Page 71 of Unclaimed Bonds

Emily squeals. “Can I help?! I can crack some codes!”

“Because I taught you,” Elijah grumbles.

Elias glances at his children. “Should I be worried?”

Jumping up with renewed enthusiasm, Emily pushes me out the door. “Not if it helps get Jessica back!”

Chapter 32

Hard Truths

LUKE

EIGHT YEARS AGO:

November 11, 2016: 8:30 p.m.

Alpha Kings Mansion

We search every pier, every airport. For hours on end, we search every security system we can hack into. Shadow, wherever he is, looks everywhere. If something happens to her, I will never forgive myself.

My parents are beside themselves with worry, and my brothers… blame themselves. I head over to my father’s office. I need to tell them about my fight with her. I need to explain that maybe she isn’t missing after all because she ran away, because I chased her away. They should know the truth.

The door to the office is cracked open, and I lift my hand to knock. Anders’s voice travels into the hallway. “Don’t tell me to calm down, Nathan! She’s my daughter!”

“I understand, Anders. She might not be of my blood, but I think of her as my daughter, too.”

“I made a mistake. I should have sent her to Ryukyu as soon as I found out. This is my fault!”

“It’s not your fault. We don’t know anything. We can’t jump to conclusions.”

“What if it’s the same people who tried to kill her before?”

“It could be, but we don’t know for sure.”

“Nathan, stop trying to sound reasonable!”

“What should I say, Anders? Gather all your men and storm a territory without any proof? Start a war on guesses and possibilities? I want to find her just as much as you do. I want everyone responsible to be punished. My hands are tied unless I have actual proof.”

I hear a crash inside the office. “She’s a good girl, Nathan. She never asks for anything. She works harder than any man I know. She’s smart, beautiful. I’m supposed to worry about horny teenage boys chasing after her, not about who’s trying to kill her next,” Anders laments. “She doesn’t deserve to live like this because she carries my blood.”

“We will find her, Anders, and we will take better precautions when she returns. Isn’t that the whole reason why we agreed to adopt her? So we could protect her better?”

I close my eyes and lean my forehead against the wall. I want to puke. I had it all wrong, so wrong. And I might be too late to make it right.

Chapter 33

Without A Trace

SHADOW

EIGHT YEARS AGO:

November 12, 2016: 3:33 a.m.

Luna Solar City

The guards, recruits, and even some Emerald Pack members search endlessly for any traces of her. There are no leads. I look everywhere I can imagine, but nothing.