She resisted his attention for only as long as it took him to become pissed. In no time at all, he had her locked in his possessive embrace as he devoured her face.
“All right, you two. Get a room. We still have my granddaughter to find,” Mr. Chambers chastised. The reminder that Kennedy was still missing seemed to snap Keiran out of it.
“No more bullshitting around,” Keiran barked. “We find her tonight, and no one fucking eats or sleeps until we do.”
Ten minutes later, we were all gathered in the living room of my childhood home, minus John who said he had somewhere to be (a.k.a. Mitch). I had found Sheldon some old shorts and a shirt to wear from my preteen days. Everyone lifted a brow at her attire, but wisely, no one said a word.
After about another hour of Keiran’s grilling, we had all grown impatient. “The ransom note didn’t give us much to go on, and we’ve searched everywhere. Do you know something we don’t?”
“If we searched everywhere, Kennedy would have been found. What’s the deal with the house in Camden?”
“It was a dead end, but we’ve been keeping surveillance on it. Nothing’s popped up on the radar.”
“Q, when do you have to go back?”
“I’m good for another week.”
“Jesse, how safe are we hacking these satellites?”
“As long as I continue to jump between satellites, I can be in and out before anyone can pick up I was ever there.”
Keiran had begun to pace back and forth, and when the silence stretched too long, I interrupted. “What are you thinking?”
“There’s one place we haven’t looked.”
“Where?” we all collectively shouted.
“Four years ago, John told me the story of how he met our mother. Mitch kept her prisoner in a house no one knew about until John found them. I don’t know how he found them, and he also never told me where it was… Where did he say he was going again?” Keiran asked as he pulled out his phone.
“He didn’t,” Q answered before cutting his eyes toward me.
Fuck. There was no way Q could know where he had gone, but I knew he suspected something. The look he gave me confirmed it.
I had promised John I wouldn’t tell Keiran where Mitch was but was a secret built from the need for revenge really worth my daughter’s life? I had just made my decision when Keiran started to speak into the phone.
Keiran hung up a short time later with a tense expression.
“What did he say?” Sheldon asked. Her hands shook and her chest heaved up and down. I took in her body and once again noticed how thin she had become in such a short time. It was something I noticed last night, but my head was too clouded with lust to look into it further. Thinking back, I hadn’t seen her eat or drink so much as a bottle of water since waking up in the hospital a week ago.
“He said he was on his way.”
That explained the frustration he wore on his face. I pulled my vibrating phone from my jeans and read the message that lit up the screen: Don’t say anything.
It was a text from John. I considered ignoring it, but what would it mean for Kennedy if I did? Would John keep the information secret if I spilled his? What would it mean for Kennedy if I didn’t tell?
“How long until he’s here?” I hadn’t realized I was staring hard down at my phone until Sheldon’s voice snapped me back to the present.
“He said a few hours.”
I jumped to my feet and looked around the room at all the tired faces. It was evident that each person in this room had hardly slept since Kennedy was taken. The love that clearly surrounded her was something I had not seen at her age. For as long as I could remember, I had only been given isolation.
“Well, I’m going to go help your mother with the volunteers,” Mr. Chambers announced. “Dash, are you coming?”
“No, I think I’m going to stick around in case something comes up.”
The way he looked at me told me the real reason he chose to stick around. He didn’t trust me, and I gave him every reason not to. In some way, I also think he was hoping I’d change my mind. That was Dash. He was always the positive one.
“Be careful, Dash. Just remember what’s at stake. Empires don’t run themselves.”
“Dad, my niece—your granddaughter is what’s at stake. I’ll do whatever it takes,” he responded coldly.
Given the conversation between Sheldon and her mother at the hospital, I wasn’t surprised at his reaction. However, Keiran was completely oblivious and currently looked on the verge of murdering him where he stood. Mr. Chambers wisely stormed out without a response.
“All right, you two. Get a room. We still have my granddaughter to find,” Mr. Chambers chastised. The reminder that Kennedy was still missing seemed to snap Keiran out of it.
“No more bullshitting around,” Keiran barked. “We find her tonight, and no one fucking eats or sleeps until we do.”
Ten minutes later, we were all gathered in the living room of my childhood home, minus John who said he had somewhere to be (a.k.a. Mitch). I had found Sheldon some old shorts and a shirt to wear from my preteen days. Everyone lifted a brow at her attire, but wisely, no one said a word.
After about another hour of Keiran’s grilling, we had all grown impatient. “The ransom note didn’t give us much to go on, and we’ve searched everywhere. Do you know something we don’t?”
“If we searched everywhere, Kennedy would have been found. What’s the deal with the house in Camden?”
“It was a dead end, but we’ve been keeping surveillance on it. Nothing’s popped up on the radar.”
“Q, when do you have to go back?”
“I’m good for another week.”
“Jesse, how safe are we hacking these satellites?”
“As long as I continue to jump between satellites, I can be in and out before anyone can pick up I was ever there.”
Keiran had begun to pace back and forth, and when the silence stretched too long, I interrupted. “What are you thinking?”
“There’s one place we haven’t looked.”
“Where?” we all collectively shouted.
“Four years ago, John told me the story of how he met our mother. Mitch kept her prisoner in a house no one knew about until John found them. I don’t know how he found them, and he also never told me where it was… Where did he say he was going again?” Keiran asked as he pulled out his phone.
“He didn’t,” Q answered before cutting his eyes toward me.
Fuck. There was no way Q could know where he had gone, but I knew he suspected something. The look he gave me confirmed it.
I had promised John I wouldn’t tell Keiran where Mitch was but was a secret built from the need for revenge really worth my daughter’s life? I had just made my decision when Keiran started to speak into the phone.
Keiran hung up a short time later with a tense expression.
“What did he say?” Sheldon asked. Her hands shook and her chest heaved up and down. I took in her body and once again noticed how thin she had become in such a short time. It was something I noticed last night, but my head was too clouded with lust to look into it further. Thinking back, I hadn’t seen her eat or drink so much as a bottle of water since waking up in the hospital a week ago.
“He said he was on his way.”
That explained the frustration he wore on his face. I pulled my vibrating phone from my jeans and read the message that lit up the screen: Don’t say anything.
It was a text from John. I considered ignoring it, but what would it mean for Kennedy if I did? Would John keep the information secret if I spilled his? What would it mean for Kennedy if I didn’t tell?
“How long until he’s here?” I hadn’t realized I was staring hard down at my phone until Sheldon’s voice snapped me back to the present.
“He said a few hours.”
I jumped to my feet and looked around the room at all the tired faces. It was evident that each person in this room had hardly slept since Kennedy was taken. The love that clearly surrounded her was something I had not seen at her age. For as long as I could remember, I had only been given isolation.
“Well, I’m going to go help your mother with the volunteers,” Mr. Chambers announced. “Dash, are you coming?”
“No, I think I’m going to stick around in case something comes up.”
The way he looked at me told me the real reason he chose to stick around. He didn’t trust me, and I gave him every reason not to. In some way, I also think he was hoping I’d change my mind. That was Dash. He was always the positive one.
“Be careful, Dash. Just remember what’s at stake. Empires don’t run themselves.”
“Dad, my niece—your granddaughter is what’s at stake. I’ll do whatever it takes,” he responded coldly.
Given the conversation between Sheldon and her mother at the hospital, I wasn’t surprised at his reaction. However, Keiran was completely oblivious and currently looked on the verge of murdering him where he stood. Mr. Chambers wisely stormed out without a response.
