1. ~Caspian~

Chaos reigned.

Sirens sounded.

Flashing, blinding lights assaulted my senses.

Dozens of shouts came my way vying for my attention.

Shadows surrounded me—my security staff—pushing back the mass of paparazzi gathered around Rossun Central Hospital. Police and hospital security were working to move them back from the main entrance and setting up police tape and barricades because it was so intense.

I'd had to approach from the main, much more public entrance, in order to divert attention away from what was happening at the back entrance—my staff bringing in Dante Mancini and his injured, those few who had survived the explosion at Elijah Bane's chief arms facility.

Fortunately, I'd been able to change into a set of my backup clothes that I always kept with me when I traveled out to a field operation—a pair of my designer jeans, a navy open collared shirt, and a leather jacket. Showing up here in combat gear would have given the media a field day and led to a great deal of questions.

I was basically drawing fire at the moment.

The press had come here for Skylar.

All the details were coming into me, just slower than I would have liked, given everything else that needed locking down, but what I was aware of at this point was that Damien had brought Skylar into the hospital—instead of my fucking estate which had an infirmary wherein I could call in a doctor, a surgeon, and whoever I needed at a moment's notice. I had several on my payroll as a precaution. It was to prevent something like this from happening. The press crawling all over the place, getting in my way as well as impacting sick people within the hospital who needed peace and quiet to heal, not this wild circus. But Damien had panicked and come right here instead. Or perhaps it had been more than that, him not wanting to call me as he should have done so he could play the hero all the way.

As it was, it was an additional hassle and aggravation that I could really do without.

Things had absolutely gone south.

As I finally made it through to the entrance, my team ushered me toward one of the staff elevators. Just as I was stepping inside, Luke slipped in like the ghost that he was trained to be.

"King," he spoke the moment the doors closed.

I punched the button for the floor Skylar was on, trying to swallow down my worry and the twisting of my gut knowing she'd been hurt.

As if that wasn't enough, there was so much more that had happened—all in one night. The one night I'd taxed my resources in order to carry out the multi-pronged assault against Elijah Bane and Bane Industries.

"Report," I ordered Luke in a clipped tone.

It was how I needed to be right now. Rational, locked up tight, absolutely focused on solving the many issues surrounding us.

If I allowed sentiment in, it would choke me and render me incapable of dealing with everything.

"The chief arms facility has been cleansed. The fallen have been transported back to Mancini Syndicate territory. Your message reached the other Capo and he's been reassured that his Don is under your protection here until he regains consciousness and recovers from his injuries. The same regarding Matteo. They won't cause us any issues and they'll be keeping this under wraps to avoid their enemies getting wind of Dante being out of commission and seeing it as an opportunity to strike. We're re-securing the city borders now, along with all King holdings, King Tower, and King Manor. I've obtained video footage from that gas station Bastian and Skylar pulled into that shows a fight taking place, Bastian being taken, and Damien protecting Skylar from suffering the same fate. I've sent a copy to King-Tech to analyze in a bid to track Bastian's whereabouts. I've also activated his tracker. It's currently not transmitting, but I'm going to backtrack where the signal was last picked up, it'll just take some time."

The doors opened and I stepped out, Luke following close behind as I absorbed his detailed report. He kept my brisk pace as I stalked down the corridor toward the room Skylar was in. "We've got a team headed out to Caleb's last known location too. It's three hours away, so they'll be arriving shortly."

"And his tracker?"

"Pointing to the precise location of his warehouse takedown, where the team is headed."

I frowned. "That can't be. He would have returned my call. Not to mention, the fact our conversation was abruptly cut off suggests foul play in itself."

"That could be for any number of reasons."

I swung my head toward him. "I don't need you to offer me false hope, only facts."

He smiled sadly, then admitted, "It does point toward him suffering the same fate as Bastian. The dropped call, the timing, not hearing back from him for hours now."

I swallowed hard, trying to squash my emotions.

"All right, keep me posted. After I see Skylar, I'll put out a statement to the press to calm the drama outside."

"They certainly do love her thanks to your efforts," he said, trying to give me a silver lining. A flimsy one, yet that really was all we had right now. "Discovering she's back in the city and hurting has them up in arms, the public rooting for their Warrior Princess and the City Prince. Seblyar as I believe they are terming their ship."

I laid my hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, my friend."

He smiled. "Of course. Go see your woman and we'll discuss the rest when you return to King Manor, namely the damage we were still able to do to Bane Industries. I'll keep you posted in the meantime on this… unexpected fallout."

As he took off, rushing back down the corridor to see to what I'd tasked him with, I scrubbed my hand over my face.

Unexpected falloutdidn't quite cover it.

Elijah had known we were coming.

