Page 72 of The King of Hearts (The Raven Group #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

HIM

M y fist slams down on the mahogany desk, and I swipe it across the surface, knocking all of the useless shit on top to the floor. My whole fucking body vibrates with pent-up aggression and raw, brutal violence.

It’s been hours since Savina was taken, and we’re no closer to discovering who took her, why they took her, or where the hell she is.

“Fuck!” I grit out. “Goddamn it. We’ve got to be missing something.”

I lift my head and meet Alexander’s eyes.

He looks just as pissed as I do with his jaw as hard as granite, his eyes lit with rage, and his body as taut as a bowstring.

I turn and face the rest of the room. Bishop and Cassio are off to one side, their backs ramrod straight and their expressions savage.

Marcelo is over by the door. He keeps his expression neutral, but I know he’s nearly as pissed as I am.

Liliana is on the opposite side of the room where Bishop and Cassio are.

I’ve noticed she likes to keep herself as far away from the men in the room as possible.

Unfortunately, the information she gave us earlier about Grant, or rather, Aiden , hasn’t helped.

The apartment she and her daughter shared with him came up empty, and the only other places she knew of that’s associated with his name produced nothing.

He didn’t allow her to leave the apartment, except on rare occasions, and only when he accompanied her.

He never brought any of his friends or coworkers home.

Hell, she doesn’t even know what he does for a living.

He’s kept her under lock and key and on an extremely short leash, so her information was very limited.

Alexander has men manning the coasts, but even if someone could slip past them, I have cameras set up watching the waterways.

They were put in place when I first moved my mother back to the island.

Other than Marcelo, I trust no one. Because of what happened to my mother years ago, the night my father disappeared, I wanted the place I took my mother to be completely safe.

If someone other than the residents of Hollow’s Reef stepped foot on the island, I wanted to know.

Which means her kidnapper is local, or they knew about the cameras and how to avoid them.

Somehow, Aiden is involved, but he has to have had help.

No one has tried to leave or enter the island since Savina was taken, indicating they have to still be here. Between myself and Alexander, we have a couple handful of men combing every inch, but that shit takes time. Time Savina may not have.

I take my phone from my pocket and look at the picture that’s still pulled up on my screen. I received it from an encrypted number an hour ago. Renewed anger rockets through my bones when I look at the still image.

Savina is tied to a bed with her legs spread out, her arms over her head, and attached to the railing at the head of the bed.

She’s fucking naked. Her eyes are puffy and closed, and although she appears to be asleep, it’s not hard to miss the stress she’s feeling, even in an unconscious state, from the frown on her brow.

Her luscious brown hair is tangled and spread out on the pillow beneath her head, and the flash from the camera highlights the paleness of her skin.

The area around her mouth is red and there are dried tear tracks, along with a white substance, staining her cheeks.

My veins throb from the pure lava flowing through them because I know what her appearance is from.

There’s a hole in the wall over by the door to Alexander’s office from my fist when I first got the image.

As I stare at the picture, my phone vibrates and a notification appears for a new message at the same time I hear a chime go off from someone else’s. I click the notification.

Emo: I’m at the door. Let me in.

“What?” I half listen as Bishop barks into the phone.

Ignoring the others, I stalk out of the office to the front door and look at the small screen beside it. A familiar face I haven’t seen in years stares back at me. Beside him is another man, but I can’t see his face because it’s angled away from the camera.

I press in the code to deactivate the alarm. As I push the last number, a voice barks behind me, “How in the fuck do you know our alarm code?”

I disregard the question as I yank open the front door.

I called Emo earlier and updated him on the situation with Savina, hoping by sheer luck he’d be able to get me the answers the private investigator hasn’t been able to.

I’ve spoken with him before about the letters and photos I’ve been receiving, but up to that point, I haven’t asked him to look into it yet.

The man beside Emo turns when the door swings open, and I get a good look at him.

Heat creeps up the back of my scalp, and a red haze slides across my vision when I recognize him immediately.

I haven’t seen him in years, and my memories are foggy, but I’d know his face anywhere from the plethora of photos in my mother’s room.

He looks the same, but also different. One thing is for sure though.

