Page 6

6

SEBASTIAN

The living room blurred in and out as I struggled to focus and stand. The headaches had grown more frequent, and I was worried something was seriously wrong with me. Since my parents had died, I tended to lose time and not be able to remember what had happened. I’d become a pro at masking those gaps, but maybe I should talk to Ella and see a doctor. My mind immediately went to worst-case scenarios. What if the migraines were a sign of something worse, like a brain tumor? I would need medical treatment. I owed it to myself and my family to take better care of myself, to be the best husband and father I could be.

I stood slowly and grabbed the top of the recliner as I found my balance. Frowning, I blinked several times, attempting to clear my vision.

“What the hell?” Toys and books were haphazardly thrown on the floor and the furniture was on its side. “Ella?” I called out.

Confused, I walked toward the kitchen to find an even bigger mess. “What the fuck happened? Why don’t I remember any of this?” Fear shot through me as I ran down the hall looking for Ella and the kids. Not seeing anyone, I rushed upstairs and searched for them. Once again, all I found were clothes and toys all over the kids’ room and the same in mine and Ella’s. Even with the twins, Ella and I maintained a clean place. This was out of the ordinary and nearly doubled me over with anxiety.

“Ella! Ella!” My voice grew frantic as a harsh possibility slammed into my chest. I dug my phone from my jacket pocket. I always carried a burner with me for the Horizon Society. My first call was to Ella, but it rang and rang before it went to her voicemail.

My forehead creased as I waited for the beep. “Baby, it’s your husband. Please call me as soon as you get this message.” I hung up and swallowed over the lump in my throat.

I immediately dialed Lulu’s number to make sure my babies were safe with her. With the house in chaos and not hearing from Ella, I needed to know if they were okay.

She answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Sebastian. How are the kids doing?”

“We’re taking a walk in the park. It’s such a beautiful day, I thought they would enjoy the fresh air.”

I heard the kids babbling in the background, and my heart skipped a beat with the knowledge that they were unharmed. Fear tiptoed down my back, as I suspected that unlike my children, their mother wasn’t safe.

“Could you keep them a few extra hours today? I’ll Venmo you the cash.”

“Sure. When would you like them home?”

I didn’t miss the concern in her voice. We rarely asked for extra time, but I needed to make calls and find my wife. If I lost my shit, I didn’t want to terrify my kids.

“In a few hours.”

She agreed and we said our goodbyes. After I hung up, I tried to fit the puzzle pieces together, fearing the worst. Then I remembered when Ella had finally told me the truth about Stephen coming after her when I was out of town. She promised he was no longer an issue, but I wasn’t clear on what she meant. No matter how hard I pressed her, she just assured me he wasn’t a problem, and he was out of our lives. Jumping to the bleakest conclusion possible, I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d found her. One thing I knew, he was a mean motherfucker with zero conscience. Unless he needed someone to reach a means to an end, he’d rather slit your throat than spit on you.

My phone buzzed in my palm, and I answered without looking at the screen.

“Ella?” Hope burst inside my chest, then disappeared as soon as I heard Dope’s voice.

“Bass?” I could almost hear him cringe.

Unable to hide my irritation, I said, “Who else would it be?”

“No, dude, my bad.” He paused before he spoke again. “Are you … are you at home?”

“Yeah, and shit isn’t right. Something is really wrong … I … I can’t find Ella.” My tone cracked with the confession.

“We’re on the way.”

My shoulders tensed as I realized Dope knew something.

“What is it, mate? Don’t draw it out, tell me where my wife is.”

I visualized Dope holding up his hands in surrender. He was used to my temper, but this time it would be a lot worse if he stalled and hid shit from me.

“I was calling to see if she was there. A few minutes ago, I checked the camera footage, and some men showed up and wrecked your house and … took Ella.”

My gaze narrowed. “You weren’t watching live?”

