“Son of a bitch! She’s gone. Olivia suddenly had a big payoff and took off yesterday. Fuck!” He passed the phone to Caleb. “This has soon turned into a shit show, hasn’t it?”
“We’ve got to make her pay,” I said. I stood up, but I didn’t know if it was the alcohol, lack of food, or the wound that made me feel a little woozy. I quickly sat down. “I’m just going to keep my ass here for the time being.”
“We need a plan,” River said.
“We brought Emily here and we don’t have control,” Vadik said. “We need to send her back to England.”
“Not happening,” Caleb and I said, as did River.
“I’m with these guys, you send her back to England, you may as well slit her throat,” Drake said.
“I’m not talking to you.”
“I get that none of you like me. I accept it,” Drake said. “But I know what I’m doing. Emily’s life is in danger, but also yours. You’ve got four men on the loose who would gladly see you guys rotting in a basement with nowhere else to go. I’m the person who heads up your security, and I warned you guys of this when you started this plan. I’m not going to allow you to push my worries aside. I’d suspected what would play out.”
I hated that he was right.
When we’d put our fathers into the basement, Drake had been against the idea. He believed keeping loose ends made for a sloppy way of doing business. I couldn’t help but agree with him now.
“Okay, head of security,” River said. “What do you propose we do?”
“Your dads, for the past two years have had close to no movement, right?” Drake asked. “The drugs keep them in a catatonic state. They’re going to need somewhere to keep a low profile until they can be of sound and mind.”
“The drugs don’t damage their muscles,” Caleb said. “It only numbs them.”
“Yeah, but two years of barely using them.”
“They’ve used them at intermittent stages,” River said.
I looked at my friends and for once, I actually felt like the sane one. So much so, I couldn’t contain my laughter. “You guys have been having little secret visits with our dads. What have you been doing? Training them?”
“Taunting them,” Vadik said. “I didn’t. I only fed them the drugs, and occasionally told them what our plans were for their empire.”
“Me too.” I looked at River and Caleb. “Holy shit, you guys have got a cruel streak, and I’m only realizing it now.”
“Don’t start,” Caleb said.
“Come on. They couldn’t fight back.”
“That was the point,” River said. “They needed to know what it was like to experience the kind of pain they put us through.”
“I want Earl’s number,” Caleb said, changing the topic of conversation.
“So, it’s okay to talk about my sick mind, but yours, we can’t get to it?” I asked.
“We don’t have time to point fingers. If Earl didn’t betray us, he may have a way of knowing what our fathers are up to. After all, he’s the one who made a deal with them first, remember?”
“Yeah, but they didn’t exactly give him what he wanted.” I pointed out the obvious.
“Exactly.” Caleb pointed at me. “While we delivered him a virgin on a silver platter. I have a feeling we can bring Earl to us, get Ashley here, which will put Emily’s mind at ease and solve our daddy problem.”
“Yeah, I’m going to go and keep an eye on your girl. I have a feeling, after seven years of freedom, this girl is going to go stir-crazy if I’m not careful.” Drake got the number for Caleb and then left.
“Do you really think reaching out to Valentine is the right move?” I asked.
“It’s a shot, and right now, I’ll take anything we can get.” He clicked a button on his cell phone and I listened as the call started to ring. I hoped we were making the right decision.
Chapter Eleven
Vadik
A couple of hours later
I plunged the spoon into the ice cream and took a large bite. The shock of the cold hurt my teeth, but at the moment, I needed to feel something. Between River’s and Gael’s wounds, the revelation of what River and Caleb did, our dads being on the loose, along with the attackers, I was tired. I needed ice cream.
No, I needed Emily, but right now, I didn’t want her to panic, and I didn’t know if I could keep control of all the shit swirling in my head. There was a lot to process. A lot going on, and I had to get my shit together.
“You’re still awake?” Emily asked, as if my thoughts had magically made her appear.
“You should be asleep.”
“I woke up. Needed some water, but ice cream sometimes works.”
I offered the spoon and she came close to me.