Chapter 39

39

LINCOLN

T hree days. Three fucking days of absolutely nothing. There have been no more notes, no more packages, and no sign of them anywhere. Zack and his men, along with all of the Rebels, have been scouring the entire town looking for them, and even with the help of the Hallowed Crows MC, and Blade and his crew, we can't find them anywhere. It's as if they have disappeared into thin air, which is impossible. The only way to make someone truly disappear is to kill them, and I refuse to believe they are dead.

I haven't slept, I've barely eaten, and I talk to no one. My focus is solely on the bits of CCTV we managed to recover of them both being taken. They were ambushed, and every single time I replay the footage it makes me sick. My family hover around me like they think I might break, but the joke's on them, because without Logan and Asher, I have nothing left to break for.

Elle is somehow holding all of us together for the sake of Cassie, but there is a heavy sorrow lingering in the air all around us. Lily has taken up permanent residence on the sofa, looking out the window over the pool, and Arthur and Helen pretty much pace around her the entire time. Zack is working well in ordering t he security, keeping his cool, but I see the panic and despair in his eyes at both of his brothers being missing.

Missing, not dead.

That's the thought, on repeat in my mind like a mantra, the only one keeping me upright as exhaustion clings to me, and my body screams at me in pain. I know I should eat, drink, sleep, do anything but fucking sit here and wait, but I can't, because everywhere I look I see them. They should be here, Arthur and Helen should have their son, and Cassie should have her father. So no, they're not dead, they're just missing, we'll find them, I'll get them back.

Just as I have that thought, Jace walks into the kitchen, his eyes instantly trailing over me in a way I used to do to him. Without a word he heads to the coffee machine, making two large cups, before dropping into the seat beside me, and silently sliding one over to me.

I eye the black liquid before flicking my stare up to meet his. "Surprised Elle hasn't sent you in here with orders to try and get me to sleep," I croak, taking a sip of the hot coffee and letting it burn my throat.

"Oh, she did, but you know I love nothing more than pissing our Queenie off," he muses, sipping his own, but still watching me closely. "Besides, I know my efforts would be useless, you won't relax until we find them." I nod slowly, yet look at him in question as he adds with a shrug, "I wouldn't stop if it was Riley." His words make me realize how much he understands me, that despite never letting him all the way in, he truly is my best friend.

I nod again in thanks and understanding, drinking the coffee, just as my phone vibrates on the table. Picking it up, I find a text message from an unknown number, and immediately sit up straighter in my stool.

Unknown : Are you having fun yet?

Jace notices my reaction, and I feel him lean over and read the message on my screen, and he flies off his stool and out of the room, as fast as my fingers fly across the screen and type out a response.

Lincoln : Who is this?

Unknown : You don't remember me?

Unknown : Consider me offended

Remember me? Do I know who they are? I mean, clearly they know me.

I know I could be doing a hundred things right now to try and track and trace them, but I remain frozen, my focus on their replies as Jace bursts back into the room with Elle, Marcus, Zack, and Max close on his heels.

Lincoln : Tell me who you are and maybe I will remember you

Unknown : Who I am isn't important, not right now.

Unknown : It's who I have that is…

Unknown : IMAGE ATTACHED

Both Elle and Zack are at my side, as Max notes down the phone number and starts looking into it, which means they both see the image as it comes through.

Asher and Logan are both splayed on the floor like they are nothing but trash. Their clothes are torn and bloody, and their skin is a hideous shade of purple and black. It makes Elle instantly gasp and choke back a cry, but I feel nothing, no pain, no fear, nothing. The Lincoln who let himself feel disappeared the momen t they did, now only my father's son remains.

Lincoln : What do you want?

Unknown : Oh that's simple

Unknown : I can only kill so many men that look like you

Unknown : Now I want the real thing

My mind flashes with the five bodies that were dumped around Black Hallows, all bearing some resemblance to me, along with the photo of my cabin, and the note with my nickname. All of this is about me, he took them because of me, and now I have to be the one to get them back.

Lincoln : Then tell me where you are

Unknown : That's boring

Unknown : Let's play a game instead

I'm aware of more people entering the kitchen and multiple conversations going on around me, but my focus remains on the phone. Taking a deep breath, I respond.

Lincoln : What kind of game?

Unknown : Hide and seek

Unknown : I'll hide them

Unknown : You come and seek them

A game, this is a fucking game? Anger courses through my veins as I tap out another message and press send.

Lincoln : They could be anywhere

Message failed to deliver

I toss the phone back against the island as Max curses, and it doesn't take a genius to know he just realized the same thing I did, the phone has gone dead. Yet before I can even say anything, the kitchen door bursts open and Seb storms inside holding another box.

"This was just delivered to the Crows on the front gate," he grunts, placing it carefully on the center of the island between us all.

"Who gave it to them?" I snap, standing so abruptly that I knock back my chair, and his frown only deepens.

"It was a ten year old little girl. She lives in a foster home and said some guy gave her the box, a hundred bucks, and this address," he replies solemnly, and the rage inside of me only increases.

Fucking piece of shit.

