Page 29 of The Devil of Hollywood

“Like shit, but I’m alive. I can’t say the same thing about Marian. What the fuck happened, Elec? You said you had this planned out. Who the hell were those men, and why did they want my chosen? The Uppers have already granted her to me. What is happening?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t say that lightly. I know everything. That I didn’t get wind of this tells me it speaks volumes. Either it was planned last minute, or this goes deeper than I even want to think about. I’m afraid I’m leaning towards the second.”

“Bastian knows something about this. I fucking know it. That son of a bitch tucked tail and ran the moment our plan was set into motion. Men came out of the rooms; they were waiting. The main one who addressed me even expected Bastian. That is not a coincidence.”

“No. It’s not. But it doesn’t matter. They have her, and as we speak, she is on a plane.”

“A plane? Going where?”

“… I don’t know. Back towards London is my guess.”

My lids opened, and I clenched around my phone at the anger. “I’m going.” I looked at Quinton. “Get the jet ready for London.”

“You can’t⁠—”

“Don’t you dare tell me I can’t go, Elec. Marian is my chosen. She’s supposed to tie bloodlines with me. I own her. If he hurts her or marries what’s mine—If he thinks he’s going to keep her from me—I saw his sigil ring. He’s an elite. If he⁠—”

“Calm, Drayton. I’ve already reached out to the Collective High Council and informed them of what’s going on. They rule all of us elites throughout the world. They’re the ones who granted the approval on Marian. They won’t stand for this. If Bastian or another elite marries her, it won’t be valid. Breathe. Marian is yours. She can’t legally belong to another elite anymore. It’s set in stone.”

“Legally….”

“Yes. Legally, he can’t. That doesn’t mean he or someone else won’t try to keep her.”

“I can’t believe this. What if we lose track of the plane? Could that happen?”

Elec grew quiet, and footsteps filled the silence. I rubbed down my face as a mass of fears twisted within me. Fears, I didn’t want to feel. Ones… that could very well destroy what was left of me.

“Answer. You know she’s on a plane. Are you able to track it?”

“Sort of. I am, but I can’t tell you how accurate the location is.”

“Is it possible you could lose whatever signal you’re getting?”

“It’s possible.”

“Fuck. Elec, we can’t lose her. If we do, we may never find her again. They could take her anywhere. They could… hurt her.”

My head lowered through the swarm of realization. Wasn’t that what I was going to do? Destroy her? Make her suffer? Make her pay for ruining my life?

At Elec’s silence, I cursed. I knew he was thinking the same thing.

“My revenge on Marian is personal. No one else deserves to harm her but me. She’s not just… anyone. She’s mine. She’s always been mine.”

“Drayton, let’s not think about that right now. We need to look at the bigger picture and figure out what this is about.”

“Agreed.” I paused through the agonizing ache in my head. “I can’t think. Break down what you have. What do you think is happening?”

“It could be a couple of different things. One, they took the women for ransom. Easy. We can get them back. Two, this revolves around Marian. Maybe Bastian got word that Marian was yours, in which, he thinks by taking her, he can stop that. He can’t, and we’ll get her back. Or three, which may be the worst of them all.”

“What could be worse?”

A pause. “That this abduction isn’t entirely about Marian. If this is about Penelope⁠—”

Sound wavered, disappearing as my head throbbed through my slamming pulse. If Marian wasn’t the main target, she was collateral. Her life and her wellbeing wouldn’t matter. They could kill her, or worse. The man in the suit. Penny’s past with the masked man. She seemed to recognize him. She got so afraid when she saw him…

“What?”

The whisper had me looking up. Had I gotten pale? Was my worry written all over my face? Quinton could see my fear as I covered the receiver.