrated sigh she let out is enough to tell me she isn’t happy with my current state, or my answer.
“Look, Jaxon, Mason, will—”
I cut her off before she can finish whatever she is going to say. I don’t need or want to hear it.
“Don’t.” I try to walk away from her, but she grabs my arm, something no one but Kap ever think of doing. Even still, I let out a low growl as I look down at her hand.
“I suggest you try that growl with someone else, because it has never worked on me, and it’s not about to start now.”
I stare her down, yet she continues, unfazed, “You’re cooped up here all day, pacing a trench in front of the window. Then you roam the streets all night looking for her.” I try to speak, but she holds her hand up. “Wherever he took her, Mason and his team will find her. You’ve said it yourself, she’s his mate. Let him find her.”
The one thing about Kap that makes her fearless is her willingness to tell me what I don’t want to hear. She isn’t a yes man, or woman as the case may be. She tells me things straight, like Mason is the one who will find her, her mate, her protector, her soon-to-be everything.
It doesn’t stop the anger from flowing through me, or my fist from smashing through the wall. “Fuck!” I scream out. My heart tightens until it feels as if it is breaking into a million little pieces. Not even when I watched Marra take her last breath did I feel such anguish.
I hurt so badly that my knees threaten to give out as realization hits me. I will never hold Maitlin in my arms or feel her lips pressed against mine again. My eyes burn, and I feel the unshed threat of tears behind them.
“I’m sorry, Jaxon, I truly am. But you’re going to have to let her go. Mason will find her.”
My voice cracks when I answer. “I don’t think I can.” A single tear escapes and my head lulls forward, resting against the crumbling wall. Kap’s hand gently rubs circles on my back as she tries to comfort me. But I don’t want comfort. What I wanted is Mason gone and out of my way.
The buzz of my cell pulls me from my misery until I see Mason’s name on the screen. It is like salt in a fresh wound, but I answer it anyway. He could have information on Maitlin’s whereabouts.
“Yeah.”
“Sky got a lead.” Those four simple words make my heart skip a beat as hope works its way back in.
“Where is she?”
“Sky was able to track her to Boston, but there's more. I’m heading into The Lenox now. Can you grab Kap? I think she needs to hear what Sky found out as well.”
“Kap?” I question. There's no way I want her any more involved in this than she already is. I have no idea what these people are capable of, and putting more of my family in jeopardy isn’t going to happen. “Why?” I ask sternly.
“Because it’s you they’re after, and your empire.”
My brows furrow as Kap looks at me. “My business…”
“I’ll explain when I get upstairs. Be there in a minute. I’m getting in the elevator now.”
We disconnect, and I stare over at Kap. “What is it?” she asks, seeing the worry on my face, I’m sure.
I can’t count the number of enemies I have made over my life, but I can count the number of business associates that want me gone. While the number is still far fewer than one would think, there are a few I wouldn’t put past walking on the wrong side of the law to eliminate me.
But why Maitlin? We’ve known each other for less than a few weeks. Nowhere near long enough to be used as leverage. Taking Kap, or Shellie even, would be much more plausible.
The only business I am doing in Boston is with Colebrook Holdings, and we have done deals together for years without any animosity. As a matter of fact, JDL has invested heavily in the company early on, making Neiland… My blood runs cold. No.
I look over at Kap, who sits patiently waiting for Mason. “What is Maitlin’s fiancé’s last name?”
“Colebrook.” The color drains from her face at the understanding of my question. “You don’t think? Oh, my God.” She covers her mouth in shock of her dawning understanding.
Mason storms into my office with Sky hot on his heels. Sky is their Pride’s best tracker. I’ve only met him once, and he’s a good man to have on our side. The look on their faces tells me everything I need to know. This is my fault—I put Maitlin in danger. It’s because of my business with Colebrook Holdings that she may be hurt, or worse, at this moment.
They’re barely sitting when I demand, “Tell me what you’ve got.”
Sky looks at Mason, who nods and gestures for hi
m to enlighten all of us. “Tell them exactly what you told me.”
Unlike Mason or either of his brothers, when you look at Sky, you can almost tell he’s feline and not one who enjoys being in the confines of a city. He’s tall and lanky, yet exudes a sense of power. He has a mane of white hair he keeps pulled back in a leather strap and eyes that are too feline in their amber color. If I have to guess, he doesn’t parade around in his human form very often.
