24
Tywin
We had dodged a war with a cartel and found that the one who’d been targeting Arjen and Mecca all along was my Uncle Liam, Arjen’s and Khane’s father. I had walked in on Liam, holding Mecca at gunpoint, and stood by helplessly while he shot her in the back.
I had never seen Arjen so torn apart, body slumped, clothes askew, eyes burning red. Mecca was strong so she would pull through. If not, Arjen would destroy the world as we knew it.
My focus fell on my lady. I hated to walk away from my cousin while Mecca was in surgery, but I had to break away to check on Patrena. After several calls had gone unanswered by her and the guards, my stress level shot from high to sky view.
Moments later, my calls still continued to go unanswered while on my way to pick her up from Khane’s and Desiree’s house. I had never gotten used to driving the steep and curving road that led to the fortress my cousin called a house.
At about a mile away, I glanced into the tree-lined blackness, knowing a guard or two was hidden out there keeping watch. You couldn’t just drive any car to Khane’s house either. It had to be one fitted with a special bar code that would be scanned just to make it past the guard station.
I rolled onto the driveway and up to the door and found myself running up the steps. Although I had the code to get in, I rang the doorbell, being respectful of the household now that Khane had a wife.
Desiree disarmed the door and cracked it open. “Khane?” she called out, her voice weak and shaky. Her bloodshot and watery eyes meant she had been updated on Mecca’s current status.
“It’s Tywin. I’m here to pick up Patrena.”
She wiped her eyes and stared, unable to control her rapid blinking. “Patrena’s not here. The last time I spoke to her she was with you and said you guys were headed to Arjen’s house.”
My heart leapt in my chest, but I had to maintain calm for my sake as well as Desiree’s because she was already in distress. If Patrena had never arrived here, something had gone wrong and I had been so distracted tonight that I hadn’t even thought to call Desiree before making the drive.
“I’m sorry. The guys must have forgotten to update me that they were taking her to a safe house instead. Tonight has been one of those nights. Sorry I bothered you. Are you going to be okay?”
She nodded. “Did you see her? Did you see Mecca? Is she going to be okay?”
I placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “Mecca is one of the strongest women I know. She will be fine. Lock up and get some rest. Khane will be home shortly.”
She nodded again. “Okay. Thank you. And please tell Patrena to call me. I’m worried about her too,” she replied before easing the door closed.
Now, it was my turn to panic. Where the hell was Patrena if she had never arrived at Khane and Desiree’s?
“Rhi,” I called into the phone, not even remembering dialing him.
“I’m culming the footage from Arjen’s place to see if I can figure out who these guys were who were helping his father,” Rhi answered. He was kneecap deep in all the shit that had gone down tonight.
“I need you to see if you can figure out why Patrena, Tyco, and Vamp never arrived at Khane’s house. I can’t get any of them on the phone. I don’t want to add more to all of the problems already going on, but I believe the guys who came after her in the mall were persistent enough to come after her again tonight.”
“Dammit! Shit!” Rhi cursed. “Not Pretty Freckles too. What the fuck is up with Vallin men and their women?” he muttered under his breath.
My grandfather used to always say we were lethal to women. He said our bloodline was that of warriors and with that being so, our women were doomed to always suffer the wrath of the dangers that governed our lives.
In other words, we were a curse to women. There weren’t many Vallin women who had lived to old age and it was one of the main reasons why I had fought to stay away from Patrena. After she had managed to keep herself safe for years, it only took weeks after meeting me for her to become a target.
“I’m going to see about tracking their phones down to at least pinpoint their last location.”
“Thanks, Rhi. I’m going to check the safe houses,” I stated.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything,” he replied before hanging up.
Where are you Patrena?