3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

-Jared-

Astrid almost seemed on the verge of laughter at my response, but instead, she redirected her attention to her work, which didn't sit well with me.

"Astrid, I'm going out tonight. I can't just sit here and do nothing," I informed her, only to be met with a sigh of defeat.

"Jared, for someone who's desperate to get his woman back, you're not considering the consequences. You know you might end up causing her more pain, right?"

"I need to do something. I need to take action!" I insisted.

Astrid pondered for a moment before pushing the drawings closer to me, but that wasn't what I had in mind. If I wanted to draw, I could do so in my room, covering every inch of the walls with Alison's face. But I had no interest in turning my room into a shrine.

"I'm not looking for a distraction," I reminded her. "I need to be productive."

"Then don't hinder the process!" Astrid retorted.

"Astrid!"

"Fine!" she exclaimed, realizing I wouldn't simply comply and stay put. "Let's make a deal."

"No, I'm going to work."

"Jared, we need to come to an agreement."

I grumbled, reluctant to strike a deal. I was eager to be out there, inching closer to Alison with every passing moment.

"What deal?" I asked, feigning interest.

"Give me a week."

"Excuse me?"

"Give me one more week," she requested.

"No way! I can't wait another week. Two weeks have already slipped by!" I protested.

"Give me a week, and if I can't come up with anything, then you can do whatever you want with the club," she promised.

"Astrid, I can't afford to wait. I'm going out of my mind."

"Then draw."

"No!" I shouted. "I need her!"

"I can see that. But I can't afford to be dragged down with you. Changing leadership isn't a simple task. I need time, space, and not to be constantly worried about someone interfering. I can only reach Alison if I have the opportunity to do so without distractions," she explained patiently.

"And I can't bear to wait any longer."

"You might end up waiting forever if you don't let me work. Jared, take a deep breath and refocus. I know you're angry. I'll arrange for someone to train with you to help take your mind off things, and if I manage to capture someone who knows something, you can take out your anger on them," she offered.

"Do they need to stay alive?" I inquired.

"Only if they have useful information. If they're of no use, you can make their demise as slow and painful as you wish."

I nodded slightly. It made sense, but I wasn't entirely convinced.

"One week, Jared. I'll even devise a plan for the club, so if I haven't found her by then, everything will be prepared for you. I'll ensure one of my cousins is there for you to apprehend," she continued, her tone resolute.

"It's not as fun if you make it too easy," I teased, eliciting a smile from her.

"Give me a week, and you won't have to hold anything back any longer."

I tapped my finger against the armrest, contemplating her offer, but another week of waiting meant prolonging Alison's torment.

"I know what you're thinking, but you might risk pushing her even further away. Right now, I need the clear-headed Jared," she pointed out, and I groaned, rubbing my eyes.

"I'm not sure I've been clearheaded in a very long time," I sighed, sinking further into my seat.

"No, most likely not. There's a reason they went after her after all," she remarked.

I nodded, inwardly cursing myself for entangling Alison in all of this when that was precisely what I had been trying to avoid. It was supposed to be a straightforward month where I could subject her to anything I wanted, then send her back to her old life without her ever knowing about me. But we had veered so far off course from that plan, I had almost forgotten what my goal had been all along.

"I was a fool to think it could have gone differently," I groaned.

"You could have stayed away," Astrid suggested.

"No, I couldn't have. But I should have taken her away sooner," I admitted with a sigh.

"And brought her where?" she queried.

"I was working on it. I was just a bit too slow."

"She's one lucky woman," Astrid chuckled.

"Not really."

"No, you're correct. You're not good for her," Astrid agreed. "But you're the only one she has left now. So, are you going to let me work?"

"A week?" I inquired. "Is that what you need?"

"That's the maximum I know you'll give me. Ideally, I'd like a month, at the very least."

"You're absolutely crazy if you think I'm going to be pacing for a month."

"Exactly. So I asked for as much as I thought I could get from you, but you don't have to be completely on the sidelines," Astrid explained.

"No?"