“I’ve been in contact with Ridge.” My spine stiffens at the mention of the traitor’s name. “He’s keeping her as safe as he can, for now.”
Uncontrollable anger spews out of me. “He’s keeping her fucking safe!” I yell out, not caring who hears. “He could have saved her, but he chose what side he wanted to be on the moment they took her, and he followed. He’s as fucking dead as the rest of them.”
I see Mason’s jaw clench as he takes in a deep sigh. “Let him speak,” he growls back at me.
Sky continues, “You’re doing business with Neiland Colebrook.” I nod my head. “Well, he’s doing business with a slew of unsavory characters, most of whom are not human. And the majority would appreciate you being dead. Their family has a long history of working with those in the demonic sector.”
“The scent that was in the house and the stench on the body outside Maitlin’s house both smelled demonic in nature,” I point out, but let him continue.
“Well, Neiland’s brother, Laird Colebrook, is heavily into searching out the paranormal, as he likes to call it. He is tangled up with Astaroth, and apparently so is his second wife, who vanished mysteriously.”
I vaguely remember hearing about Astaroth and a human, but I don’t see how it pertains to anything going on in the here and now. I give Mason a sideways glance. Is Sky here to waste my time on some history lesson, or does he have actual information regarding her whereabouts?
“I believe they are holding her near the waterfront. Ridge didn’t have the time to give many more details. But it’s close to the property you’re building. Neiland got your permitting stopped so that you have to go to Boston.”
“Is there more?” Kap asks, a look of confusion washing over her. “Permitting won’t necessarily bring the head of JDL to Boston, so his plan seems pretty flawed.”
I keep my mouth shut, knowing just a half-hour ago she was telling me I had no choice but to go to Boston. I’ve known her for her entire life, and I can see what she’s not saying that written across her stoic features—she nearly forced me to go to Boston, where I would have walked straight into an ambush meant to kill me.
Sky’s eyes drop to the ground before he takes a deep breath in and continues. “He was banking on that.” He looks over at Kap as he speaks. I don’t like where he is going with this. “Neiland figures Jaxon will send you. And… he plans to have you killed, an accident at the site. With you dead and Maitlin in danger, he figures Jaxon will have no choice but to go to Boston.”
“And walk right into what? Daylight? Is Neiland planning on having this meeting in a fucking park, maybe a romantic picnic set up for the two of us to talk business? Even sunlight won’t kill me for long.” I get up and walk to the window to look out over the city. “I’ll still gladly walk out into the daylight to save her.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Mason pipes in. “But if that swollen head of yours is somehow removed from your shoulders, you will die like the rest of us, won’t you?”
I have no intention of finding out or playing into his sarcasm. What we need to do is figure out how to get our girl back safe. “What we need is a plan to get her out safely and eliminate Neiland and his group. But that fucker Neil is mine.”
I don’t miss Mason’s clenched jaw at the mention of taking out Neiland and his group, which includes his brother, Ridge. I grab my phone and shoot both Cole and Zach a text to come to my office.
Cole’s text back is almost instantaneous.
Cole: On my way, boss.
Then came Zachriel’s, and it didn’t surprise me. I haven’t seen him since leaving his hotel room the morning I left Maitlin. And since then, he has only gotten worse with his blood addiction. I reached out and tried to help him, but he wasn’t having any part of it.
And truthfully, my time was better spent trying to find Maitlin, not babysitting a coked-out rocker.
Zach: No can do. Heading into Austin for a few shows.
MAITLIN
I have been stuck in this godforsaken room for more than a week. The only thing I am currently thankful for is that they untied me. The room has nothing but an uncomfortable twin bed and chair, and the blanket on the bed is scratchy and smelly. Ridge is the only one who makes me feel as if I’m not going to die at any moment, and everyone else holds my life in their hands.
Ridge came in a few hours ago to bring me my dinner. It wasn’t much, a bowl of soup and some bread. Keeping me half-starved is apparently part of their master plan. The first thing I am going to do when I finally get out of here is, well, first take a hot shower, then eat the biggest steak I can get my hands on.
