The door to the suite bursts open, and her brothers file in.
“What’s wrong?”
“She’s not here.” I spread my arms wide as though to show them their sister is missing. “Piotr!”
The guard from outside rushes in. He takes in the empty suite, and his eyes widen. “Where is she?” he asks.
I’m going to rip out his tongue.
“That’s what I ask you!” I take a step forward, but Alexander gets in my way before I can my hands on him.
“She was here. She went inside, alone. She never came out.” Piotr’s hands pump at his sides. “She never came out.”
“Did you hear her or anything from inside the suite?” Kaz asks, doing a sweep of his own, checking the kitchen and the dining area as though she’s playing hide and seek and tucked herself under the table.
I might rip his tongue out, too.
“No. Nothing.”
“What’s going on?” Megan pushes through the front door, the color draining from her face the moment she sees mine. “Where’s Elana?”
“We are nineteen stories up. If she never left through the door, how did she get out?” I drag my hand through my hair, marching through the living room again. Everything looks like it’s supposed to.
No broken glass. Not so much as a pillow out of place on the couch.
A speck of something catches my eye on the carpet. Crouching down, I put my finger to the fabric. It’s small and already dried, but I know it for what it is. Blood.
“She was taken.” My jaw snaps. Every muscle in my body tightens, threatening to choke me from the inside. “How.”
The door to the balcony is unlocked.
“How could anyone get up here?” Megan asks, the women now having joined us. There are too many people here, but they’re Elana’s family.
I open the balcony door, and a cold breeze blows in at me. The patio with its small table and two comfortable chairs appears undisturbed. Leaning over the railing, I see it.
Kaz comes beside me and looks down with me.
“They used the swing stage.” Kaz shoves away from the railing and goes back inside, already barking orders to Piotr and the other security team. He wants video from the hotel and a full sweep of the building.
My phone vibrates, and my blood runs cold.
A single message that stops my heart.
“You don’t need any of that, Kaz.” I step inside. “I know who has her.”
“Who!” Kaz demands, his face as tight and angry as his brothers. There isn’t a soul in this room who won’t kill to keep her safe. But they will have to get in line, because once I get my hands on him, he will never see the light of day again.
“Janis.”
There is no creativity among villains anymore. I’m in a warehouse. Probably the same one I met him in weeks ago, from what I can see from the window of this office he’s locked me in.
At least there’s furniture in here. A desk with a chair, and even a water cooler with those paper cone cups.
I could do without thePlayboycalendar on the wall that hasn’t been moved from January of seven years ago. Maybe the guy who works in this office is really into redheads with tiny little heart tattoos where her pubic hair would be.
It must hurt like a bitch to get a tattoo there. Although, all that vibration so close to the clit might make the experience a little more pleasant.
I wonder if she accidentally had an orgasm when they were putting on the lowest one. Was she embarrassed if she did, or did she own it?
