CAPTOR (The Alpha Brotherhood) (Standalone Dark Billionaire New Adult Romance) (26 page)

Shane

I shouldn’t have kidnapped her that night. I should have just let Z stay in her little apartment and work her little job. I should have taken her out to dinner and a movie that Friday like I promised her I would. Or perhaps I could have just asked her to stay.

Now she’s out there in the cold with a broken arm. Hell, probably a broken heart, too. And I have no idea how to find her.

“If I knew where she was, I wouldn’t be here!” Trent yells at Adam. He’s not talking about my lost love though. He’s referring to his own.

Emergency board meeting, 5:00 am. It seems late in the evening, though. I couldn’t sleep. I can’t shake the sound of the desperation and betrayal in her voice. My elder brothers keep screaming at each other as Maddox and I sit on the sidelines and wait for their tempers to cool down, which takes a while on a good day.

Maddox’s face is priceless, it’s like he’s watching a plane crash. I’d imagine that mine appears as indifferent to the conflict as I am. I don’t give a shit about the fallout from Trent’s fuck up. We’ll spin it to our advantage somehow like we always do, which is what he’s telling Adam right now.

There’s finally a pause in the exchange between them. “I didn’t even realize that you collected rare antiques, Trent,” I say.

“I have for years. You’d know that if you ever came to my house.”

Maddox’s jaw gapes open as he turns toward me. “That’s what you have to add to this conversation?”

“What conversation? This is a pissing match, like it always is with them. We have much bigger publicity problems than this, don’t we?”

“Shane,” Adam replies, taking a deep breath to collect himself. “Not now.”

I toss the folder that Zoey left for me across the table at him. “Trent’s lover delivered that to mine this evening while we were otherwise occupied.”

“Goddammit, Trent,” Adam growls after he flips through a few pages. “Start fucking talking.”

“She is dangerous, cunning, and exceptionally talented. I clearly underestimated her. What else is there to say?”

“For starters, how did she get her hands on this?”

“You know how we call in professionals when we need hard to find information on someone?” Trent replies calmly, lighting up a cigarette. Adam wrinkles his nose and answers the question with a nod. “Then let’s just call her a professional.”

“Are you insane?”

“This is just a lover’s quarrel. We’ll work through it.”

“A fucking lover’s quarrel?” Maddox interjects before Adam has a chance to go off. “She tried to destroy you.”

“Don’t inherit Shane’s flair for dramatics,” Trent laughs. “Kat thought she needed to slow me down to give herself a chance to escape. It was a simple miscommunication.”

“I assume Zoey took off.” Adam’s attention turns toward me. “Why aren’t you throttling him over this?” he asks.

“Because I’d rather understand it instead.” I slide the folder over toward Trent. His eyes widen for a moment before he puts his hand over his mouth in an attempt to conceal his amused smile.

“Kat has something of a bleeding heart,” he explains. “And a bit of a Robin Hood complex. She was most likely genuinely concerned about Zoey’s wellbeing. Let’s face it Shane, you’ve been holding the girl hostage for months.”

“I have explained this a thousand times,” I sigh. “Hostages are held for ransom.”

“Okay, what the fuck is going on?” Maddox rips the file folder out of his smug brother’s hands. “Jesus Christ,” he breathes, glancing at me. “How could you possibly… what the hell is wrong with you guys? You’re letting two pretty faces dismantle one of the most powerful conglomerates on the planet. Ours.”

“Zoey hasn’t attempted to dismantle anything,” I correct him. “Trent’s the one that brought a viper into the house.”

“I didn’t know she was a viper. At first.” He butts his cigarette out and gets up to pour us all another drink. “And technically, I think she’d be better described as a mongoose. Those are the little weasel things that eat cobras, right? Oh, or a honey badger, that’s even better. Ever seen that documentary? Absolutely fascinating.”

