Chapter 14

Will's phone rings, and I don't hesitate to snatch it up.

It's a Boston area code. None of the multitude of favors I've called in should have anything to do with Boston, but I still slide my finger over the button, answering the call.

"W-Will? It's Laken. It's important. Don't hang up. I need to talk to Locke. It's an emergency."

My knees go weak hearing the sound of her voice.

I fall into my desk chair. "It's me, kitten."

"Locke?" she whimpers.

"Where are you?"

"I was kidnapped, but then I was rescued. I also saw some stuff I probably shouldn't have seen, but I'm safe."

"Where can I find you?" I ask.

"I'm in Boston right now. This guy, Lucien Andretti, thought I was my sister. His guys took me, but then I was saved."

My blood runs cold at the name.

I know all about the Andretti family.

"This sister of yours, is she your twin?" I ask, trying to put the pieces together.

I knew it wasn't Laken who stole the product from Will's penthouse, but an identical twin would make sense.

"No, Lyra is a few years older than I am, but we look enough alike that they grabbed me by mistake," she whispers. "She has some powerful friends, or I don't know, maybe not friends. The company is called Assurance Security, and it's in Virginia, but I don't know where. That's where they said we're going. They want me to go with them because some of the bad guys escaped. Is this making any sense?"

"It is," I assure her as my mind races.

Mercenary groups often hide under the guise of personal security firms, especially on US soil, since the laws here are stricter than in a lot of international countries.

I'm guessing her sister knew Laken had been kidnapped in her place.

Perhaps she traded the drugs she stole from me as a payment to that group to rescue Laken. Only, some part of the plan went sideways, or Laken saw something that would put them at risk if she spoke to the police.

"They haven't hurt me," she whispers. "But I realized no one knows where I am or what happened to me…" She hiccups. "And I just felt like someone should know, but I don't want you to get hurt. There's another mafia family. The Barnetts? Maybe the Barretts, I don't know, but they said the guys who lived would likely run to their allies, and then they'll start looking for me because I have information about what happened. That's why they said I can't come home yet."

And it all ties back to my family.

How motherfucking fitting.

"Listen to me, kitten," I say quickly, since I'm guessing our time is limited. "Be agreeable. Don't fight to come back to Chicago. Pretend to go along with their plans, and don't cause them any trouble. I will find you."

The less of a fuss she puts up, the safer she'll be until I can locate her.

"I'm not especially worried about me, but I just…" She whimpers. "I don't know. Maybe I was really selfish calling you at all. I didn't want you to wonder why I disappeared, and I just…" She sighs heavily. "I needed someone to know what happened to me. I trust you." Her words make my vision go hazy. She should trust me, but I wonder if, on some level, her memories of that night are starting to come back.

"I have resources of my own, and I know what kind of people you're dealing with. Do you know when you're leaving for Virginia?"

"No, but I have to go. The shower just cut off and… I'll call you again as soon as I can."

The phone clicks, and I pull the screen away from my face to see the call has disconnected.

Rage fills my entire body.

I glare at Will's bound and gagged form in the chair across from my desk.

Well, I suppose I owe him an apology for assuming he was involved with her disappearance.

My mind races as I try to formulate a plan and determine which calls to place.

Most likely, she's safe for the moment. As long as she doesn't cause them any trouble, they're unlikely to kill someone they were paid to rescue.

I'm actually fucking relieved her sister stole nearly a hundred grand in drugs.

I would have given her the cash myself if she had only explained the situation, but she had no way of knowing that.

The one good thing about mercenaries is that they honor the job when they've been paid. If they don't, they quickly gain a reputation for being unreliable.

It's time to pack, put in some calls to gain information on Assurance Security, and hire my own group of mercenaries.

It looks like I'll be taking a trip to Virginia.