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“Sky, where's Finn?” I rush out in a whisper.
“He’s not home yet. I actually thought he was with you guys because he was supposed to be home an hour ago.” Skylar quickly adds her own voice in a hushed tone. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. “I need you to listen carefully. Pack a small bag, get Ava and go directly to the safe house Finn showed you before. Don’t leave or try to contact any of us until we come to you or reach out first. Okay? We need a safe word to know that we aren’t fishing you out against our will. We both know your favorite color, use that.” I instruct her. I don’t want to scare her, but Finn would never not answer his phone. Something is definitely wrong.
“Okay, I can do that. Be safe,” she whispers, extremely frazzled. I sigh knowing that this is going to be traumatic for the both of them.
“It’ll be okay, you just stay safe or Finn will kill me. Make sure to take your weapon,” I remind her. She gives a quick response before I disconnect the call.
“Motherfucker,” I grit out quietly, leaning my head back against the wall as I try to figure out my next steps. Declan and Finn are both missing, I can’t even help Skylar get to safety since I’m stuck here with nothing that indicates it's safe for me to leave.
Just as I’m about to say fuck it and get up, Declan’s phone lets out a shrill ring.
Rian.
Battling my inner thoughts, and against my better judgment, I pick up the phone, holding it to my ear.
“Ah, so glad you answered,” Rian boasts from the other end of the line, laughing like he thought I wouldn’t. “I told you that if you came back I would kill Declan, Natalia dear. Don’t you remember our conversation? Well, now you do, I’m sure of it! No need to worry darling, I have everything taken care of.”
“Where is he?” I grind out, clenching my jaw so hard I begin to feel a headache in my temples.
“What fun would it be if I told you immediately?” He chuckles, his voice darkening dramatically. “You have five hours before this bomb detonates and blows this place into smithereens. Oh, and your precious Declan too. Say hi,” he sings cheerfully as I hear indistinct shouting in the background before he hangs up. I pull the phone away from my ear, staring down at it. The urge to smash this phone into the wall, but I know I can’t. I also can’t go into this guns blazing. I don’t have any time to waste sitting and thinking this through. Getting up off the floor, I set a timer for five hours. I need to know how long I have until the last second.
“I’m coming for you, Dec,” I murmur, straightening my shoulders determinedly. Quickly changing into a pair of leggings and a hoodie, I keep Declan’s shirt on for good luck. Well, my version of luck. I slip on my shoes and tuck my gun away into the waistband of my pants as I speed walk into the living room. Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I take a deep breath. “Okay Natalia. Straight to the car. It’s likely that whoever took him didn’t stick around.” I mutter, giving myself a pep talk. Looking through the peephole, I don’t see anything notable. I open the door, clicking the knob so that it’ll lock when I shut it, and survey the woods.
Stepping out into the night cautiously, the full moon provides just the right amount of lighting as I shut the door behind me, still watching my surroundings carefully. Taking a deep breath, I bolt toward the car. As I arrive at the parking lot, I pull my door open, slide inside, slam the door shut and lock it all in quick succession.
Taking a moment to gather my breathing, I grasp the steering wheel tightly and try to collect my thoughts. Determination coils through my core as I remember who I am. I’m not some weak little girl.
I’m Natalia O’Connor, and I’m about to make Rian’s life a distant, forbidden memory.
Shoving the key into the ignition, I start the car and peel out of the parking lot with ease. There’s only one place I can go right now. I don’t want to, but Rian is forcing my hand. It doesn’t help that I don’t know who or how many men he has on his side. While I’m going to go in blind, I at least need some backup.
Following the route that Declan took three days ago, I’m able to make the drive in forty five minutes instead of the usual hour. As soon as I make it to the warehouse, I jump out of the car. Rushing inside, I pound on the door to Dmitri’s makeshift home, not letting up at all. It seems like he’s taking forever to come to answer, so I keep knocking.
“Nat?” He mumbles as he opens the door, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He’s clearly been sleeping, his hair is disheveled and he is in a pair of sweats.
“I need your help,” I respond quickly, brushing past him and pacing the floor. “Declan has been taken, I tried and can’t get ahold of Finn, either. So, I can only assume that he is also being held captive. ”
“Slow down,” Dmitri says, grabbing my shoulders, stopping my movements. “What happened?”
Stopping to look at him, I let out a heavy exhale while grasping onto his arms for support. “Okay, Declan was getting ready to leave, and I had asked him to get my charger from his car before he left. I realized he was taking a long time, so when he didn’t come back, I went looking for him and he was gone. The only thing I found was his phone and my charger. His phone has a crack in it that wasn’t there before, so I know he must have dropped it whenever he was taken.” Dmitri removes his hands from my shoulders, running them through his hair in distress.
Leaning forward, I place my hands on my knees. Oxygen isn’t willing itself into my body like usual, forcing me to take long, deep breaths. Squeezing my eyes shut, all of the various ways he could be getting tortured right now start running through my mind. “Rian took him,” I say, my voice cracking in sadness.
“How do you know that?” Dmitri asks, squatting down in front of me. He grabs my hand, placing it on his shoulder to help steady me as I begin to sway slightly.
“He called Declan's phone,” I reply, still bent over and out of breath. My lungs feel as though I just ran several miles. Taking a few more slow, deep breaths, I stand again, squaring my shoulders once more. He follows suit, standing in front of me, ready to kill. “I have less than five hours to find him, or he will be dead. Rian wouldn’t say where he is, but he said there was a bomb ready to detonate. I heard him echoing in the background, wherever he was. Dmitri, I… I won't be able to live if he dies.” My voice cracks as the seriousness of the situation grabs hold of my heart.
Dmitri snaps his fingers in my face, his face stoic and ready to go. “Snap out of it, Natalia. Declan needs you. You are no help to him if you don’t go into this with a clear head.” His brotherly tone is replaced by an authoritative one, the one he used to have before he faked his death.
Nodding, I run my hands over my face and smack myself gently. “You’re right,” I mumble. “Okay, you’re right. The O'Connors have five different warehouses, and three safe houses scattered across the tri-state area. Not counting the two warehouses and two safe houses Rian acquired whenever he took over the weapons, so that’ll be seven warehouses and five safe houses in total. I honestly haven’t been able to keep good tabs on any property assets while I’ve been forced out.”
“What if we try to track Rian himself? Wouldn’t he be where Declan is?”
“ Not if the place is gonna blow up. I don’t want Rian to find out about you just yet, either.” Placing my hands on my hips, I chew on my bottom lip. “So, I need you to stay out of sight.”
“I’m not letting you do this alone,” he says as he disappears into his bedroom without letting me reply. I cross my arms over my chest, my expression irritated as I wait for him.Always waiting on men. When he returns, he is fully dressed and stashing his gun into his pants.
