Chapter 16

  Saxon

  The house was quiet now, but the silence wasn’t peaceful. The party had been a disaster, postponed under the guise of Lisa being stuck at work. The truth was far darker. The boys hung around, lingering in the shadows, but Kira—unexpectedly—stayed. Despite everything, despite the years of animosity, he stayed. He hadn’t gone yet, and I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

  Crystal was beside herself, her worry a constant cloud in the room. No matter how many times we told her that Lisa was working late, she wouldn’t believe it. She kept asking questions, her eyes wide with frantic disbelief, until the air between us felt thick and suffocating.

  “Have you rung her coworkers yet?” Crystal’s voice trembled, a crack in her usually unshakeable demeanor.

  I let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Yeah, I did. They said she was in a foul mood, that’s why she left early. Fuck.”

  “Maybe she’s just taking a breather?” Crystal suggested, her tone hopeful, but I could tell she was already losing faith in that explanation.

  “No,” I said, my voice sharp. “You don’t understand. Tonight... this night was supposed to be special for the three of us.”

  Crystal’s eyes flickered with uncertainty, but she tried again. “I mean, you guys got engaged. Of course it’s special.”

  “It’s more than that,” I muttered, looking away, trying to keep my voice steady. “She’s pregnant.”

  The words hung in the air like an incantation, heavy and unrelenting. The room fell silent, the weight of the revelation pressing down on us. I could almost feel the magic of the situation, the invisible strings pulling us into something larger than ourselves. The pregnancy was a bond, an anchor between us that Kai didn’t care about—he’d treat her like nothing more than a pawn, just like he always had.

  “Well... fuck,” Kira muttered under his breath from the corner of the room. The bluntness of his words didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was the weight behind them—the understanding, the empathy in his eyes. This wasn’t just about us anymore.

  I shot Kira a hard look, not needing his input right now. But then he spoke again, his tone low, almost like a vow.

  “Leave it to me. I’ll find her.”

  I blinked, stunned. Kira? After everything? After all the damage between him and Lisa, he was willing to help me? The disbelief washed over me, mixing with the sharp edge of desperation that had already settled into my chest.

  “What?” I asked, my voice betraying my surprise. “Why would you do that?”

  Kira looked at me squarely, his gaze steady. “I’ve made amends with Lisa,” he said, and for the first time in a long time, his words didn’t feel like a lie. “We don’t talk because you’ve never wanted me to. But I know people—people who can help. All you have to do is hold the fort here for a couple of days. I’ll handle the rest.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I stared at him for a long moment, weighing his words. This was a man I never thought would offer to help me, much less go after Lisa, but something in his tone, something in his eyes made me realize he meant it.

  “Fine,” I said, pulling Crystal away to her room, needing a moment to collect my thoughts. “But don’t screw this up.”

  Kira just nodded, his expression unreadable as he turned away.

  Two Days Later

  The next couple of days were like wading through molasses. Time dragged on, every hour feeling longer than the last. Lisa’s phone remained off, or maybe it had been permanently disabled. I kept up the lie—telling everyone she was caught up in a massive case, that she had taken a personal day—but deep down, I knew the truth. She was out there, somewhere, and Kai had her. Every minute felt like we were losing her more and more.

  But Kira? He was working, quietly and methodically, pulling every string he had to trace her. He’d been distant, secretive, but there was something different about the way he moved now—like a man on a mission. Every night, he’d come back to the house with new information, slipping it under the radar, feeding me tiny scraps of knowledge.

  “We’ve traced her movements,” he told me late one night, his voice low, almost hesitant. “She’s been moved twice. But it looks like she’s still in one of his properties, west of Byveiw.”

  I nodded, absorbing the information as quickly as I could. “How do we get to her?”

  “I’ve got contacts,” Kira said, his eyes scanning the room, almost as though he was afraid someone might be listening. “I’ll need a couple more days. This isn’t something I can do alone.”

  I didn’t have the luxury of time, but I nodded. He was doing what I couldn’t—using every resource he had, even if it meant tapping into the same network that had once betrayed Lisa.

  It was the night after Kira had gotten the last lead, and my patience was wearing thin. The house felt too quiet, too empty. I knew what was coming, but I didn’t want to face it.

  Then, just after eight, my phone rang. The screen lit up with an unknown number, and my pulse leaped in my chest. I almost didn’t answer, almost let it go to voicemail. But something inside me urged me to pick up.

  “Hello?” I said, my voice trembling.

  The voice on the other end was weak, cracking under strain. It barely reached me, but I knew instantly who it was.

  “Sax... it’s Lisa,” she whispered.

  I almost couldn’t breathe, my heart slamming in my chest. “Lisa? Is that really you?”

  “Yes...” Her voice was so small, so fragile, it made me want to break something. “Please, Sax... you have to help me.”

  I clenched my fist around the phone, desperate to stay calm. “What happened? Where are you? Why did you vanish?”

  “I don’t know,” she whispered, her breath short and jagged. “Kai took me. I don’t know where I am... please... Sax... I can’t do this anymore.”

  I felt the walls close in, the magic stirring within me, an ancient force I could never escape. This was it. This was the moment.

  The call cut off abruptly, and I stared at the screen, my mind reeling. My hands shook with rage and fear, and in a split second, I threw my phone across the room. The sound of it smashing against the wall did nothing to quell the storm inside me.

  Poppy rushed in, her face pale when she saw the fury on mine. “What’s wrong?”

  “That was Lisa,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “Ring the guys. We’re going for a drive.”

  Poppy’s eyes widened. “But... he’s going to have it heavily guarded.”

  “I don’t care,” I snapped, my blood boiling. “All those years of training with her? They’re finally going to be put to use. Ring them now. We’re going to bring her home.”