This isn’t the same man from the video Emo sent me a few weeks ago, but he looks similar.

He’s aged and has lost a lot of weight since my childhood, and although his face is the same, it’s slimmer and looks paler with dark circles around his eyes.

The man looks like he’s on the verge of passing out.

I give zero fucks how fucking frail he appears. I give even less that he’s my missing father.

I glare at the man who sired me, all the while he looks at me with a sort of awe in his expression.

I hate this man with every fiber of my being, and I hope he sees that on my face.

I switch my gaze to Emo. “Looks like you found my father,” I comment unnecessarily.

“He was a bitch to find,” Emo replies in a deadened tone. “Let’s take this inside. There’s shit you need to know, and it pertains to your girl.”

I want to demand he tell me now, but I spin on my heel instead, knowing they’ll follow.

As soon as I’m in Alexander’s office, I turn and address Emo.

I don’t even look at my father as he comes into the room.

He moves slowly, taking measured steps, as if he’s barely staying on his feet.

But his back is straight, and I know it’s taking a lot of effort to stay that way.

“What do you know?” I ask my longtime friend.

He glances at my father. “I found him?—”

I cut him off. “I don’t give a fuck where you found him. My only concern right now is locating my wife.”

“I’ll get to that part in a moment.”

“Emo,” I growl.

“In a fucking minute,” Emo barks. His expression remains unfazed, even if his words are harsh. “This part is every bit as important as to where she is and who took her and why.”

I clench my jaw, my blunt nails digging into my fist. “Then get to it.”

“I can only tell you what I saw when I arrived. Antonio will have to tell you the rest.” I jerk my chin up, indicating for him to continue.

“I found Antonio a couple of towns over from the mainland in Beckenridge. He was tied to a bed in the basement of a dilapidated house, barely conscious. There was an IV set up. From the state he was in, I assume that’s how he’s been getting vital nutrients for a while.

Do you remember the video I sent you a few weeks ago?

” I nod. “I sent the video out to a guy I know. He’s a video analyst. I don’t know the details, and I’m sure you don’t care, but he was able to get me the name of the man. ”

He gestures to my father with a hand. “I’m sure you’ve noticed, this man is not the same one in the video, but he looks damn close.”

He does look eerily similar to my father. Almost as if….

“He’s my brother, Theo.”

I jerk my head in his direction. Antonio looks like he’s about to fall over. While I don’t particularly care if he drops dead in front of us, I want answers before it happens.

I walk over and grab a chair, then shove it in his direction. “Sit the fuck down before you fall,” I grit out.

He slumps down on the cushiony seat and releases a long breath.

I stuff my clenched hands in my pockets and stare at him. “You don’t have a brother. Or I don’t remember you ever mentioning him. Only your sick bitch of a sister, Rosa.”

His brows pinch together. “What do you mean by that?” he asks in a weak and frail voice.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but that cunt came to live with us when you disappeared. For five years, I lived with that woman as she groomed me as her little sex toy.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” someone mutters.

Antonio’s face pales even more. “Where was your mother?” he croaks.

“In a fucking catatonic state because of whatever happened that night. She’s been that way since you disappeared.”

Anger adds a bit of color back to his cheeks. “Where’s Rosa now?”

“Dead,” I remark. “I was twelve when I killed her.”

My father doesn’t say anything else, but I don’t miss the hint of satisfaction in his eyes at that news.

“Now tell me how you have a brother that I knew nothing about.”

“I cut ties with him years ago, before you were born. I haven’t claimed him as blood since then, so there was no reason for you to know about him.”

There’s more to the story, a lot more, going by his expression, but we’ll get to that later.

“Where the fuck is my wife?” I demand.

He wipes a wrinkled hand down his gaunt face.

“There’s a place in the center of the island.

Only your mother and I know where it is.

Or rather, we used to be the only ones who knew.

That’s no longer the case. It’s a bunker that Miles Ellington had built when he first bought the island for his wife.

I used to take your mother there when we wanted… privacy.”

“Exact location,” I snap.

He sits up straighter in his seat. “You drive. I’ll give you directions as we go.”