Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dahlia

I t feels as if just after Bee left, a staff member was ushering me up to get ready to go on stage. I’ve been sitting for so long, my tailbone has fallen asleep, and I’m ready to go home. Seeing Sullivan, I frown as I walk up to where there’s a curtained off area.

“I thought there were more people before me,” I hiss, confused.

“The snowstorm is keeping students from making it here,” Sullivan says under his breath. “We’re trying to keep things moving, and hope no one flips their shit on me. So you’re going next and we’ll wrap this up.”

Taking a deep breath, I shake out my hands, hoping the nerves will be just as easy to expel.

“You got this,” he grunts, stepping up on the stage to announce us.

“All of this special attention,” Ivan says behind me, startling me. I thought I was the only one back here, but as I look around, I see that Pilar is here as well. They must have just come up.

“Everywhere I look, you’re cozying up to the director. Should I tell your boyfriend you’re cheating on him?”

God, I wish people would get out of my vagina’s business.

“I don’t really care what you think, but if you fuck up this recital, you’re going to regret it,” I say, forcing a natural looking smile as Sullivan calls us.

Pilar snorts in amusement, and we walk out onto the stage together. We almost look like a united front if you didn’t know how much Ivan and I have fought. My eyes immediately look for Jack, to see if Bee has returned yet.

His sharp eyes meet mine, and he shakes his head. I want to tell him to go find her, to just get up and leave, and I hope my eyes say more than I currently can before I turn back to focus on what’s happening on the stage.

My heart pounds with anxiety, now for Bee, as I sit down with my guitar, struggling to stay in the moment. My dress has pockets, which is one of the reasons I love it so much. There’s no way I would be able to keep a bag with me throughout the recital.

As it is, I left my bag on the chair I was sitting on earlier. I can feel the weight of a pocket knife that Jack bought me for Christmas in my pocket, helping to ground me. He spoiled us so much, but they were also practical gifts too.

I’m safe on this stage, but I don’t know if Bee is.

As much as I want to tell the people on stage to go fuck themselves, I can’t, because it would make my friend and boss look bad.

Taking a moment to settle myself, I open up my music, quickly meeting Pilar and Ivan’s eyes. They nod, and Ivan and I begin to ease into the piece. Ivan plays the piano the way he does everything else it seems, with intense concentration and energy.

Thankfully, it works perfectly for the song, so when Pilar’s violin joins us, it’s perfect.

My eyes find where Jack was sitting again, only to find him gone, which gives me a sense of relief. I don’t need anyone to sit in the audience for this. I’m here because it’s mandatory, which is why I’ve put so much effort into it.

I do, however, need my girlfriend to be safe, even if she locked herself in the bathroom and can’t get out.

Smirking at the thought, I take a deep breath and begin to sing a song that will probably go over all these rich assholes’ heads. But the words flow freely as they soar through the notes of our music, exactly the way I imagined they would.

So I find myself singing for my past, my present, and the two people that I love with all my heart. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Arina watching enviously, but the bitch can choke for all I care.

Jack

I didn’t want to leave Dolly, but fuck, I can’t shake this feeling in my stomach. There’s no sign of Ciara or Thomas, either, and I’m one step away from freaking the fuck out.

“Hey,” I say, catching a staff member. “Have you seen a woman with red hair in a braid and a blue and green dress?”

“Ah,” the man looks at me like I’m crazy, but a woman overhears me and nods, coming over.

“I did see her not too long ago,” she says. “The bathrooms by the ballroom were busy, and she appeared to really need to go. I sent her around the corner, since I knew it was empty.”

The staff member is elderly, and doesn’t appear to be hiding anything. Forcing myself to breathe evenly instead of the fire breathing dragon that I feel like, I nod. It’s not her fault I’m so on edge.

“Thanks,” I say with a tight smile, taking off to find Bee. It’s a long walk down the hallway, and I start to feel this uncomfortable itch between my shoulder blades. Shoving my hand in my pocket as if I’m completely relaxed and simply taking a stroll, I wrap my hand around my pocket knife.