His second had revealed that much.

But he'd also known other things.

I had no evidence of him watching me and mine, so it meant he'd had a source.

A source I hadn't been able to pick up on.

A ghost among men.

My fingers clenched white-hot as I stood outside the room assigned to Skylar.

I forced myself to lock it up. I couldn't walk in there in front of her with all this rage brimming. She'd been hurt. Although, I already knew she'd been stabilized, that didn't take away from the fact that it had happened, that somebody had harmed her, that she'd been in such a state that she'd been rushed to the fucking hospital. I felt absolutely sick with it.

Stop.

Focus.

I took a moment to calm myself, then I opened the door and stepped inside.

A test to my calm hit me right away as I took in Damien leaning back in a chair beside her bed, holding vigil.

He swung his head toward me and tensed.

I looked away, needing to focus on what mattered so much more.

Our love.

I winced as I approached the bed where she was clad in a hospital gown, tucked up in plain white sheets, her eyes closed as she slept, far too many tubes and needles connected to her.

She looked so pale, a pained look on her face even in sleep.

Her hair was mussed and fanned out over her pillow, her knuckles of both hands bandaged, stitches across her right cheek, her left eye black and blue.

I reached out and gently stroked her hair.

"She's gonna be fine," Damien spoke, his aggravating voice echoing through the still room. "They got that big shard of glass out of her side and it didn't penetrate anything vital. She's stitched up. She did lose a lot of blood, so she's gonna be out for a while yet recuperating."

"All this I know," I bit back.

He rose to his feet, shoving his hands into the pockets of his white and gold hoodie. "King—"

"What I want to know is why Bastian isn't here with us."

"I reported what happened to your staff, I'm sure you're already well aware."

"I want to hear it from you."

He steeled himself, then told me, "Look, with your resources depleted at the time, yeah, I took advantage of it to get a little closer to Seb. I get that you're pissed about that. But in this case if I hadn't done that, even Skylar wouldn't be here. When I showed up, they were overrun. I tried to save Seb, but he wouldn't have it, especially after he saw Skylar take that hit. He begged me to leave him and save her. I tried to do both, but by the time I beat back the fuckers headed for her, it was too late, he was already being shoved into that van then spirited away."

Fuck.

"All right," I muttered.

He stepped toward me. "Whatever you're planning, I want in."

"Now isn't the time."

"He's my brother. He's been kidnapped. It's exactly the time. You know what I'm capable of. I'm an asset in this sort of situation. Without Caleb here—"

I was wrapping my hand around his throat in the very next second and slamming him into the wall just a few feet from the bed. "Watch your fucking mouth!"

His eyes shot wide at my explosion of temper. I wasn't exactly known for that. But all bets were off right now.

He held out his hands either side of him in surrender. "I'm sorry. I want them back too. You know that. You know it's hurting me too. You know I'm on your side here."

With a grunt, I released him roughly.

My gaze fell on Skylar and I grimaced, then turned away, scrubbing my hand over my face.

"I need you to get your mom out of town, then pack a bag and come to King Manor."

"What?"

"The enemy might not be done. As Bastian's brother and also being connected to me, you could also be a target."

"Not to mention, my fake friendship with Jett."

"That too, yes."

"You're really gonna put me under your protection?"

"Bastian would want it."

He'd trusted him to save Skylar, for fuck's sakes. The tide had clearly turned there between the two of them on Bastian's end.

Jesus.

One set of major earth-shattering problems at a time.

"Okay, sure. I'll go pack now."

As he moved to do just that, I pressed my hand to his chest. "Stay with her for another few moments. I need to check in on Dante and Matteo. I don't want her left here alone in case she wakes up in a panic after what happened."

He frowned. "You want me to be somebody she wakes up to?"

"It is what it is right now." He'd saved her and he'd been feeding her information for a long time too, so it was highly doubtful she'd still see him as any sort of threat as he had been beforehand. He was also a connection to Bastian, which would help too. "When I return, I'll have two of my security team members with me. Allow them to escort you to your apartment to retrieve your things."

"Got it," he said, moving to sit back down at Skylar's bedside.

I took a moment to stare at her and drink her in, that she was here and safe and well.

And then I forced myself to turn around and leave to deal with the rest.

As I workedon the press statement to calm things regarding Skylar and Bastian, typing rapidly on my phone while I made my way down to the room Dante had been settled into a few moments ago after being treated, a text notification lit up my screen.

Luke: Team six minutes out from Caleb's last known location.

King: Received.

My pulse picked up, even the few minutes left remaining now until I'd get word on Caleb seeming like an age with the worry spearing through me. And Bastian… shit.

I clenched my fingers around my phone as I reached Dante's room, needing to take a beat again, fighting like hell to get a grip.

