37. Kael

37

KAEL

Driving to where the track app says Paige's phone is, I can only hope she's there too.

I need Paige to be all right, I need her to be safe. I need her to be there so I can get mad at her, so I can hold her in my arms, so I can tell her I love her. I will not miss another opportunity to tell her.

This deep-rooted fear of not knowing how she is tells me without a doubt that I will fight the whole Murphy and Burke mafia for my princess if I have to, but I will not give up on her. Ever.

I need her by my side, always in my sight. I need to always make sure she's okay.

I'm coming, sweetheart. And you better be ready for me because I'm coming to stay.

The tracking signal shows she has stopped, but she's nowhere near the hospital.

That's not a good sign, so I step on the gas.

What are you doing, princess?

I call her again. But same as all the previous times, it rings until it goes to voicemail .

My throat burns, my eyes sting.

"Come on, princess, don't do this to me."

My fingers squeeze the steering wheel so hard I might crush it to dust.

I put the phone back on the tracker. No change.

Maybe she just ditched her phone? But why would she do that?

I'm two minutes away now, and it's the longest two minutes of my life. The road seems unending.

When the tracker shows I'm close, my heart stops in my chest at the sight in front of me.

Ahead on the road, a car is wheels up and another is a few yards ahead, front doors open.

I look around as I stop my car on the side of the road by Paige's car. The open doors show me no one is inside. The passenger door's window is busted.

I get out of my car to get a closer look. Maybe she left me a clue.

And there, on the floor of the driver's side, is a phone. Paige's phone.

Feck!

I look around me, searching for her, for movement, for anything that tells me I'm wrong. That tells me she wasn't taken.

When I get nothing, I run to the Escalade.

Aiden and Jeremy are both on the floor, unmoving.

Feck, feck, feck, I'm too late to save them too.

The bullet wounds on their chests tell me all I need to know.

I fall to my knees next to Jeremy.

He's a good person, takes care of his two siblings since their parents passed just after graduation. Declan had given him a job right after, and he'd always been loyal to the Burkes.

I take a shaking breath, trying to figure out what to do, where to go.

This has to be Murphy's work. No one else would dare to try and kidnap a Burke.

No one else is stupid enough.

A low groan makes me look down at the man on the other side of the Escalade.

I get up and run to him.

"Aiden—"

He coughs and tries to move, maybe to sit up. "Don't. Just lie still. I'm calling for help."

I take my phone out of my pocket to call 911.

His hand grabs mine. "Murphy…"

"Don't try to talk." There's blood trickling from his mouth. That doesn't bode well. "I'll call the ambulance."

"No need. It doesn't hurt anymore." He smiles, and there's blood on his teeth that makes me shiver. "I had a coach in high school. Know what he always said? If it doesn't hurt, you're dead. Turns out he was right."

"Aiden—"

His hand leaves mine, and he points toward Paige's car. "They went?—"

"It's okay, Aiden. Don't speak, I'm calling for help now."

He smiles at me as I hold my phone to dial, and his face just goes slack.

"Aiden?" I try to feel his pulse, on his neck, on his writs, I press my ear to his chest.

Nothing.

Aiden's gone, staring into space, and I shudder, closing his eyes .

What a waste. These were good men.

Paige.

I have to find her now more than ever.

What do I do?

I should get the cleaners here, but if I do it now, Murphy will know I'm on to him. I should do it anyway, right?

Or should I call Declan and Gray first? Will they even pick up this time, or will I just be wasting even more time? Paige's out there, in Murphy's claws, and I don't need anyone telling me to stay away. I won't stay away. Not now, not ever again.

I thought staying away would keep her safe, I though someone else would protect her better.

I was wrong.

Now, come hell or high water, I'm saving her, and I'm keeping her for myself, safe by my side. Forever as mine, if she wants me.

She is my princess.

But they're her brothers, they deserve to know. But what do I really have to tell them? All I really know is that she was taken by the Murphys, that they have her, but I have no idea where.

How the feck will I find her? She can be anywhere by now?

I pace back and forth, trying to come up with a plan, the best plan to get Paige safe and sound back into my arms.

Then it hits me.

Cormac. He knows all about Murphy's comings and goings.

I scroll my phone for his contact and hit call.

He answers right away. "Who's hurt?"

"You know me too well, but my hope is no one." God, I do hope Paige is not hurt, that they just took her without harming her because if they harmed her, hurt her in any way, I'll unleash hell on them, I'll make them suffer, make them wish they were dead long before I grant them their wish. As for Jeremy and Aiden, they are dead, not hurt. "I do however need some information."

"Aye? It'll cost you a pretty penny."

"Don't you worry about what it costs me," I hiss. "I know you have your fingers in all the pies, Cormac. I know you work for Murphy as much as you work for Burke, and he knows it, too."

"Aye? I've never kept that a secret."

"I don't care that you're kind of a rat, what I need to know is where Murphy has been hiding out. Any addresses you have, I'll take them."

"Give me a couple of minutes. Anything specific I should look for?"

"Yes. Somewhere they might use to hide an unwilling guest."

"Gotcha. Prepare the pay, I'll call back in two minutes or less." He hangs up the phone.

I call Declan. It rings until voicemail picks up. I hang up and ring Gray. No answer either.

I call the cleaners to give them my current location. As soon as I hang up, my phone rings.

"Cormac, what've you got for me?"

"Payment first."

Fecking leech. "The transfer's ready to go as soon as I confirm your intel's good. I'm not throwing my money away. But, if it pays up, I'll give you double what your miserable life's worth."

"I'm not sure that works for me, Sullivan."

"Very well. If you don't start talking, my next stop is a visit to you, and I will get my answers the hard way before I kill you. How about that?"

"Jesus Christ. Fine. You got a pen?"

I put my phone on speaker and open the notes app.

"Shoot."

He rattles off a few addresses, and I make sure I have every detail right by repeating each one back to him when he's done before I hang up.

He better not be messing with me, or I will kill him, right after I wipe all the Murphy scum.

I try to call Gray again. Now that I have a few locations, I could use the help. I also have a plan, and it would help having someone in on it. Someone to have my back as I get my princess.

As the call goes to voicemail, I let the beep do its thing.

"Aiden and Jeremy are dead, and Murphy's got Paige. I'm getting her back now. If you want to help, just track my location at any time." I hang up and call Declan, and when he also doesn't answer, I leave him the exact same message.

Whether they help me or not is up to them. Right now, my concern is Paige. I need to get her back. Now.

She needs to be safe, needs to come back home, and feck it if I'm not the guy who gets to save her.

That's my princess, and I want her back.

As I get in my car and aim in the direction Aiden pointed, I mentally scroll through the addresses Cormac gave me.

A few of those are really good possibilities so I'll start from the closest one and work my way through them until I find her.

"Hang on, sweetheart. I'm coming to get you."

I only hope I'm not too late.