Buttons and Pain (Buttons 3)

I shivered just thinking about it.

Crow knew I would be kidnapped but there wasn’t much hope he would find me. Now I was a plane and eventually I would touch down to the ground. If they hadn’t already confiscated the small tracker in my ankle, Bones would definitely find it when I was back in captivity. I wanted to check my ankle with my fingertips but I didn’t dare move. The lack of pain or soreness told me it was still there, discreetly inserted beneath the skin and impossible to find without a detector.

Hopefully, it was still working.

If the signal was going strong, Crow would see it. And if he moved quickly enough he may be able to find me before I was under the protection of Bones and his private army. My heart believed Crow was capable of extracting me. Nothing would stop him from saving me. Maybe he didn’t love me, but he still cared about me more than he cared to admit. Even if it cost his life, he would get me out of there—safe and sound.

Chapter Fourteen

Crow

“Come near me and I’ll cut your dick off.”

I listened to Button’s distant voice as she squared off with her kidnappers. Listening to their accents told me exactly who they were. I didn’t know them by name, but their origin was unmistakable. They worked for my greatest nemesis.

“Come on, Button.” I closed my eyes and concentrated on the muffled conversation. She must have dropped the phone on the ground because it was nearly impossible for me to make anything out—other than the fact she was fighting with her life. If anyone could get out of his situation, it was her. She wouldn’t give up no matter what.

“No!” I heard Button’s voice cry out in defeat before she fell silent altogether. Bones would instruct his men not to hurt her and certainly not kill her. Her lack of words could only mean one thing.

She’d been drugged.

I hung up the phone then stood in the aisle of the plane. I was on a private flight back to Italy, and I was nearly halfway there when Button called me. Knowing I was stuck over the ocean and unable to help her nearly ripped me apart.

I should have stayed.

Or better yet, I should have taken her with me.

Fuck, this was bad.

I opened the tracker on my phone and prayed it still worked. She hadn’t removed it and hopefully the battery was still going strong. After a minute of waiting for the transmission her dot appeared on the screen. It was moving through the streets of Manhattan and headed toward the cost. She must be in a car on her way to the airport.

Fuck.

I called Cane.

“Bout time you called me back—”

“Shut up and listen to me. Bones just took Button. They snatched her from her apartment now they’re on the move. I’m on the goddamn plane and I’m already halfway to Tuscany.”

Cane took a moment before he reacted, probably because it was a monumental piece of news. “Shit. What do we do?”

“I’m turning this plane around.” If Bones thought he could take Button away from me, he was sadly mistaken. I’d die before I let him lay a single hand on her fair skin. He’d done the cruelest and most brutal things to her, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let that type of abuse continue. I didn’t save Vanessa and I regretted that every single day of my life. And I wasn’t going to let the same happen to Button.

“Wait, don’t do that.”

“And do what?” I snapped. “You think I’m just going to do nothing?” My arms were shaking and I couldn’t stand still. Despite the turbulence on the plane I walked forward and backward down the aisle, needing to move my feet to vent my frustration. Button was in trouble and I was powerful to her help her. The handicap and hopelessness drove me insane. She needed me and I wasn’t there for her. If something happened to her I would never forgive myself.

Ever.

“Calm down for a sec and think,” Cane ordered. “They’re obviously taking her to Italy. Last time I checked, that’s where Bones was. And by the time you turn around she’ll already be halfway to Europe. Just stay where you are.”

That sounded impossible at the moment. How could I stand and wait? I hated this feeling. Whenever something needed to be done, I did it. I didn’t waste time by pacing back and forth. I was a man of action—always. “What if they take her somewhere else?”

“You have that tracker on her still?”

“Yes.” Thank fucking god.

“Just keep an eye on it. I assure you, they’re taking her to Rome.”

“What makes you so sure?” I’d been in America for the month and hadn’t devoted any thought to work. I’d been focused on making Button come home with me—which I failed to do.