"You still know Vince the best. Maybe if we put our heads together, we might figure out where he's gone or where he might have taken or sold Alison to," Astrid suggested. "That is if he didn't just hand her over to my father to deal with."

It did sound better than pacing, and if I had a week of agonizing patience ahead of me, then why not try to get into the heads of our fathers? We needed to understand precisely what their plan was concerning Alison, and perhaps this would also aid Astrid in shifting power, a prospect that intrigued me.

"You have a week," I agreed, and she smiled.

"Good. Then tell me where you've been searching so far, besides Vince's house, which couldn't possibly have some hidden bunker?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I've already checked downstairs in his own little torture rooms. She wasn't there."

"I see."

"But first, I want to know exactly why you think you can turn your father's loyal wolves against him. Don't they hold traditional viewpoints too?" I inquired.

"Why do you think I need you?" she countered.

"So you're really rallying them behind me, and not you?"

"A bit of both. Those I trust the most know who's really in charge, while those I want to deceive believe it's you," she clarified.

"But your father hasn't lost his mind nor is he ill. Why would they switch sides?" I pressed.

Astrid leaned back and tapped her stomach. "Because I carry the future."

"I'm not sure that's going to be enough."

"It's a start, and when I begin causing trouble for my father's business, leaving no traces of myself, they will see a failing leader," she explained.

"So it's all about painting him in a bad light."

"Hasn't it always been that way with kings? First, there's a bit of frustration, then anger, followed by hatred, and once every bad decision is blamed on the king, people rally together to take him down. It's fairly simple."

"A coup is not fairly simple," I countered. "Your father isn't an idiot, and I'm sure he'll ensure you aren't taking him down so easily."

"You're correct. He will be cautious, which is why this will be so much fun," she pointed out, before folding her hands beneath her chin and resting her elbows on the table.

"Now, where else have you been searching?" she inquired.

"The hotels around the city. Vince owns them. Often, if I was hired to kill someone, he would arrange it so they ended up in those hotels Sometimes for meetings, other times for escapes from work, or private sessions with escorts hired by Vince," I explained.

"Have you checked all of them?"

"Around the country? No, but it would be too easy," I sighed.

"What about hidden clubs? Anything?"

"That isn't his typical haunt."

"He does have certain services regarding drugs and illegal weapons," she pointed out.

"Yes, and he sought to expand that business, making it more secure and lucrative through your family. But primarily, he's a hitman or the leader behind hitmen. He gave me assignments once his health started deteriorating."

"It's Parkinson's, right?" Astrid inquired, suddenly very curious.

"Yes," I confirmed, the word coming out with a hint of intrigue. "Why?"

"He must require medication to keep the symptoms somewhat under control and slow their progression," she pointed out.

"We can't track him through that. He'd be too paranoid to make it that obvious."

"Yes, but I might be able to find out who supplies him," she reminded me. "And at some point, he would need help with certain tasks."

"He doesn't want it to get to that. I bet he will ask someone to kill him."

"How can you be certain?" she inquired.

"Because he wanted me to do it."

"So, we are truly working against time," she sighed.

"Yes, that is if he still has her."

"No, it's more likely my father knows more now that you've revealed that detail. Vince wouldn't want the trouble," she said.

"Or he would want the secret to die with him," I groaned.

"Jared, he knows you know him very well. The best course of action would be to send Alison in one direction while he heads in another. It would be foolish to be too close to her because Vince knows you want both things—him dead and her back in your arms. It would be smarter to leave it to my father. Should you locate him, he can truly say ‘I don't know'."

I could see her reasoning, but it didn't entirely exclude Vince from knowing Alison's location or keeping her with him. In that moment, I wished I had paid more attention to what Alison had said about his visit to my room, calling her ‘little dove'. I had never heard him call anyone that, and it should have raised alarms. Instead, I was fixated on what he had told me about my attraction to Alison.

"We can't completely rule him out," I warned her.

"No, of course not. And I'm sure when you have Alison back, you'll have a different target in mind. I'm guessing you won't be so forgiving, despite his significance to you."

"No, you're correct. I won't be."