Page 37 of Wickedly Played (Checkmate #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three

MAX

I’m running out the door just in time to see the taillights flying out of the parking lot. “Fuck!” I shout. Stella and Deacon are hot on my heels until they see the missing Escalade from the driveway. “Mother fucker!” I growl.

My phone is ringing in my pocket as I fish it out. “Yeah?” I answer Jim’s call.

“Want to tell me why Serena just canceled her next appointments and said she’s going out of town?” His voice is harsh from rage.

“I don’t have time for story time. Where is she going?” I demand.

He huffs. “Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. I gave you a chance to do the right thing and work a legit job. You’re the one who fucked everything up.”

“Fuck off, Jim!”

“You'd better make this right with Serena. You don’t know what kind of demons she’s hiding from,” Jim warns before hanging up the phone.

“What happened?” I ask Stella, who has full-fledged tears rolling down her cheeks.

Deacon doesn’t do anything to stop the tears from falling. He doesn’t offer her any comfort, and that alone makes me almost feel bad for her. Deacon is a piece of shit.

“Serena just does whatever Serena wants with no regard to how she makes others feel. She’s done this for years. I hope she stays gone.”

There is a look in his eyes that tells me he’s worried about something more than he’s letting on. He’s thinking very hard about something, and I need to know what it is.

“That’s not what happened,” Stella cries. “I pushed. I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“What did you push for?”

She’s looking all around before staring at my feet. “I pushed her to admit her feelings. I yelled at her for being cold. I yelled at her for never talking about how she felt. This is all my fault,” she admits.

My anger bubbles inside me as I reflect on the emotional toll today took on both me and Serena. I pushed, too. If I hadn’t told her to tell me about her dad, maybe the fight wouldn’t have happened between Serena and Stella.

“Jesus, fuck!” I shout.

My fingers are dialing Joey’s number to get him over here. I need to get to Serena’s house as soon as possible. If her stalker were to find out she’s alone, she’s a bigger target than before.

“Hey, Max. What’s up?” Joey answers.

“Dude, I need you to come to the club you had Serena at when you watched her. She’s run off. I need to get her,” I bark into the phone.

“What the fuck? Why would she run off?”

“It is a long story, man. Tell Franky you’re needed by me, and he will let you off the job,” I retort, hanging up the phone.

I’m watching all of the cameras at the house while waiting for Joey.

It would have made sense to have Deacon drive me to her home, but I don’t trust that mother fucker.

I think he’s playing games. Each camera hasn’t picked up any movement in the home or outside of the house in the past three minutes, since Serena ran off.

Joey parks in front of Alpha, and I twist my finger in the air to indicate he needs to move over. I need to drive. When Joey moves around the car, he stops in front of Stella.

“Stell,” he mutters.

“You two know each other?” Deacon demands.

Stella shakes her head and looks past him to me. “Is this some type of joke?”

“We don’t have time for this. We need to get going!” I’m in the car, ready to go, before Joey drops into the passenger seat.

I don’t say anything the whole drive to Serena’s house. There’s nothing to really say. I need to get to my girl before her stalker does.

The ringing phone shakes me from my thoughts. “What?” I growled into the phone.

“What happened with Serena?” Adam commands.

“We fought, and she ran off. I’m trying to get to her house right now. I don’t have time to talk.”

“You should have fucking called me! This is my company. I don’t know why you didn’t call me before doing all of this shit,” he barks.

“Are you really making this about you? Serena’s stalker has been ramping up, and now she’s alone. Don’t you think I have other things to worry about than your ego?” My anger is choking me right now. I have never wanted to rip his head off more than I do right now.

“Fuck off, Max,” Adam spits.

The minute the phone hangs up, Franky is calling me.

“Franky,” I greeted into the phone.

“I pulled up the tracker and see you’re on your way to your mark’s house. I need you to stay there,” Franky orders.

“I need to get Serena!”

He tsks. “Look, I’ve given you multiple passes lately because of what happened to your dad, but I’m done with the disrespect. You and Joey need to meet me at her house.”

“What the hell?” I argue.

“There’s been a new development.”

“Jesus,” I mutter. “Did you call Adam?”

“Don’t contact him. If he calls you, call me immediately.” I hear him closing the car door behind, and then the engine roars to life in the Mustang. “I’ll explain it all when I see you.”

“What do you know?” I ask Joey.

He grunts. “How do you know Stella?”

“What?” That’s what he wants to talk about right now?

He slams his hand on the dashboard. “I’m not fucking around. How do you know her?”

“She’s Serena’s submissive. They film content together.” I take a moment to let his question sink in. “How do you know her?”

Joey is running his hands through his long hair as he looks out the window. “She’s my fucking ex-girlfriend.”

My mouth hits my lap. “Are you fucking serious? When did you guys go out? What the hell?” The distraction was necessary to prevent me from running the car off the road.

“We dated a while ago. It was serious. Some shit happened, and we broke up.”

“Bro,” I breathe out. “She’s in a pretty serious relationship with Deacon.”

“You don’t think I didn’t know that? Of course, I knew they were together,” he huffs.

We’re pulling into the driveway of Serena’s house in a couple of minutes just as Franky is pulling in, too. “I hope her ass is in this house,” I mutter to myself. “If it isn’t, I’m tying her to the fucking bed.”

Our boss, Franky, is getting out of his car with his bodyguard right behind him, Georgio. Franky has always been suspicious and untrusting, which makes initiation a struggle as he puts the new members through hell to prove their loyalty. He’s killed a few people who haven’t passed his tests.

Franky looks like the typical Irishman you would think of, but he has a darker complexion.

He’s never done me wrong, but I wasn’t in the running to take over my dad’s spot as Don after he was taken out.

Some more senior members were pissed off at missing the Don spot, and they let their words be heard.

“Let’s get in the fucking house,” he points to the door.

I notice the door is open and then check the camera feeds again. “Mother fucker! Someone cut the feeds off.” According to the app, the feeds have been off for five minutes, which would give anyone enough time to do anything they wanted to Serena.

I kick open the door before shouting for Serena.

“She’s not here, brother,” Franky mutters.

“What the fuck do you mean? She’s supposed to be here,” I demand.

His hand grabs my shoulder to prevent me from tearing through the house. “Her stalker got her.”

“What the fuck?”

Joey is walking through the house to gather as much information as he can. “She’s not here. How did he get in?”

“Fuck,” I utter. It all makes sense now. “Adam is the stalker, isn’t he?”