It’s a much larger model than the one the girls have, and can do more damage. I’m sure there’s a size joke in there somewhere, but I’m too stressed and scared to enjoy it. Turning the corner after what feels like a million years, even the sounds of Dolly, Ivan, and Pilar sound muted.

There’s a blue clutch on the ground as I walk, and I lean down to pick it up. Opening it quickly, I huff out a breath as I find Bee’s knife. Okay, I’m definitely not imagining things. Turning in a small circle, I pull out my phone and call Ciara. When the call goes to voicemail, I call Thomas next, only to find the same issue.

Deciding to call in the big guns and close down the entire house, I put in a call to my head of security working this event, Alec.

“ Yeah, boss,” he answers, making me blow out a breath.

“Something is wrong,” I say. “Bowen is missing, and I just found her bag on the ground. Ciara and Thomas are nowhere to be found as well. Shut down the house. No one in or out. Find her.”

“ Fuck, I’m on it,” Alec says, hanging up.

Usually, I would call Greg in for help, but I don’t know what he has going on since he’s undercover. The last thing I want is to blow his cover.

Knowing Alec is working on closing the house down to look for Bee makes me feel a little better as I begin searching the rooms. Every single one of them is empty, until I get to what reminds me of a storage closet.

I can hear a muffled sound inside, which makes my blood pressure spike.

Pulling it open, I find Ciara gagged, bound, with a broken nose, and half naked. Her under eyes are already beginning to bruise from whatever impact her face had. Cursing, I pull out the gag, scowling as I realize it’s a ball gag.

There’s drool sliding down her face, angry tears, and she’s a mess.

“What happened?” I ask, shifting to watch my back as I wait for her answers. At this point, I don’t trust anyone, she may as well be a goddamned plant for all I know, though the broken nose would be a far stretch to believe that.

I’ve heard of more fucked up shit happening for the sake of a mission, and the last thing I need is to be taken by surprise right now. To her credit, Ciara doesn’t complain or beg to be set free. Instead she finds some composure to respond.

“About twenty minutes into the recital, Thomas told me that he had been told by the security team that a man resembling Gareth Davies was on the premises,” she rasps. She sounds as if she’s been screaming for help, attempting to get someone down here.

Unfortunately, it’s too far from everyone for anyone to hear.

“I should have asked more questions, but we all expected for Gareth to pull something tonight,” Ciara says. “I wanted to protect Dee. I got too close and fucked up.”

“It’s easy to get wrapped up in that girl,” I mutter. “I don’t blame you, and you know what you did wrong, I’m not going to torture you any further over it. Now, what happened after that?”

“We came down here, and he slammed my face into the wall repeatedly. There was no warning, he simply grabbed me and ran me into the wall. I screamed, trying to get away and fight back, but Thomas is a big fucker. All of my training couldn’t have prepared me for this. I thought I was going to die when I passed out.

“I woke up the way you see me now, with a splitting headache. I started to scream for help, desperate to tell someone that he’s turned on us. Thomas has been with us for years. He’s one of the company’s most trusted bodyguards and operatives. You don’t just flip like that unless it’s for a reason,” she rasps.

“Fuck,” I say, shaking my head. “I believe you, I just don’t know what he could have been offered to betray us. Gareth doesn’t have any money, and I pay Thomas incredibly well.”

Helping her, I untie her limbs, pulling her up to standing. “I’m going to bench you,” I sigh, pulling off my suit jacket, I empty my pockets and hand it to her.

“You probably have a concussion, and I have to go find Bowen. She’s missing, which is the reason I came down here at all. She went to the restroom, but she was supposed to find you or Thomas first. Alec is shutting down the house so we have a better chance of finding her, go find him.”

Shivering, she fashions the suit jacket so it’ll cover her body and still allow her to be able to move freely. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s better than before. Pocketing my knife and phone, I jerk my head for her to get moving.

“I hate my life,” she complains, beginning to walk barefoot. “Find her and make the fuckers pay. I’d give you my gun and knives, but that’s why he stripped me. It’s what I’d have done if I was him and planned to leave me stranded.”