I rip off the lid, only to pause when I see it's filled with papers starting with my birth certificate. Then it's sheet after sheet of my entire life, from the first school I was enrolled in, the first foster home I was placed in, and pictures of me with Marcus and Jace and all the others. There's my file from Hallows High, and my profile from the website for Zack's office here in town. Anything and everything this person could get their hands on that relates to me.

I take out everything, laying it on the island for everyone else to see, my life laid bare for them, but it doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is getting Logan and Ash back.

"What is all this?" Marcus asks, scanning his eyes across the stacks of paper in confusion.

"It's my life," I mutter, just as confused as he is by all of this, but still I keep going. It isn't until I reach the bottom of the box t hat I pause, frowning a little at what's waiting there.

"Superman, what is it?" Elle asks, trying to see inside the box, but I am already reaching in and pulling out the items.

First, there is a set of keys. To what, I'm not sure, but it's the second item that has me confused. It's an invitation to the Fire and Ice Ball we attended at Hallows Prep, before everything went to shit. The ball was orchestrated by the Donovans, so why am I being sent it now?

"He wants me to find them," I say to no one in particular, trying to make sense of all of this. "And this box holds the key to where they are." It's only now I notice Arthur and Helen are standing in the corner, and I can't bring myself to meet their eyes.

Their son is missing and it's all my fault.

"The Fire and Ice Ball?" Marcus questions, looking at the invitation. "Why the fuck would they send you that?" He adds, echoing the question in my mind, but before I can respond, Elle beats me to it.

"Those keys were for the Donovan estate, they belonged to Ash," she says, her eyes focused on nothing but them.

"Are you sure?" I ask, handing them over to her so she can inspect them even closer.

She nods, more tears gathering in her eyes as she chokes out, "Yes, I bought him that keychain for Christmas the year after Cass was born." It's only when she turns it over that I notice the silver rectangle hanging from the keys, engraved with the word ‘Always'.

"Why send us an invitation for a ball that happened over a year ago, and keys for a house that no longer exists?" I snap, my eyes flashing between both items. "It doesn't make any sense," I mutter more to myself than anyone else.

"Unless it makes perfect sense," Jace says slowly, his eyes scanning every page, until they come to rest on me. "This is all about you. They want you, yet they took them? Why?" He questions, but we all know why. "It's because they know what they mean to you, and they want to see you suffer. They're taunting you, and they aren't just going to hand them back on a platter."

The notes and texts blur together in my mind. The stakes, the fun, the games, they're all taunts, Jace is right. Whoever has taken them isn't going to just let me find them, not together at least. My eyes flick between the invitation and the keys, as I reach the same conclusion Jace has.

"This is how we find them," I whisper. "Asher is at his old family estate, and Logan is at the school." There is no other explanation for those two items being in a sea of items relating to me, they have to be there for a reason, a taunt.

Asher burnt his house to the ground and hasn't been back since, so I can only presume he lost his keys the night of the fire, or tossed them, so just how long has this guy been following me?

Logan has no ties to Hallows High, but that ball was high society, just like the world he grew up in, and I was there that night, so it's the only conclusion I can come to right now.

It might not make any sense, but hell, none of this makes any fucking sense, and it's all we have right now.

Elle and I share a look, one filled with shared agony and fury, but then we move in sync, darting from the kitchen and heading down to the room hidden in the basement, where we store all of our weapons. All the guys follow, gearing up with us as we grab bulletproof vests, weapons, and comms, before we are all storming to the garage.

"Max, you're with me and Lincoln," Elle orders, nodding to my SUV, before she turns to the others. "Marcus, go with Zack and Jace," she adds, not needing to add who is going for who, we all know.

She leans up and steals a quick kiss fro m his lips, and I can't help the guilt that consumes me, they shouldn't be doing this.

"Stab first, Little King," he tells her, and despite the situation we are in, she smiles softly.

"I always do."

I nod at both my brothers, trusting them with one of the most important things in my life, before I climb in the opposite car to them and we are all ripping out of the garage without looking back. We both have a couple of security tailing us for back up, but the rest of them are staying at the house with the Crows to ensure everyone is kept safe.

The drive isn't a long one. It's barely a few miles down the road, but the car provides us with more safety than traveling by foot. Yet as we pull up to what used to be the Donovan mansion, all appears quiet. My eyes are everywhere, checking the expanse of gates and walls for any sign of trouble, but coming up empty.

"What if he's not here?" Elle mutters, her eyes doing the same as mine, as Max mumbles something in the comms to the others.

"He has to be," I reply, knowing that if he isn't, we are just going to be stuck, waiting around for another clue from whatever cunt is responsible for this.

"What if he's…" she whispers, trailing off, and I know where her mind just went, because it's a place I've been stopping my own from going for three fucking days.

"He's not," I snap, needing to believe that, because the alternative is just too much to bear.

"Nothing seems out of place, I'd say we breach the gate and go from there," Max cuts in, his eyes still on the estate up ahead, and Elle and I both nod.

