Chapter 23
Sebastian
* * *
Last night, Jeremy and I ended up drinking a little too much red wine and now I’m having the hardest time getting my eyes to open this morning.
There’s a pounding in my head, and my mouth is dry.
I checked on Mia a few times throughout the night, but for the most part I left her alone to come to terms with what her father did. I wanted to give her her space. The fucking asshole never gave a single thought to the well-being of his daughter. And that makes me want to punch him senseless.
Jeremy ended up talking to me last night about my future. About a future with her.
And then we drank. And drank some more.
Now there’s this throbbing pain behind my eyelids, thrashing against my skull.
“Sebastian, get up,” Jeremy says, rushing into my room. “Get up. Mia’s gone.”
My head spins when I sit up too fast. “Gone,” I whisper out, because speaking too loudly would obliterate my head.
“She’s not in her room. I’ve searched the grounds. She’s nowhere.”
“Did she run away?” I swing my legs off the bed, planting my feet on the floor. I move with purpose, following Jeremy into her room.
“I thought maybe she ran away, too, until I saw this.”
My heart drops when Jeremy points to a smidgen of blood next to the window. “Is that…”
“Blood,” Jeremy finishes for me.
I glance around the room, looking for any clues that can help me figure out what happened last night. “Who took her? Bishop?” How would he even know?
“It would have to be, right?”
“How well do you trust Ronin Prince?” I ask Jeremy.
He shrugs. “I trust his brother, Gabriel. I’ve heard Ronin used to work for Bishop.”
I shake my head. “Who hasn’t worked for that asshole? I’m calling Dean.”
Dean Maddox works security for the Four Families and I’ve known him for many years. He’s also the one who found out Bishop was after the daughters of the Four Families. He told his men, who told Jeremy and it’s how I was able to find out.
Dean and his men have been hunting Bishop Blackstone for many years. In fact, Dean once came very close to killing Bishop, thought he did too, but now he’s more determined than ever to finish the job.
I dial his number, pacing. My heartbeat’s in my throat and I try to swallow it down.
“Dean Maddox,” he answers.
“It’s Sebastian,” I say. “Bishop’s got Mia.”
“Where?”
“Not sure.” I tell him I’ll call him once I’ve got more to go on, but that he needs to get to London as quickly as possible. Jeremy and I check the grounds again, looking for any clue as to what could have happened to Mia.
I will not rest until this fucker is found and Mia is brought safely home.
“Did Dean say when he’d be here?” Jeremy asks.
“Just said he was on his way.” It’s been an hour since I first called Dean, and since then he messaged to tell me he and Sophia, Mia’s friend, will be here soon. They’re coming in from Italy.
Dean had meant to take Mia from her home in New York, but accidentally picked up Sophia, and now they’ve been hunting Bishop down ever since.
After an hour or two more, Dean and Sophia show up at the house, and we make quick introductions.
“How do you think Bishop found her?” Dean asks, his gray eyes searching the house for clues.
I shrug. “Ronin Prince, maybe?”
Dean rubs his chin as he stares at Sophia. He told us the story of Sophia staying in Mia’s bed, wanting and hoping Bishop would come after Mia so she’d be able to take him down instead, and I can see how the two girls pulled off pretending to be each other.
They are close in height with roughly the same figure and build, and both have long brown hair and big brown eyes. Sophia looks worldlier whereas Mia has more of an innocence surrounding her.
Fuck, she better be ok.
“Right now, I don’t trust anyone,” Sophia says, and I have to agree with her.
“Ok, so if Ronin told Bishop where Mia was,” I say, “I guess he could’ve slipped in through the house, overran our security system and got away with her. Where would he take her?”
“We know his main home is on the island of Zanzibar,” Dean says, “but there’s no way he’d be stupid enough to take her there.”
“What about Ronin? Maybe Ronin took them somewhere on his jet?” I ask.
Dean pulls out his phone, putting in a call. “I’ll call his brother, Gabriel.” He shakes his head. “I just can’t see Ronin being behind this.”
“He has to be,” I add.
Right?
It’s now been five hours since Mia’s disappearance. Well, we don’t know the exact time Bishop came into the house and took her, but either way, still no leads.
Gabriel hadn’t heard from his brother Ronin. And we’re right back at square one.