Page 100

Deep in my heart, I knew she was alive. But was she hurt?Had they done anything to her?

Fucking hell. I hated this helpless feeling.

I tried to keep busy, but everywhere I turned, I saw Kiera. Heaving a frustrated breath, I went to the guest room where the shopping bag from Full Circle Apothecary sat on the desk. The protective willow talismans looked pretty, and I brushed my fingers around them, silently asking them to keep her safe. I was doing whatever I could to get her back. If I had to pray to a rock, I’d do it.

What was the point of having all this money and influence when I couldn’t even save my woman?

She bought five journals, probably giving some to her friends. What had made her cry?

I flipped through the journal, and by the time I got to the end, I understood. I didn’t journal and had no time for such things, but I understood why Kiera had gotten emotional. She went through a journey into her heart and found something worthwhile.

For me, I liked the layout of the book with the three major heart phases, which reminded me of cellular division. The “heart purge” asked you to declutter your mind. The second phase of “heart prayer” asked for your acknowledgement and choices, and the “heart promise” required an intention.

That book helped me see into my heart and soul. Kiera was the beaming light from those places. My feelings for her deepened every day. The determination to find her and punish those responsible kept me intact. Did they keep Kiera with Olivia? Or had they separated the friends to frighten them even more?

This private gathering had to yield critical information about Kiera’s whereabouts. I called my friends to go over the plan for this evening once more.

When our conversation ended, they knew about Kiera’s abduction. I asked them not to tell anyone yet, fearing her mother would get wind of it. With her poor health, this terrifying news would send her to the grave. Releasing a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes to let things settle before checking my emails.

Kiera had forwarded her mom’s health records to me. Health and science would give my mind a break from crime organizations. As I read the records, I had questions and emailed my doctor friends in Boston and Providence, asking for their opinion on her diagnosis. I understood that medical treatment wasn’t a cookie-cutter method, but something seemed off to me. The medication her doctor prescribed didn’t seem to fit her illness.

Kiera’s mother had played a crucial role during my mom’s last moments. Not only had Mrs. Ford comforted my mom, she also gave birth to the woman I love. It was odd how things came full circle.

Dressed in a black tuxedo, I checked my ID and waited for the text message of the location. I hated not knowing where I was going ahead of time. But I supposed that was the nature of the elite clubs. Whoever organized this banquet wanted people to know that he was in control and that the attendees played by his rules.

I reined in my distaste and tried to look at the positive side. Victory often required patience, and that was the mantra I repeated to myself in order to stay calm.

I had an hour before the text for the location was due to arrive, so I researched astrology in case someone from The Trogyn asked me those weird questions like they had done with Grayson.Grayson wouldn’t have known anything if his uncle hadn’t prepped him ahead of time. I didn’t know anything about these space objects, but I had to prepare myself. Part of winning any war was preparation. Luck favored those who were prepared.

Forty minutes later, I discovered that Orcus was an Etruscan god of the underworld and the punisher of broken oaths. Andromeda was our nearest galaxy about two and half million light-years away, and Black Moon Lilith was a virtual point in the moon’s orbit around the Earth.

My head was now filled with stuff I’d never cared to know. However, the information was a pleasant distraction, and I’d learned that astrology symbolized the personality archetypes. There was an art and science to this method of looking at the stars and the gods and goddesses associated with them.

My phone rang with the PI’snumber, and I answered immediately. “You have news on Kiera?”

“No, but your prime target is in Texas. Will send you a current pic.”

My heart thudded, but it wasn’t as powerful of a reaction as I had expected.

What an interesting plot twist. This visit to Texas symbolized so much for me. I’d been searching for the leader of the Anacondas—the man who had shot my dad—for years. I’d searched all over the continents for him, but failed. Now, he was in the same state as me. This was no coincidence. It meant something.

He hadn’t been on my mind since Kiera’s abduction, but now he was an issue that stood side by side.

“What’s his name?” I asked, looking at an image of my enemy, who had gotten older with a head of white hair. He still had a red birthmark on his neck.

“Goes by Red Venom. Some say he goes by Orcus too. Still looking for his real name.”

The heavens were shining down on me. He was no god of the underworld. He should be a prisoner in hell where he could endure infinite suffering.

Red Venom was a good start. “Thank you.”

My heart raced at the recent development. My search for Red Venom had lasted longer than I expected. I’d developed a charity in Brazil and used that facility as an office space to expand my search. The Ba7M5Bu88Project helped my people, the vulnerable within the small villages and those in the cities. But that branch also served as a research center for Red Venom and his crew.

My team in Brazil had monitored the crimes around the town my family used to live in. It was now peaceful, known as a place that offered organic vegetables and free medicine to the people. Despite my hatred toward the gangs and doctors who hadn’t helped my dad, I didn’t have anything against innocent people. As for the doctors who had refused to treat my father, they’d both died before I could confront them.

Things were falling into place in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Why was Red Venom in Texas? What was his business? Or had he always lived here?

Would he recognize me? I doubted it. He probably had too many enemies to worry about one little boy who had been searching for him all these years.