Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

LUKAS

A few hours later, Gabriel Walker and I stand on the balcony. Gabriel taps his pen against his notepad, looking over the city. During the questioning, I did my best to push the stuff about Maci to the back of my mind. I need to focus on Sebastian. He said it himself; he doesn't have a family. I need to be there for him.

"There are a few options," Gabriel says. "We could go to the cops."

"Finn said Nobody has contacts with the police."

"He has claimed to have contacts with them," Gabriel murmurs. "That doesn't mean it's necessarily true, but you're right. We'd be taking a chance. If they know we're coming, the chances of them hurting your friend are high."

"And an innocent young woman," I tell him. "Sebastian's not the only one at stake here."

Gabriel nods. "Of course, sir. We need both those civilians safe and sound."

"Option number two?"

"We try to pay them off."

"That won't work. They sound nuts. If they want a second Dark Age…" Just saying it out loud makes me feel so damn ridiculous. "I doubt money is going to sway them. Let's say they did agree to bribe. Then what? Maybe they'll use the cash to do something even worse. I'll be funding these psychos."

"That brings us to option three," he says calmly.

"Which is?"

Gabriel lowers his voice. "Strictly speaking, we should involve law enforcement," he says. "I need to state, and for you to fully understand, that if we go ahead with any other plan, we'll be doing so illegally."

"Tell me this, then," I reply. "In your expert opinion, what are the chances of involving law enforcement resulting in Sebastian's…" I clench my teeth, hardly even able to think about it, let alone say it. We've been through so much together. "Not making it?"

"It's difficult to state it with any certainty."

"Is it more or less likely to happen, then?"

"More likely," he answers right away. "The police are, for the most part, good people, but cops are cops; they have paperwork and bureaucracy. They're not as agile as we'd be, and you have something they don't have—billions of dollars. That makes a difference."

"Tell me your plan," I say.

"We hire a mercenary company that usually works overseas—black ops. I know a good outfit. We secure them all with NDAs, the breaking of which forfeits all their assets. This is a failsafe. These men and women know how to keep their mouths shut. Then we use every means available, which may be expensive, to rescue your business partner and the girl. We'll have an overwhelming strategic advantage. If the job involves violence, we can hide what we've done."

I nod. "These men have kidnapped an innocent woman. By the sounds of it, they're having a whale of a time hurting my friend. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get him back."

"Shall I start making arrangements?"

"Yeah… and Gabriel, remember what I said? I'm ready to do whatever it takes. These men want nothing more than to get to me, clearly. I'm not a tactician. I'm not a black ops guy, but I know people. If we give them what they want or pretend to, we'll likely get much further."

Gabriel massages his chin, contemplating my words. "Do you understand what you're saying? It'll mean putting yourself in danger. One stray shot, one word out of place…"

He doesn't need to say it. I understand. If I do this, there's a chance I won't make it out alive.

"Sebastian's my friend," I growl. "I wasn't there for him before. He needed me, and I didn't see it. I'm ready."

Gabriel leaves me on the balcony. I look down at the city, wondering if those men are out there, wondering what they're doing to Sebastian. I remember when we made our first million, running around our office like lunatics, hollering and punching the air. I remember clasping arms, feeling that deep, unbreakable bond.

Then it's like a punch hits me right in the gut. This bond I'm thinking about, this connection, is exactly what Kayla and Maci had before I got involved.

"What am I supposed to tell them?" Maci asks as we all sit in the living room. Her cheeks are flushed, the redness spreading down her neck. I use every shred of control I have not to let my gaze animalistically follow that flush.

"Tell them it's a trip," Gabriel replies.

Maci throws her hands up. "So I'm supposed to tell my mom and her boyfriend that we're taking a sudden trip to Lukas Larson's place outside the city?"

Gabriel thinks moving to a fortified location outside the city would be better—a place we can more easily defend. But he wants us all to go, including Maci's mom, just in case this Nobody asshat gets suspicious and decides to kidnap more people.

"Can I tell her the truth?" Maci asks.

"That depends." Gabriel looks at her seriously. "Do you trust her? Do you trust her boyfriend? Do you think they can handle this without putting the operation in danger?"

That's what this is now—an operation . Events are already in motion. I've paid two million upfront and several more into escrow for when the job's complete. The company is called Bright Night, a name that seems designed to be meaningless, as if to hide the company's purpose.

"Yes," Maci says. "I trust Mom. She'll understand." She swallows. "I don't know about Mark. Maybe I can ask Mom to lie to Mark?"

"That could work."

"Oh." Maci runs her hands through her hair, making it even messier. Kayla is sitting just across from me. I'm focusing so hard on not showing how badly I want to comfort my maybe-girlfriend, how much I want to go to her, hold her, and tell her I will be here every step of the way. "Okay. I'll do that, then."

Gabriel nods at me to join him in the hallway.

"We've discussed what you offered," he says. "Did you have anything specific in mind?"

"I'll go live again. This time, I'll mention nobody . It'll seem like nonsense to my audience, except for this Nobody prick. He'll understand. I'll offer to meet and sacrifice my company. I'll need to phrase it well and make it seem like I have a reason for the live but with a hidden message."

"Let's get to work."