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“Problem?” Patricia’s voice sounds from behind me.
I feel my face go hot as embarrassment swamps me, thinking Isabella took off on me. Like I’m not worthy. “Isabella gave Christian the slip.”
“Oh, dear.” Patricia dumps her head in her hands.
“She’s not answering her phone.”
“She left here with her schoolbag.”
My brain ticks to life. “Her laptop. How can I—” I curse under my breath and quickly call Balor.
“Yeah?”
“Isabella is missing.”
“What?”
I don’t bother with the details. “Her laptop, her phone. Tell me you can track them.”
“I can track her phone if it’s on.” He clicks his own laptop as we speak. “If not, I can remote into her laptop so long as she’s connected to Wi-Fi somewhere.”
“The phone rang. It’s on. Shewasin Manhattan. Christian is still there. Just tell me where she is, and I will send him to grab her.” It eats at me, whether or not I should cripple Christian over this.
“Oh, no,” Balor says, and my heart lands in my throat.
“What?”I jog into my courtyard, snapping my fingers for Calder to bring my car around.
“Oh, shit.”
“Balor, I’m ready to kill you. Where the fuck is she?”
“Lower East Side. A club called Solo.” His words wake up something inside me.
Solo. Why does that sound so familiar? She… My throat swells with fire. She asked me to go there.
And I said no because the place wasn’t safe.
She went anyway.
“Balor… Please tell me—”
“Yeah, there’s a major drug deal going on in the offices above.” We don’t run Manhattan, but there’s overlap. Balor and his team know everything that’s going on for intel purposes, but we don’t engage. “The last ping I saw was rival dealers were on the way. I didn’t do anything because it’s not our turf. Fuck, Kieran. It’s going to be a bloodbath.”
And my wife is right in the crosshairs.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Isabella
Thecouplewhotakesonline classes from a college in the city was really nice. People I probably never would have met or possibly even approached if I’d not been in this situation. I also loved that they didn’t grill me for personal information. When I said my first name, no one blinked. Astoria is a unique bubble. A small city outside Manhattan with three major crime syndicates most people don’t know about—because the dons have kept it that way. It’s about to change, and for all I know, I’ll be on lockdown forever.
This might be my last chance to see my friends. In the coffee bar, I borrowed Sage’s phone and called Samantha, who squealed at hearing from me.
I asked if her party was still on. When she told me yes, I told her I was coming and that I’d catch her up when I got there. Then I ducked into the bathroom and bribed a girl with a gift card I’d bought with the credit card Kieran gave me to hand a note to Christian. I knew he’d come barging in any second. I made sure he got it before I took off. Then escaped by climbing out the window. Knowing that bodyguards endure worse punishment than their wards, I don’t expect him to tell Kieran I took off. The note said to hang tight and that I’d call him in a few hours.
Honestly, if I get caught and Christian rats me out, I don’t care. How will Kieran punish me? With his cock? I shiver at that thought, to be honest. But will he use it like a tyrant who’s been defied? Or a husband who truly cares about my well-being?
I can’t, however, use Kieran’s credit card to get into Solo or buy drinks. Stopping at a bank where Mama deposited my school money, I pull out the debit card I used for three years. She always kept this account flush with cash for me. I haven’t been able to check the balance lately in fear that Balor would see the account if I logged in from the laptop.