Hell.

I could barely manage it.

My control was crumbling.

So far, two of the people I cared about most in the world had been hit.

Bastian had been taken.

Skylar was injured.

And now Caleb… fuck, Caleb was missing, and in all likelihood to become another one of the taken.

Elijah had come after my heart.

For the second time in my life.

But I wasn't that helpless child anymore, not the powerless boy I had been when he'd taken my parents from me.

He'd made a grave mistake.

One he'd never recover from.

"Mr. King?"

I started and spun around to see one of the hospital staff walking up to me with a plastic bag in hand. She smiled kindly, her brown ponytail bobbing as she came to a sudden stop in front of me. "We were told these belonged in your care."

I cocked an eyebrow.

"Mr. Mancini's belongings that were found on his person, Sir."

"Thank you," I said, as she handed them to me.

"Of course," she returned politely, before hurrying off back down the corridor.

I stared at Dante's things. A tactical watch, his phone that was cracked in two places from the impact of those explosions, and also a golden oval locket. It had taken a hit too, dented and open, revealing two photos within. I peered closer, something nagging at me.

The photo on the left was of a young woman in her twenties with long caramel hair and beautiful hazel eyes. She was smiling widely wearing a veil, and I could make out the top of what was certainly a wedding dress, before the picture cut off halfway down her shoulders. It had to be his fiancé, Bianca Greco, the woman who'd been killed years ago. There were absolutely no files or photos of her anywhere. Dante had wiped away every trace of her existence, it likely being a painful reminder for him, I supposed was his reasoning. A rather extreme reaction, but everybody grieved in their own way. I knew that better than most, unfortunately.

I angled the bag a little and peered at the other photo.

My breath hitched. It looked oddly familiar.

I just… I couldn't place it.

My head was elsewhere on a hundred other things.

I committed it to memory and made a mental note to return to it once I had a moment to focus on it.

I was about to walk into Dante's room, when the door flew open and he staggered out, fighting to pull on his jacket.

He jolted as he caught sight of me and his bruised and cut face lit up. "Caspian."

"What are you doing out of that bed?"

"I'm conscious, hence me being done with that."

"You suffered a concussion and a dislocated shoulder."

"Ah, so that's what the mind-numbing headache is all about and the ache permeating my arm."

I rolled my eyes at him trying to blow it off like it was nothing. "Get back to bed."

"You were going to have me moved anyway, weren't you?"

He knew well how I worked. "Yes, but once all three of you were stabilized. Until then, my security is ensuring your safety."

"Resources that could be better spent elsewhere—tracking down Elijah, for instance. Not wasted on me."

I stepped up to him and laid my hand on his shoulder. "Matteo is currently being stabilized. He suffered third-degree burns over thirty-percent of his body. He actually would have been dead if he hadn't used one of Elijah's people as a human shield when the place blew. He's also sustained three broken ribs and a fractured wrist."

He grimaced at my report and took a moment to contain himself, before he asked, "And what of your loves?"

I scrubbed my hand over my face and gave him the details.

Pain twisted his features. "I'm so sorry, Caspian. So very sorry."

He pulled me into him and I took the comfort, laying my head on his shoulder.

"We'll rectify all of this, I swear it to you," he said, stroking my hair.

I forced myself to pull away. "This shouldn't have happened. We had him. Everything was in place. I was certain we'd weeded out the weak links and traitorous cunts, but for him to have known we were coming, then to put these attacks in place too, it points toward him having received intel from an insider."

"To the existence of a mole."

I nodded.

"Then we'll smoke them out and exterminate them like the rat that they are," he seethed.

Dante Mancini was a man all about loyalty and honor. Something like this, a traitor in our midst, was blasphemy to him, something utterly sick that he wouldn't tolerate. That he wouldn't forgive. There was only one response to such a thing and it matched mine precisely.

Ruin.

My phone rang and I answered quickly. "King."

"It's me," Luke responded. "Just got word on the team we sent to Caleb's location." He paused, making my gut twist. He only did that when he was on the verge of having to deliver bad news.

"Tell me," I pushed. Right fucking now.

"He's not there, King. I'm sorry. His necklace was, however. They must've taken it off him."

"No. The tracker tech in the pendant is imperceptible even to the most sensitive wands. He took it off. He didn't want me to go after him, to put myself in danger."

He was trying to protect me.

Dammit, Caleb.

It could cost him his life.

"You're confirming he's been taken?"

"There were scuff marks, his car was left open here, we have his phone, and we also found a tranquilizer dart. It's safe to say he's been taken along with Bastian."

I couldn't even answer.

I just hung up and thrust my fist into the wall, roaring at the top of my lungs.