“The guard from his work is here. I’ll call you back. Check his car is there.”
“I will.”
“Adrik, what is it?” Papa asked as soon as I hung up.
“Wait, please,” I said, and made my way out to the elevator. I knew my parents were following, but I had no care what they heard. I only needed information on what was going on.
I stepped around the corner as the doors slid open.
“Is Ben here?” the man demanded.
“West is not here—”
“How do you know his fuckin’ name?” He stepped off the elevator.
I pulled the gun from my back holster and raised it. “Do not move again. I know his name like you probably know things about me. Research. Tell me what you know of his whereabouts and also your name.”
“Death.”
“Death? What is this?” Papa called.
“My name.” He didn’t look away from me as he spoke. “West’s friend said he should be home, but he’s not. He got worried when West didn’t answer his phone. I was in the area. I had to check if he was here.”
“Why would he be here?”
Death glared. “A hunch.”
I lowered my gun and put it away. “I had a man on him, but that man is unconscious. West was taken from college.”
“Jesus motherfuckin’ Christ,” he bellowed and pulled his phone from his pocket. With jerky movements, he then put it to his ear. “Wreck, he’s not here. Hail had a man on him…. I don’t fuckin’ know why…. Yeah, said the guy’s unconscious, and West was taken from college. Get the brothers on it—”
“I have a man at the college. He will help—”
“We don’t need your help.”
“He will be fucking helping whether you like it or not.”
“Fuck! You get that? Yeah….” To me, he asked, “What’s the guy’s name?”
“Dimitri.”
“It’s Dimitri. All right, I’ll be there soon. Yeah, of course. Stay with Lucas. Shit, you better call Saint. He can tell Gun. Okay,” he clipped and then hung up. He glanced to the panel and pressed the button. The doors opened.
“I am coming with you,” I demanded.
“No, you ain’t. I’m not goin’ to the scene, but to his house to—”
“I either come or I go on my own but believe me, I will find information in any way I can.”
“Fucking hell, fine. Then I can keep an eye on you.”
I started for the elevator when Mama called, “Adrik?”
Stopping, I glanced back to see her holding Papa’s arm, frowning. “Wait in the lobby,” I ordered Death.
Death glanced from me over my shoulder and back again. He sighed. “Hurry.” The doors closed, and I heard the elevator leave the floor.
I faced my parents. “I’m sorry I won’t be attending lunch.”
“We figured, son. What’s going on. Do you need me to come? To call more men in?”
“No. I will handle it. Someone I know has been taken, and we need to find him.”
“Is it someone you care for? A man?” Mama asked gently.
My heart doubled its beat. Sweat beaded at the back of my neck. Still, I said, “Yes. A man, a good man who I care for.”
Mama smiled. I looked at my father. He seemed tense, but he nodded. “Then go.”
“Papa—”
He shook his head and stepped in front of me, where he cupped the side of my neck. “The Mikhaillova family is ruthless and cruel, but we love one another fiercely. No matter what, son, I will always love you. Find this man so we can meet the person who has captured my son’s heart.”
I found it hard to breathe as I stared into my father’s unwavering gaze. He meant it. Every word. He would support me, love me, even when I wanted to be with a man. Dimitri had been right. I was a fool thinking otherwise.
“I love you.”
He pounded his chest with his fist. “You’ll always have my heart.” He gently pushed me back. “Now go.”
I nodded, glancing over my father’s shoulder. “Mama, I love you.”
Tears brimmed her eyes, her hands clasped in front of her. “I love you, my boy. Through everything. Call us if you need anything.”
“Da, anything,” Papa stated with a nod before he turned and collected Mama under his arm. “Come, my precious, we will have lunch in our place and wait for our son to call.”
How could I be happy and filled with dread all at the same time? No matter, all I knew was that I had to find West.
Kylo
“Where the fuck is he? And where in the motherfuck are you taking me?” I demanded harshly to my man.
His hand on my thigh tightened. “We’re going to Lucas. You can help him. Wreck and I’ll head out to help the other brothers.”
“You are not keeping me fuckin’ locked away like some soft bitch.”
“Kylo, babe, please. You know me better than that. I’d have you at my side, but what about Lucas? My brother, your friend? He’s out of his mind crazy right now, and since you’re both close friends to West, it’ll be better having you at his side than me or even Wreck.”
I shook my head. “That’s bullshit.”
“I’m not fuckin’ with you. Just take a damn breath and think about it.”
With my hands fisted, I pressed them into my eyes and breathed. Fear, all I could feel was fear. Lucas would be feeling the same. The others didn’t know West, hadn’t connected with West like we had.
Dropping my hands, I sighed. “You’re right. I’ll stay with Lucas.”
He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it while he parked out the front of Lucas and Wreck’s place. “Love you,” he said.
Still, my heart fluttered from hearing it. “Love you too.”
I grabbed my walking stick as we climbed out of the car, and before we reached the front door, it opened. Lucas’s hands covered his stomach, his brows pinched, and his eyes sad. “Have you heard anything new?” he asked.
“Nothin’,” I said, reaching him and bringing him into my arms. “We’ll find him.”
He nodded into my chest.
Wreck appeared behind us. His hands dropped to Lucas’s waist. “Babe, come back inside. You don’t have any shoes on, and it’s cold.”
Lucas turned into Wreck, who moved him inside, and we both followed. In the living room, Lucas sat curled into Wreck on the couch. I took an armchair while Saint sat on the arm of it with his hand on my shoulder.
“Maybe he’s out with other friends?” Saint suggested.
Lucas and I shook our heads. “We’re his only friends.”
“A date?” Wreck said.
“No, he would have told us,” Lucas replied. He sucked in his bottom lip and bit down. “What happened if a client… if they liked him too much and kidnapped him?”
“Death checks all backgrounds. He knows what to look for. It won’t be one of them,” Saint said.
“Can you be completely sure?” I asked.
Saint and Wreck shared a look. Wreck sighed. “Death was at the only one we weren’t sure about.” He shook his head. “He’d been looking out for West, had a man on him, but that man is unconscious at the college.”