Page 53 of The Devil's Heir

Jarek

What a way to rain on my fucking parade. Someone is going to pay dearly for interfering with this special day. As pissed as I am about being interrupted, I can't help the grin that splays across my lips from hearing the good news. We're having a boy.

"I'm sorry you were called away, Mr. Falcon. I can go back and pick her up once I drop you off," Jackson offers.

I wave him off. "I've already contacted Richards to go pick her up. Hopefully, the damage isn't as bad as Lansky made it sound."

"Lansky is the one who called you?" Jackson asks, frowning.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing…" he shakes his head. "I just figured it would be someone higher up the ladder."

Although Jackson's statement is true, there would be chaos if there were an explosion. The warehouse manager was probably trying to delegate jobs to everyone. I shrug off his words and pull my phone out.

A text from Lily tells me that Richards has picked her up, but before I can respond, Jackson curses. I look up and see the destruction before us. Thankfully, the explosion occurred in the farthest building away, so none of the other warehouses were damaged.

I place my phone back in my pocket, Lily's text completely forgotten. I exit the car as soon as it comes to a stop and rush over to Elliott, who stands there, yelling at the warehouse crew to get back so the firefighters can do their job.

"What the fuck happened?" I scowl as I come to stand beside my capo .

"Not sure yet. I was just a few blocks away, on my way back from dropping off a local shipment, when I heard the explosion," Elliott replies.

"Lansky said that he wasn't sure everyone was out…"

"Yeah, well, everyone is accounted for now. There shouldn't have been anyone in that building anyway." Elliott frowns. "I'm not sure why he would have told you that."

I look around the area. About two dozen workers are milling around and watching the fire being extinguished, but I don't see any redheads.

"Where is Lansky anyway?" I ask my capo.

Elliott shrugs. "I haven't seen him all day. I didn't even know he was here."

"That's strange," I say more to myself and pull out my phone.

I tap on Lansky's number and wait.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Where the fuck are you?" I growl into the phone.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Boss. It's my day off. I stopped by the warehouse because I was looking for Richards, but the explosion happened…"

"Well, get your ass back here. I'm going to need all hands-on deck to help sort through this shit."

"Yes, Sir. I'm in the middle of helping my mother, but I'll be there soon."

"I don't give a shit if you're helping the Mother Mary give birth to the Messiah! I want your ass here pronto!" I hang up on the little shit and then glare at Elliott. He's standing there staring at me with a goofy fucking grin on his face. "What the fuck are you smiling at?"

"You're so going to Hell."

I scoff. "You're just figuring that out? I'll remember to ask for forgiveness the next time I go to confession."

Elliott throws his head back with unrestrained laughter. I punch him in the arm and then shove him.

"I'm sorry, Boss, but when was the last time you went to confession?" he asks, pretending to wipe tearless eyes.

"It doesn't fucking matter. I said the next time I go. Who gives a fuck when I went last?"

I leave my capo standing there as I walk away, his laughter following me for quite some distance. That fucker can laugh during the most horrific

times—I don't understand him at all.

Once I'm far enough from all the commotion, I pull my phone back out and call Lily. I find it strange that she hasn't texted me back when she should be home by now.

Her phone rings a couple of times and then goes to voicemail. Did she just ignore my call? I try again, and the same thing happens. My anger rises when I try a third time, and it goes straight to voicemail.

Lily knows to answer my calls. If she thinks I'll allow this to go unpunished, she can think again. I didn't know she was angry when I left, so what could I have done in this short time since I left her presence?

I decide to call the phone at the front gate of the estate. The guard answers, and I know it's Louie by his voice.

"Hello, Mr. Falcon. What can I do for you?"

"Louie, what time did Miss Sumner return?"

"I'm sorry, Sir, but Miss Sumner hasn't returned yet."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Richards took the Bentley, but he hasn't returned as of yet."

My heart drops when I hear this news. Where the fuck could she be?

"Okay, thanks," I tell the guard, then instruct, "Call me once they do."

"Will do, Sir."

Immediately, I pull up the tracking app on my phone and the stupid thing needs to update first. While it updates, I hurry back to Elliott and tell him to stay here until everything is taken care of. I then text Joey and Koval to have them meet me here.

I may be overreacting, but something isn't right; I feel it in my gut.

When I look at the update progress, it makes me want to throw my fucking phone—it's only at fifty percent.

So, help me God, I pray that I'm wrong because if I'm not, I'm going to turn half of this town upside down and burn the rest until I find Lily—until I find my family.

"Calm the fuck down, Jarek! You're not going to do Lily any good in the state you're in!" Joey yells at me as I throw the hotel chair at the mirror, busting it into pieces .

"She was here! Lily was fucking here, and I didn't get here in time!" Spittle flies from my mouth as I breathe heavily. I look at my phone, and the green dot is still here.

"Boss?" I spin around at Koval's voice and find him standing in the doorway to the little bathroom, holding up Lily's phone and collar.

"How the fuck did they know that there was a tracker in the collar, and how did they get it off?" I ask, snatching it from Koval's hand.

