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As I shove ammunition into a bag, Cross comes flying around the corner, instantly scanning over the selection of weapons, and knowing damn well it’s go time. “She wasn’t on the roof,” he tells me. “She wouldn’t just walk out the door, not after everything. Someone’s taken her, right from under our fucking noses.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I say. “We’ll start with surveillance and go from there.”
He nods and we file out of the butler’s pantry, ready to rain hell over these motherfuckers.
Venom rests securely in Cross’ hand as I slam mine against the call button for the elevator, my other hand already on my phone. The elevator arrives within seconds, and as we step in, I put the phone to my ear. Dalton answers on the second ring. “Yo, what’s up?”
“Is she with you?”
“What?”
Frustration eats at me. “Oakley. Have you fucking got her?”
“FUCK,” he roars. “We haven’t seen her. We’re on our way.”
Dalton ends the call, and despite the bullshit between me and Sawyer, they’ll have my fucking back. Dalton’s got a hard on for Oakley. The second he saw her, it was over for him, and despite his promises not to get attached, the fucker couldn’t help himself. Even knowing I’ll be ending her life in twenty-nine days, he’s still falling for her. Without a doubt in my mind, he’ll be here to find her. The only question is, why? Because he can’t stand the thought of her slipping through our fingers and me losing my shot at completing my ritual, or because he can’t fucking breathe when she’s not around?
When I take her life, it’s going to destroy him. I just hope he can learn to move past it, because no matter what, I will take my position on Empire’s throne, whether I belong there or not.
Reaching the lobby, Cross and I step off the elevator and move out into the vast ground level of the DeVil Hotel. People pour in through the doors, some making their way to the bar while others check in at reception, all of them oblivious to the fresh hell weighing down on my shoulders.
Moving through the reception area, we push out into the back employees only section of my hotel, passing Benny, my eyes and ears around here. He clocks me immediately, his sharp gaze locking on mine just as quickly as I’d stepped into the corridor.
“What do you need?” he questions, knowing my hotel better than I know it myself. He falls in beside us, waiting for instructions.
“Full sweep of the whole hotel and surrounding areas,” I tell him. “Oakley’s gone missing. Anything you can find—I want to know about it.”
He pauses and I glance back at him, his face ghostly pale. “Missing, sir?” he asks, his eyes widening.
I move back, stepping right up to him. “You’ve got one fucking second to tell me what you know.”
He swallows hard, and I can see the fear flashing in his eyes. Benny has been my personal bellboy since the day the hotel opened, and one simply does not hold a position like that for so long without knowing a thing or two about his boss. Over the years, I’ve trained him, molded him into the perfect watchman. If anything went down in my hotel, he’d know. So it has me wondering why the fuck I haven’t heard about it yet.
His hands start to shake at his sides, but he holds his head up high. “I’m sorry, Zade,” he says, his voice breaking with fear. “I received a call in the lobby. I was instructed to deliver a note and not to tell a soul, otherwise they’d take my baby. I didn’t . . . I’m sorry. I should have come to you, but it was her over my child’s life. I couldn’t take the risk.”
My jaw clenches as Cross steps away, needing a moment to compose himself. “It’s okay,” I say, knowing damn well if he didn’t come through that child would be long gone. “Is your kid safe?”
“Yes, sir. I checked in with my wife. They’re okay. Shaken, but okay.”
“Did she say who it was? What they looked like?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing helpful. Just that they would take the baby if I didn’t cooperate. There was a black SUV with no plates, dark window tint, and they were wearing suits. She said they looked important, but she couldn’t recall any features that could help identify who they were. Dark hair, dark eyes. Medium build.”
I nod and continue walking. “You’re with me,” I throw over my shoulder as I step up to the security control room of my hotel and quickly hash in the code.
Cross and Benny follow me in as we come face to face with my security team. “What can we do for you, boss?” my head of security questions.
I look over the multiple screens, all showcasing different areas of my hotel. “I need the footage from my front door over the last hour.”