“Did the words ‘honey badger’ just come out of your mouth?” Maddox asks, totally flabbergasted. “Let’s just have him committed. Check him into rehab or something.” He turns toward me and Adam. “The news would eat that up and then he won’t look like a robber baron.”

“Have you checked the news lately?” I ask. “There were more cameras when we all walked out of the station and Trent wasn’t in handcuffs. In a few hours, he’ll stand next to our team of attorneys at a press conference as they explain that he was a victim of circumstance. Which, in a sense, he was. Right?”

“Oh, yes. Definitely. I was extremely disheartened to hear that one of my favorite collections was illegally obtained.” Trent lets out a huff and rests his chin in his hand, shaking his head. “Never dealing with that antiquities broker again,” he says. The levity in his voice is so irritating. “Actually, let’s have that motherfucker exposed and arrested. It’s been on my to do list anyway. Kat wanted to take care of him her way, but now that—”

“See,” I interrupt my rambling brother. “Problem solved,” I tell Maddox.

“Then why are we here?”

“Because this is what our staff and our investors need to see,” I explain. “Us. At the helm. United. It would be wonderful if Trent could keep his admiration for the woman who did this to us under wraps, however.”

My brother’s fabricated easy going demeanor evaporates as he slams his fists down on the table, his feral expression reminding us all of his true nature. “No one knows who she is and it will stay that way,” he snarls. “Any of you even think about breathing a word of what she does or says her name, I will strangle you with my bare hands.”

I should be furious with him. Ready to smash his face in with one of those ancient statues he’s so fond of that caused all this trouble. Instead I’ve never respected him more nor understood him better. But it doesn’t change the nature of the real threat he’s brought to our door.

“That all depends on what your little honey badger does with our real potential publicity nightmare. Doesn’t it, Adam?”

“Shane, don’t.”

“They deserve to know,” I say. “Have you dismantled the program or not?”

“What program?” Maddox and Trent ask in unison.

“You both know it well,” I reply, keeping my eyes locked with Adam’s. “Father still has a stork ready to deliver more baby brothers, doesn’t he? But he’s not exactly at the top of his game anymore, so Adam is considering stepping into his place.”

Trent drops his drink, but the crystal class is empty and doesn’t shatter. It rolls across the floor, the only noise in the room for a few painful moments as it sinks in.

“Wait…” Maddox’s voice trembles. “No, I’m the last… It’s just me and…” The other two are with our brothers in New York. Maddox despises them, he can’t even say their names. “We spent time with you guys growing up. I never met anyone coming up behind us because we were the last ones.”

“That’s what we all thought. Adam neglected to send out a memo. Over a year ago.”

“A year ago?” Trent whispers as he slumps back into his chair. “Why didn’t you…”

“I took care of it,” Adam snaps.

“Oh really?” I press him.

“I’m taking care of it.”

“If Kat…” Trent’s lips roll together. “How are you taking care of it?”

“It’s more of a transformation.”

“Into what?” Maddox asks.

“Something respectable. Those children will become monsters if I just let them go.”

“Let’s get back to this transformation,” Trent says, his eyes narrowing as he takes a swig of scotch from the bottle and leans forward. “How many boys are we talking about here? How old?”

Adam exhales in frustration, glaring at me. “Look, the old man stepped down.”

“There’s no way that happened willingly,” I say.

“No. I got an attorney to threaten him with a competency hearing and an actual investigation by Child Protective Services, not the sham checkups we had.”

“Our legal department would never do that to Rupert,” Trent says.

“I didn’t use our legal department,” Adam replies, his eyelids twitching as they close for a moment. “I…” His nostrils flare and his shoulders tense as he looks across the table at Trent.

Oh. I get it. Adam must have gone to his ex-girlfriend Sabrina for help. Of course he did. Where else would he go? That is actually fantastic. She’s a brilliant attorney and unusually ethical, a rare combination in her profession. She’s also one of the only people that can keep him in line without him even noticing the manipulation. Unfortunately, Trent supposedly fucked her once about a decade ago and Adam’s never quite forgiven him for it. He probably loves her. That concept was entirely foreign to me. I always thought it was an issue of territory.