Studying it, I can see they used some metal cutter. Some fucker brought a sharp object this close to Lily's neck! They're going to die a very slow death.

Fisting the broken collar, I start giving out orders to have video footage sent to me as soon as possible. I want to know what they're driving!

"Where the fuck is Richards?" I ask Joey.

"I'm not sure. He isn't returning my call."

"I thought you vetted these fuckers!" I glare at my best friend.

"I did! I didn't find anything wrong with any of them!" Joey swears.

"Well, then Richards best be fucking lying somewhere with a bullet in his head or his throat slit by whoever took my girl. If I find out that he's the one who has her, so help me—nothing and no one will stop the hell I bring down on him and all who helped."

"I'm with you, Jarek—trust me," Joey says, gripping my shoulder. "We will get her back, and they will pay."

I sit on the bed and put my face in my hands as I try to calm down a little. Joey is right; I'm not going to do Lily any good if I don't keep my wits about me.

"We're having a boy," I say softly. "We just found out seconds before I got the call about the explosion. We couldn't even fucking celebrate together."

"How convenient was that?" Koval states, and I lift my head to see him leaning against the desk, his arms crossed in front of him.

"What are you saying?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"Well, if you ask me, I find it pretty fishy that a warehouse that had nothing explosive inside it and is rarely used blows up, and then your woman goes missing after you leave to go deal with the shitstorm.

" Koval pushes away from the desk. "You were set up, Boss.

They used the explosion as a distraction to get you out of the way. "

"Motherfucker!" I stand with my hands fisted. "What the hell do they want? Why take Lily?"

"That, I can't tell you, Boss."

"It has to be about you, Jarek. No offense, but Lily isn't anybody special except to you—and she's carrying your heir," Joey points out the obvious, and although it pisses me off, it's the truth. Lily is very special to me.

The truth is, I have enemies. And as much as I want to believe I can keep Lily safe; the harsh reality is that I can't. She never asked for this, yet now she's out there—alone, vulnerable, and undoubtedly terrified, especially given her condition.

An unfamiliar sensation stirs—one I haven't felt in years, not since my parents died. It tightens in my chest, an unforgiving vise around the organ time has hardened—my heart. The pressure is so tangible that my hand instinctively moves, rubbing at my chest as my breath grows fast and shallow.

"Jarek!" Joey moves to my side. "Sit back down and take a few deep breaths."

"I'm fine…" I pant out, briefly squeezing my eyes shut.

"It looks to me that you're having a panic attack. Now, sit your ass down!" Joey barks out the order, and I glare at him.

"Who's the boss here?"

"Fuck that, Jarek! I'm ordering you as your friend to sit the fuck down and just take a minute to collect yourself." My friend shoves me down onto the bed's edge, keeping his hand on my shoulder as he instructs me, "Now, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly."

In order to shut him up and leave me the fuck alone, I do as he tells me, and then I repeat it a few more times. Although I can still feel a pang in my chest, my breathing returns to normal, and I can think calmly once more.

"There. Feel better?" he asks.

"Fuck off…"

"Yep, he's feeling better," Koval says, chuckling.

"Where the fuck are those security videos?" I call out as I walk from the room.

I don't like my men seeing me weak, and although I can admit that Lily makes me, it doesn't mean that my men need to witness it. The more I push the unwanted feeling that caused my breakdown away, the more my anger rises. I want to break things and destroy everything in my path.

I barely hear Joey's phone conversation as I brush past him and burst through the door that leads to the stairwell. This hotel is so old that I'll bet the elevator hasn't worked in years. Not that I could have shut myself inside of it anyway. I'm raging too much to close myself in a small box.

"Uh, we have a problem, Jarek." Joey states as he follows close behind.

I stop suddenly and spin on my best friend. "Don't you dare fucking say it."

I'm not stupid. I knew it was a stretch to ask for security footage when the elevator didn't even work, and the walls were cracked and crumbling in places as we descended each floor.

"Don't shoot the messenger," Joey states, backing up a few steps. "This place has nothing, which we should have known taking in the state this shit hole is in, but the guys found something from the bank's security camera across the street."

I turn and head toward the front, where the hotel manager's office is located.

Yanking the door open, I come face to face with a guy who looks just as slimy as the hotel he runs.

With slicked-back hair, scabs, and craters all over his face, the man sneers at me, showcasing his black and rotted teeth.

"Like I told the others, I don't have any cameras, and I don't give a shit about what happens in my hotel as long as they pay up. Now, get the fuck out of here before I make you." The guy pulls a pocket knife out and starts cleaning under his filthy nails.

I look over my shoulder at Joey and actually smirk.

Koval steps forward to educate the man. "You do know that you're speaking to Jarek Falcon, don't you?"

The manager's eyes grow wide, and a look of horror appears. By the time his beady black eyes meet mine again, I'm already holding my arm out, my Glock pointed right at his head.

"Do you know where they took my girl?" I ask slowly.

The guy shakes his head vigorously, and that's all I need to know. I pull the trigger, and a hole appears in the center of his forehead. Placing my gun back in its holster under my jacket, I turn and walk out. I'm tired of people wasting my fucking time.