All I can do is lay in my dark, cold room and think. I seem to have nothing but time on my hands. I tried to ask Ridge questions about what is happening, and all he says is help is on its way and that he is sorry for his role in my abduction.
I don’t know why I believe him, but I do., He isn’t a bad guy. He even seems to have a kind heart. Either that or I am in the full throes of Stockholm Syndrome. At this point, either seems plausible.
No matter how hard I try to not think of Jaxon, he is the only one who is keeping me sane. I replay every moment we spent together in the short time we had. One of the strongest memories that continue to plague me was our brief time at the Black Door Club. We danced and swayed to the music, but it was the storage room that keeps creeping into my thoughts, with its bizarre refrigeration units full of blood that are displayed like wine for sale.
“I must be going fucking insane,” I say to no one. Each night I piece together bits and pieces of my time with Jaxon and what I’ve been able to hear from Neil, his father, and Dannella. I think if Ridge had any other information, he would tell me.
“Jaxon Krieger is not a vampire, Jaxon Krieger is not a vampire.” Saying the words aloud over and over is going to be my new mantra. I have to hope that it will keep me sane when my mind wanders to strange places in the middle of the night.
I get up and walk over to the door that was shut and locked hours ago. It is the same routine every night. One of them, usually Ridge, will bring me my dinner. Then, about an hour later, he returns and walks me across the narrow hall to the bathroom. It is a dingy, dilapidated excuse for a bathroom with a cracked tub, a toilet, and a sink that has seen better days.
The condition of the bathtub doesn’t matter anyway since the shower is broken, and there is no hot water.
Every night, about an hour or so, after they shut and lock the door, I get up and try the handle in hopes that it won’t be locked. All I need is a chance to escape, and I’ll take it.
Tonight it was Ridge who brought me my dinner, and as he placed it on the chair, he gave me a sad smile and had asked how I was holding up. I just shrugged. Now, standing in front of the door with my hand outstretched, I hope he forgot to lock it.
I hold my breath as I grab the knob, and it turns. It may be just my imagination, but I can swear it turns further tonight than it did yesterday. I pull, and unlike the previous nights, the door gives and pulls toward me.
Oh, my God. Is this for real?
I’m afraid to breathe as I pull the door inch by painful inch. The hinges are old, and when a squeak escapes the metal, I freeze, deathly silent in the dark, waiting for someone to come barreling down the hall.
I stand stone still for what seems like an hour before I try again. The darkness of where I am is all-consuming. The switch for the single light hanging in my room is outside my door. I expect to see some illumination from the hall or the living space at the end of it, but as the door opens further
, not a sliver of light can be seen. I am in complete darkness.
I’m not familiar with the layout, only what I can see as I walk across the hall twice a day. There is a wall to my left, the bathroom straight ahead, and a hallway about ten feet long to my right.
My heart is beating so loudly if anyone were here, they would hear it loud and clear. I take in a deep breath and step into the hall. It is so dark that I can’t even see my hand as I reach to find the wall.
With my back plastered against the wall, I creep my way down the dark hall one step at a time, listening for any sound of life as I go. It’s not until my outstretched hand reaches the end of the corridor that I realize… I’m alone.
It occurs to me that I not only don’t know where I am, but I have no idea how to find my way out.
“A light. I need to find a fucking light switch,” I mumble to myself, no longer afraid someone will hear me. I can’t imagine that they are sitting here in the pitch black, just waiting for morning.
I stumble in the darkness, trying to find a switch, crashing down onto my knees. Overwhelmed tears threaten to escape. I can feel my lip trembling. But my determination to survive is more significant than my fear.
I crawl forward on my hands and knees, feeling as I go, a chair leg, a table. The blackness is disorienting, and I’m not sure what way is back to the hall. All I need is a sliver of light.
I’m terrified to venture further around the room. I’ve never been past the hallway, and I’m not sure what's here. If I stumble and fall again, I risk taking something with me, and I could alert someone or something that I’m not where I should be.
I figure the best thing to do is go back down the hall to the only light switch I know, the one outside my room, but I’m not sure of the way back.
Closing my eyes, I try to think about how I turned when I stumbled and fell, which way I came in.
Jaxon (Blood Angel Chronicles Book 1) Page 21
