Page 23 of Their Stolen Obsession

The tiny rose pendant dangled in Frank Valencia’s hand. His wary dark eyes found mine, and they turned to anger. I froze.

Fuck. This was ridiculous. I was a damn deer in the headlights with a transport truck barreling right for me. But the big rig was an enraged father, desperate for his only child.

“Where’s my daughter?” Frank shouted.

Goddamn, I was a coward. I never let nerves get the best of me, but Liv made me weak. She made me unsteady. The last memory of her blasted through my head at the sight of the pendant ripped from herdelicate neck. The pain of losing her tore through me all over again.

“Sin, I—” my voice cracked as my best friend watched me crumble.

Sin stepped out in front of me, his hands in front of him. “Mr. Valencia, Liv isn’t here.”

“Then where is she? She disappeared from her wedding. We haven’t heard from her since. We’ve searched everywhere except here…” Frank explained as he thrashed his hands in the air and glanced around, grabbing his hair. “Sebastian is gone, too. Vanished. None of this makes any sense, and we hoped to find them here.”

“But Frank, our daughter wouldn’t step foot into a place like this…” Gloria expressed with worried wrinkles creased across her forehead. “She knows better. We raised her to stay away from places such as this.”

“But Sebastian did business with them,” Frank argued as he pointed toward us, and I felt a knife stab into my chest. “She has to be here.”

Fuck. The blade stung. Their words cut deep. The wound invaded my dark soul and left an infection no one could heal except them. Liv’s parents had to accept us. We had to make them.

Gutted. Torn. Heartbroken. I yearned for their acceptance.

“She’s not here, Frank,” I whispered.

Mr. Valencia shook, and the man was about to blow his top. If smoke could steam out of his ears, it would. I had only pissed him off.

“I’m calling the cops,” Frank said.

“No,” Sin said and crossed his arms. “We will handle this.”

Frank laughed sarcastically. “There’s no way I’m letting either of you take care of this. This is a matter the police should deal with. Our daughter is missing. She’s been gone for days.”

“We know that. As retired veterans, Mr. Sullivan and I have training in combat and rescue missions. We can find your daughter without getting the cops involved,” Sin explained in a calmer manner than I ever could. “If we don’t, she’ll be dead.”

Gloria gasped. “How do you know that?”

“Because we know who took Liv.” Sin answered and revealed the truth. “And Sebastian is the one to blame for all of this.”

“That sorry son of a bitch!” Frank grabbed a table ledge, and he pushed it to the floor with a crash. Glass shattered, but his angry cry for his daughter ripped a hole straight through my heart. “He put my daughter in danger! I’m going to kill him!”

“We’ll take care of Mr. Chamberlain,” Sin assured.

The mention of that motherfucker made me want to scream, too. I was as pissed off as Liv’s father and as damn torn up as he was.

Frank stopped. His eyes widened, and he quickly marched toward Sin. He grabbed my best friend’s collar and practically shook him.

“You know where Sebastian is?” Frank hissed through clenched teeth, a monster seeking vengeance. “Tell me. Tell me where he is!”

“Frank!” Gloria exclaimed with horror. “Frank! Stop it!”

Before I stepped in to de-escalate the situation, Mr. Valencia released Sin. His wife’s words got through to him, and he started rambling, pacing the floor, demanding to know where his little girl was. He was a tortured man who wanted his only child back in his arms, and I couldn’t help but sense every inch of his fucking pain. The ache of his need to have her back was excruciating.

“This is all my fault!” Frank wailed as he fell apart and dropped to the floor.

Gloria shook, concern for her husband etched on her face as she went to him and held him. Slouched down, consoling him and telling him everything would be all right.

Frank pushed her off. “No. This never would’ve happened. I’m the one to blame.”

Frank broke down.