STRATTON LEE
Thirty-three minutes.
It had been thirty-three minutes since Dahlia had disappeared, in the hands of whatever dead man had dared to fucking kidnap her. It had been thirty-three minutes of my angel being out of my sight and in potential danger. It had been thirty-three minutes of pure hell, and I was about to lose my shit.
Rage like I’d never known before coursed through me, pushing me into consciousness despite the blow I’d taken to the face. I rubbed the back of my neck where they had injected me with something, but when I pulled my hand away I could see blood on my fingertips. My breathing went rough, the space around me moving a bit slow as my head pounded, struggling against the urge to collapse to my knees.
The only thing keeping me awake was the knowledge that my angel was in danger. That I hadn’t protected her.
I hadn’t protected my angel.I didn’t deserve her normally, I knew that, but now? Now I sure as fuck didn’t. Guilt slammed into me as I tried to stand up, pushing myself off of the cushioned seat in the office.
“Stratton,” Sterling bit out angrily, “sit the fuck down.”
I nearly growled at him, blind with rage, as I tried to regulate my breathing. When I felt his hand on my shoulder, my knees broke and I sat back down.
“You got hit real fucking hard, man,” Sterling told me firmly. “Just sit the fuck down. There was a needle on the floor between Yates and you. It’s mostly full—you probably knocked it out of their hand—but we want to get someone here to make sure you aren’t drugged—”
“Not until we find her,” I demanded.
“That’s what we are fucking doing!” Lincoln snapped. The entire estate was in pure chaos, and the alarms had gone off almost immediately when Yates, having woken up before me, managed to call down to King in the basement. The torture had been forgotten as everyone exploded into action, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I prayed to a god that I didn’t even believe in that it would be enough to get to her in time. That nothing bad would happen to her before we saved her from whoever thought it was okay to take my angel.
Maybe they hadn’t gotten off the estate yet… Fuck, I hoped so.
The more time passed, the more we realized how dire the situation was. They had managed to not only kidnap Dahlia, but shut down our security system and cameras for two full minutes. Two minutes that had changed everything. They had this down to the goddamn second. This had been planned.
The concept of Dahlia’s life being at stake had changed something in me. As I looked around the Ross family office, I realized that I would sell my soul, give up any morals I even tried to retain, to make sure I kept her safe. I had tried to stay away from this life, knowing I had enough problems, maybe hoping that if I did I could somehow retain some redeemable qualities that my angel would find in me.
That was done now.
That was fucking over.
I would walk into hell and hand over my soul if it meant saving her. Darkness built in my chest as I promised myself that once we got her back and she was in my arms, I would make sure that no one ever touched her again. My chest squeezed as I realized just how bad this would get, and I found that I couldn’t care less. If my angel took me back after failing her, I would do anything I could to gain her trust back so she would give herself freely to me again. To let me take over, to take care of her, to own her.
“Three minutes.” King’s voice was carefully controlled, almost eerily so, as he stared at his head of security. “You have three minutes to find where they are heading.”
So they had gotten off the property. Shit.
The man nodded sharply before leaving, not shying away or looking terrified at the tangible darkness coming off of King. I knew these men weren’t a normal security company—they were embedded in the family business—but that wouldn’t stop King when he had a blackout. Nothing could stop him at that point.
If they came back without anything in three minutes, he would kill them.
I knew that Dahlia would be able to calm him down if she were here, but until then he was like a ticking time bomb. I just hoped he saved it until we found Dahlia; anything before that would be a distraction.
“Did you call them?” Yates, whose face was streaked with blood, demanded of Lincoln. He’d fallen after taking a blow to the back of the head, busting his nose as he hit the floor.
I had no idea how he was managing to stand upright since my vision still wasn’t fully clear, but I was nearly positive that he was so furious that nothing else would affect him. The man was bent over the computer, typing so fast that I prayed more now than ever that his obsession over Dahlia would come to aid us in this moment. I wouldn’t say I condoned tracking her, but if he was, now would be the moment to tell everyone.
Lincoln’s tone was filled with frustration. “They aren’t answering.”
They?I had to assume ‘they’ meant either the Aldridges or the Rosses.
I could tell both of the twins were caught between losing their shit and trying to keep it together. Sterling kept a cautious eye on Lincoln, who was pacing back and forth with the phone in his hand.
Sterling spoke up after looking at his phone. “Dermot just sent a message. He is gathering the rest of the family and anyone in town. Everyone is on alert, and the police have shut down all possible paths out of Ardara. We should know where they are in the next few minutes.” I was hoping that confidence wasn’t a fucking act right now.
Rolling my shoulders, I felt my vision clear a bit as I sat forward, Lincoln offering me a look. “Stratton, if you get up, I’m going to knock your ass out. You are literally bleeding, actively. Stay the fuck down.”
Fuck, was I? I looked down as I brought a hand to my nose, realizing blood was streaming from it as well as my split lip. That didn’t bother me though. What bothered me was that the blood was a stark reminder that I had failed her. I shook my head, knowing I needed to concentrate if I was going to help at all.