“I can’t monitor 24/7, man,” Dope admitted, guilt heavy in his voice. “I check recordings every few hours, run analytics for unusual patterns. But they knew our schedule, knew when I’d be focused on helping relocate that family in Oregon. They timed it perfectly, which means one thing. Someone was watching or they could have hacked my system. I’m good, but shit happens because there’s always someone better out there. I’m sorry, man.”

Tears pricked my eyes as I struggled to digest what the fuck he’d just said. “No way did I hear you right.” I realized I was grasping at straws. The evidence was right in front of me, but I couldn’t believe it.

“From the earlier video, I think the kids are with Lulu. I suspect she’ll be home soon. I called everyone and we’re all on the way to the airport.”

I shook my head, confusion settling over me like a wet blanket. “The kids are definitely with Lulu. I’ve already called her.” I massaged the back of my neck, the sharp headache giving way to a dull pounding. “Why is my plane in Oregon?”

“Riley and I were heading out to help a family, Bass. You had your pilot fly over. It was actually perfect timing, but we’re on our way to you. Well, Kip and I are.” The tension dripped off his words. “I just pulled up and Kip is on the tarmac. We’re on our way, man. We’ll find her. I swear to fucking god we’ll find her.”

“You’re sure you saw someone take her? The shit you smoked wasn’t too strong and you hallucinated?”

“I’m positive. I watched the footage several times. We can go over it when I’m there.”

“Screw that. I’ll look at it while you and Kip are in the air.”

Dope sucked in a sharp breath. “Then go straight to 1:23 p.m. this afternoon. There’s nothing else to see, so don’t waste your time.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours. Call if you find anything else.” I didn’t wait for him to speak before I hung up and tossed my phone onto the bed. Hurrying to my laptop, I flipped it open and retrieved the camera footage. I rarely looked at it since I didn’t want Ella to think I was spying on her, but we had a lot of enemies, and I couldn’t take a chance of not picking up danger.

I dropped onto the edge of the bed, frantically pulling up the surveillance footage. My pulse pounded against my neck as I fast forwarded to the timestamp Dope had mentioned. And there it was, a black Nissan Sentra pulling up to my house. The hairs on my arms stood on end as a tall figure in a dark suit and sunglasses emerged from the car. I cranked up the volume, listening to every word of the conversation. The security system, meant only for outside threats, suddenly seemed useless as I cursed myself for allowing this to happen. Forcing myself to focus, I needed to hear every last detail of what that son of a bitch said when he took my wife.

Horror slithered through my veins as I watched a man creep up behind Ella, then jab her in the neck with a needle. She stumbled; fear etched into her beautiful face as she grabbed the railing of the porch. Within seconds, she slumped forward and the man who had injected her scooped her up and carried her to the Nissan Sentra. I yelled at the video as I witnessed him put a helpless Ella in the car’s trunk and close it.

Two other men entered my home while the guy in the suit swapped out both license plates on the car.

“You stupid son of a bitch. You think that will keep me from finding you?” I focused on the car, catching a glimpse of the license number. Hitting the button to pause the feed, I grabbed the notebook and pen Ella always kept on her nightstand. I scribbled down one letter and two numbers on the Wisconsin plate. Unfortunately, I suspected it wouldn’t be the only time those plates would be changed. I had to act fast.

Once I located my phone again, I texted Dope that I was going to file a missing person’s report with the police. Before I could dial 9-1-1 my phone vibrated.

“Yeah?”

“You can’t call the cops, man.” Dope cleared his throat. “Wait until we get there, but you have to trust me. Keep them out of it.”

“You’re not making any damn sense, Dope.”

“What if those men are tied to the Horizon Society? Every family we’ve worked hard to help might be jeopardized. Not to mention we’ll all get arrested and put in jail. We can’t do Ella any good if we’re all behind bars.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I hadn’t thought about that. I’m fucking out of my mind right now.” I rubbed my temple.

“That’s what you have us for. To help you think straight. I’ll text you if I learn anything else.”

“Later.” I gripped the phone in my hand. A hitch in Dope’s voice told me he was hiding something. He knew more than he was telling me. When the guys got here, I would pry it out of him one way or another. For now, I had to try to keep a clear head and focus on my twins.