Great, he has extra weapons. The fucker is a giant as it is.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I murmur as I watch her go. At a loss, I shove my fingers through my hair, pulling it hard to shut up the overwhelming panic and shame I feel. I should have taken her to the restroom, I should have made sure Ciara was around, I will be killing that fucker Thomas.

Stalking down the hall, I decide I need to find one of my security people for a gun. My phone buzzes and I hold back an annoyed sound, picking it up.

“Hello,” I say. It’s a number I don’t know, though that’s not always a bad thing.

“ Things just went to shit,” Greg says, sounding out of breath. “ Adamson is definitely working with Gareth, and the Boxley’s are out for blood.”

“Are you safe?” I ask, moving fast as I round a corner. I see one of my security men, and he walks quickly toward me.

“ Me? Fuck, yes, I’m fine. I’m not worried about me. Gareth’s coming for his daughter, Jack. Remember how her grandfather died on her mom’s side? Only she can sign that money over to him,” Greg says, sounding as if he’s running. “ I’m trying to get to you now, but these back woods fucking suck.”

“Shit,” I whisper. Bee once mentioned that as nice as it would be to be able to gain access to the trust, she didn’t want to come out of hiding for it. I told her whatever she needed, she’d always have, because I’d give it to her, and she didn’t mention it again. I had honestly forgotten about it too.

“How did you find out about that?”

“I had one of my plants get into his computer tonight. He left this evening after being holed up for days in the mansion, mumbling to himself and acting crazy. She found the file opened, and then connected the dots for herself,” Greg explains. “ It was an accident that worked out well, but Bronwyn is in deep shit, Jack.”

I guess it doesn’t make much difference what we call her now that everything is imploding.

“She’s missing,” I tell him. “I can’t find her and now I know who took her. Also, Greg? If you see Thomas, shoot him in the face for me. He’s a traitor.”

“ I’ll make sure you said as much ,” Greg says. “ I’ll also ensure he’s still alive, so I can torture the fucker. I thought he was loyal. We’ll find her. See you soon. ”

Not daunted as the phone disconnects, I put it away and nod at the guard in front of me.

“I need a gun and a guard on Dee,” I command, taking it from him when he immediately offers it. I can’t hear music anymore, and I stride into the ballroom, my eyes searching for her as I hide the gun in my pants pocket.

People are getting up as Sullivan announces that they’re ending early for the safety of everyone so they can get home, and my patience breaks. Where the fuck is Dahlia?

“Find Dee,” I command the guard, who begins to search for her. My words are limited as every fiber in my body tells me she’s been taken as well. Everyone working this event has been given photos of the important people at this event.

Dahlia and Bowen, the only ones who matter right now.

Striding through the ballroom, I run up the steps, using the height to continue my search. I also look for Ivan, Adamson, or Arina, anyone who can fucking help me right now.

“Jack, what happened?” Sullivan asks, eyes wide. “Who are we killing?”

“You if I can’t find her,” I say softly. “She just performed, where is she?”

“I… don’t know. Dee just left the stage with Ivan,” he says, looking around. Leaning in toward the microphone, Sullivan says, “Deidra Demarco, please return to the stage immediately.”

We continue to search, and I even race “backstage”, to find there’s no one there. Sullivan shakes his head as he walks down the stairs, pale.

“I don’t see her,” he rasps. “Where are her guards? Where is Bowen?”

“Gone,” I sigh. “God fucking dammit! Thomas is a traitor. He’s to be shot on sight. If you see him, yell bloody murder because he’s lethal. He ran Ciara’s head into a wall several times and put her out of commission. And now Dee is gone too. The house is locked down until further notice, Sullivan. Make the announcement. Keep them in the ballroom.”

“On it,” he says without a thought.

As people are asked to hang tight in the ballroom, I slip out. While I appreciate Sullivan’s help, it’s too little, too late. We bent over to accommodate his investors, but now I’m missing both my girls.

It would have been nice if he had recognized the danger first.

Hold on, please. Fuck, I can’t lose either of you.