My brothers both ask him to finish his sentence. Adam starts to explain the situation, but his rage becomes more visible with every passing breath. I do not have time to watch this ancient conflict unfold. The love of my life is stranded out there in the city.

“Just tell me you have psychologists with the little ones,” I demand, grabbing that folder of evidence from my past as I get up. “And that the others won’t be taking that final test.” Maddox goes white as a sheet when I mention that. From what I understand, the old man made them toss their dogs over a cliff. The bastard would have probably graduated to all out evisceration at this point.

“Everything horrific has stopped entirely,” Adam says firmly. “There are actual rules and supervision for the younger kids, counselors included.”

“That’s all I need to know,” I reply. “I have other business to attend to.”

“So do I.” Maddox’s voice shakes as much as his hands as he follows me to the door.

“Wait,” Adam says. He doesn’t want to be alone with Trent and his questions. I shake my head no. That’s his problem, not mine.

“Mr. Goodson?” Claudia says when I walk out the door, but she isn’t talking to me. Maddox won’t look at her, quickening his pace as he strides toward his office. It’s tempting to follow him, but I’d rather be alone after receiving that news and he probably does too.

“Maddox needs a day off,” I tell her quietly as to not draw attention from the other employees. “Maybe two or three. Adam will be in the office taking care of everything. Go to him.” I look over my shoulder and smirk at him, leaving the conference room door open. He didn’t want to be left alone with Trent, now he doesn’t have to.

Dealing with my brothers was a convenient distraction. Now that I’m alone in the elevator, that searing pain in my gut returns with a vengeance. There is a remote chance that Zoey came back, so I go home and search every corner. The closet full of the clothes I got her. The cabinets in the kitchen she hid in that day. Under my bed and behind the couch in my workshop. I even check the playroom.

That’s the place where the potential longevity of her absence hits me. I drop to my knees, my eyes looking at the red light gleaming off the metal chains and clamps like I’m seeing them for the first time. I can’t fathom how much this must have terrified her the first night I brought her here. We’ve had some good times in this room since I got rid of the whips and paddles at her request, but that first time… I almost snapped her wrist. That’s the only thing that stopped me from essentially raping her. I nearly destroyed my perfect, precious Z forever. Zoey. And now she’s gone.

I’ve never experienced such an intense determination before. I found her once, I can find her again.

The police have her listed as an unofficial missing person and every cop on patrol saw her picture this morning. They royally fucked us last night, I might as well take advantage of the opportunity. I also sent some of our less upstanding members of the IT department home to hack into the camera system of the Chicago Transit Authority and look for her, but I’ve been informed it’s a long shot. That’s about the riskiest thing I’ve done in my professional career and I’m sure one of them will be foolish enough to try to use it against me. The last thing we need is another scandal. Good thing money solves most problems. Just not mine.

I drive to her house in a company Toyota Corolla, something she wouldn’t recognize me in so she won’t run. It’s finally light outside, but it was a long night for her on the streets. I checked every house of anyone she might have ran to, visiting the owner of the gallery personally and had our assistants up all night making firm but non-threatening phone calls to every employee at both of her old jobs and every student that’s ever taken a class with her. I even dropped by the apartment of the scrappy kid she sold pot to a few times. The loser seemed genuinely worried about her, which didn’t sit well with me at all. I would have tolerated her running off to a former crush if it meant I’d been able to find her.

But she wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere. Why did Zoey have to be such a loner? I don’t know why I’m asking such a ridiculous question. That’s one of the things we have in common, one of the things I love about her. It was a comfort to know there wouldn’t be friends and family competing with me for her undivided attention. The only thing that would keep us apart is my work and her art. Until she started school.