We climb from the car, nodding to the security guys behind us, who climb out and fan out a little, keeping guard, as we approach the gate. To no one's surprise it's already open, and Max pushes Elle between me and him and enters first, gun already drawn. I follow behind them, my own gun raised despite the pain it causes in my side, my stare scanning the ground far and wide. You can tell where the house used to sit, despite the burnt remains being removed, as there are just large areas of stained concrete, and it makes everything look eerie.

"We just reached the school," Zack breathes down the comms, but I can't focus on him right now.

No, instead I'm ambushed from behind, someone jumping on me from behind and taking me down to the ground, as pain rips through me. Yet before I can even react, Elle is slamming her knife into the base of his skull, spilling his blood all over me in the process, before Max is ripping him off me and tossing him aside. Elle opens her mouth, no doubt to ask if I am okay, but my gun is already trained past her, planting a bullet in the skull of the man aiming for her.

"Damn, I thought we were even," she breathes, as I push her behind me, my eyes flaring wide, as three more guys appear from the trees opposite us.

Max drags us behind a tree, taking out two of them, as Elle takes out the fifth, and then we are all in position, ready to take on more, as Max shouts down the comms to Zack about an ambush. No response comes as they are no doubt dealing with their own shit, and all I can do is pray we all make it out of this alive.

When no more guys appear, Max silently directs us left through the trees, staying covered, as we move in the direction the men came from. There isn't a sound, except the whoosh of the trees, and I swear I can hear my heartbeat thundering in my chest. Especially when we reach a clearing, only to find it empty. Max and Elle spread out, looking around, but then I hear the snapping of a twig to my left, and I am already taking off running.

I fly through the trees, ignoring Max an d Elle as they curse my name, only to stumble when I spot Asher in the distance. He is gagged and tied to a tree, fighting against his restraints, having no doubt heard the gunshots, and when his eyes meet mine, they are dark and stormy, but most importantly, alive.

I rush towards him, screaming to the others that I found him, before I drop to my knees, and slice through his restraints with my knife, before ripping the tape off his mouth, and making him cry out in pain.

"It's okay, I got you, I'm here, I got you," I repeat over and over, my eyes burning as they take in the state of him. It's worse than when Greg's men tried to beat him to death. Hell, he looks worse than when he got shot, and I know I need to get him out of here.

"Are you okay?" he gasps, his eyes assessing me the same way I am him, and it's only then I glance down and see just how much blood I am covered in.

"I'm fine, it's not my blood," I tell him, as Elle and Max burst into the small clearing where we are.

"Oh, Ash," Elle cries, rushing towards us and dropping to her knees beside me, but stopping herself before she throws her arms around him.

"I'm okay, Hells Bells, I'm hard to kill remember," he grunts, and I ignore the pain in my side, as I dip down and hook my arm around him, forcing us both to our feet. "Where is Logan?" He asks, and my eyes snap to Max, as he tells the others through the comms that we found Ash.

The silence that follows feels like a lifetime, as both Elle and Max stay alert to our surroundings, and I'm about to scream down my own mic for an answer, when suddenly Jace comes through, "We got Logan, he's pretty banged up, but we got him."

Relief like I have never known washes through me, as Elle and I share another look. "We need to get back to the house," she demands, and we all instantly start moving, knowing there is nowhere as safe as that right now, not with the Crows and the rest of the security guys waiting.

I keep Asher upright, using my body as a crutch for his own, and I know he must be in pain, because he doesn't even bitch me out for doing so. The weight of him is welcome, as I guide us back through the trees slowly while Max stays on guard. Elle calls home, telling Arthur to be ready with supplies, who lets her know that the Crows have already sent someone to pick up Aria Harris to help out too, all we need to do is get home.

Asher cries out in pain as we make it back to the car, and Elle and I lift him into the backseat, and the door is barely closed behind us before Max is flooring it, getting us there as fast as we can.

My hands search Asher, checking him for any serious wounds and he grunts, "I'm okay, it's just my shoulder and my ribs," he grits, dirt, sweat, and blood lining his face, as I rip away the shoulder of his shirt and find a bullet hole there.

"He's been shot," I shout, taking off my jacket and pressing it against him, as I search his torso for other injuries. "What happened to your ribs?" I ask, finding them completely discolored.

"Metal bar," he coughs, blood splattering out of his mouth, and my only solace is the sight of the house, as we roll through the gates past the Crows.

Zack and the others are already back, and as I help Ash from the car, I hear the welcome sound of Logan's voice. "I'm fine, brother, get off me," he snaps, his tone laced in pain, as he searches the driveway and adds, "Where is Asher? I need to see Asher."

I push past Marcus and Jace, until my eyes meet his, but he is already completely focused on Ash. "Missing me already," Ash spits, holding a firm hand to his ribs, as I guide him towards Logan .

My eyes scan him instantly, taking in his own hoard of injuries not too far from Asher's, as bile rises up my throat. Fuck, I almost lost them.

"I thought you were dead. Are you okay?" Logan asks, stumbling towards us in both relief and desperation, and Asher nods.

"I'm okay," he tells him, even though it's a lie, but right now it doesn't matter.

"He's alive, he's okay," he breathes, turning to both me and Zack and smiling, as he adds, "Everything is going to be okay."

Then he collapses to the floor.