The ride over to my dad's house was silent. Damian held my hand the entire time, stroking his thumb across the back of it to reassure me that he'd do anything to get my dad back. We didn't even know yet what had happened. William assured me he'd gone through the house, and he did so again while we drove over.
Every last trace of alcohol in my blood had evaporated. It felt like that, at least, but I was pretty sure I still couldn't walk in a completely straight line.
I practically jumped out of the car before Damian stopped outside the blue house where I grew up, and ran straight inside. Nothing seemed out of order. The pictures on the walls were intact, some a little crooked, but that was normal. I walked through the hallway and into the kitchen, and that was when I knew something was wrong.
There was a bowl of soup on the table, the spoon in it, half-eaten, and a coffee mug that had fallen over, spilling a tiny bit of dark liquid onto the light blue table cloth. He never left anything out of order or untidy. Even if he'd gone to the basement or the attic, he'd set his mug straight and wipe the mess.
"Isabelle, thank God!" I recognized William's voice, but I kept staring at the discarded dinner. It was close to midnight, and dad ate his dinner around five or six in the afternoon. He'd been gone for hours already, and I was lounging on a leather couch in an expensive home, drinking expensive wine and reading porn. It wasn't porn, but my mind degraded myself and my stupidity, even when I knew there was no way for me to have known. A hand landed on my shoulder, and I realized William had kept talking. "...and I checked the bathroom again, just to be sure, I yelled for him, but no answer in the basement or the attic, like you suggested. Can we call the cops now?"
"No cops." The voice was stern, like being slapped in the face with a cold wind, as Damian entered the kitchen. He looked around, briefly, before walking over to me and putting his arm around my waist.
"What do you mean no cops?" William's hand left my shoulder, and he waved them around him as if to make a point. "A man is missing! Your girlfriend's dad is missing, and you don't want to call the cops? What's wrong with you?"
I'd never heard William so frantic.
"I know who he's with," Damian said, the vibration in his chest grounding me. "I can find him. If we involve the cops this could get ugly really fast." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and I saw him find James in his contact list and then he hit the call button. "He's gone. Orlov."
My blood turned to ice at the name. I turned in Damian's arms and took his phone. James was in the middle of reciting a plan when I put it to my ear and said, "He's been gone hours, his dinner is still here. I don't know why or what's going on, but we have to find him. No matter what."
I stared into Damian's eyes as I talked, and he stared back, putting a hand on my cheek to calm me. It worked, to an extent.
"Alright, good info, Belle," James said as Damian took his phone back.
"We're finding him, no matter what," he barked at his friend, his eyes still on mine. "Send out Mongrel and Diana to check the warehouses by the river, Kurt can handle the streets. I need every Strac on this."
I barely heard an "OK, boss" from James on the other end before Damian hung up and put his phone away, his attention fully on me.
"No one messes with my girl and comes back alive." His voice was low and filled with violence. My heart thundered in my chest, both from the terror of my dad's safety, and from Damian's promises. I would be safe. Dad would be safe. We would figure this out.
"What do you mean, alive?" I'd forgotten we weren't alone as William stepped up behind me and Damian's eyes moved away from mine hesitantly.
"I mean I'm going to hunt them down, get her dad to safety, and kill them." His arms tightened around me for a second, before he pushed me back a step. I barely registered anything he did until a gun was pressed into my hands and he lifted my chin up with a finger. "Stay here with William. You know how to use that if you need to. Just, please be safe."
I could barely even nod before his lips were on mine. My tears made the kiss wet and salty, but neither of us minded. It was his silent promise to fulfill every other promise he'd given me—a silent plea for me to listen to him and stay.
"I wanna go with you," I said, gripping his shirt as hard as I could when he pulled back.
"I don't want you in danger, sweetheart," he whispered, and every trace of ruthlessness was gone from his body as he stared at me.
"I won't be," I whispered back, "you'll be there."
I could see the debate in his mind as he looked back and forth between my eyes. His features tightened as if he'd made the decision to leave me there, in the house I grew up, where my mother died and my father was kidnapped, but then they softened again and he muttered, "Fine."
"You stay here and call if anything happens," Damian commanded, pointing straight at William as his hand clamped shut tightly around mine. "Anything at all. You have to go to take a shit, call us, if a car drives past, you call us. Got it?"
William's usually soft and gentle eyes were wide with terror as he nodded. "Yes. I got it."
Damian barked some more orders at him as my phone started ringing. I got it out of my picked at my breath stopped dead in my throat as the display shone up with a picture of me and dad from a few years back. It was him. He was okay.
I answered as quick as I could. "Dad? Are you okay? I'm at your house now, we're about to—"
A low laugh cut me off. "Isabelle, right?" The voice was hoarse and annoying, and it gave my whole body goosebumps when I realized it wasn't my dad who had called to tell me not to worry. This was someone else. Damian's eyes were on me again, I could feel them, as my shaking hand pulled the phone from my ear and I hit the speaker button. "I assume you're with your boyfriend? Or has he dumped you somewhere to go get us by himself?"
I looked up, staring straight into those irises of safety. He only nodded, telling me to say what I wanted, as he pulled his own phone out and sent a text, then dialed James.
"I'm with him," I said.
William sat down on a chair, his face had gone pale. Mine was probably too.
"Good," the phone said. "I expect you both to come pick up Mr. car mechanic here. He's been disappointing, he didn't know anything about Damian's businesses, or when Michael's retiring, or anything at all, really. So he's useless."
"Where are you? Tell me and we'll pick him up," I told him, closing my eyes as tightly as I could.
"Now, what would be the fun in that, dear Isabelle?" The same laughter hit my stomach like a bowling ball. "No, we're in the city, but that's all you get. You have three hours, or he'll wash up on the shore sometime tomorrow."
The line went dead and I fell to my knees crying out in pain and sorrow. Three hours, and we were already far away from the city. We'd need at least one of those hours to get back in, and Datoches was big. It would take days to comb every nook and cranny.
"You get that, James?" I heard through my cries.
There was too little time to cry my heart out, so I let everything out through just one or two more cries before I looked back up at Damian, who met my eyes with a slight comforting smile. He held his hand out, and as soon as I took it, he pulled me up and put his arms around me tightly, like he would never let go.
I hoped he wouldn't.
"What, exactly, is going on?" William asked from his seat at the table.
My throat was raw so when I tried to speak it sounded more like a squeal. Damian's chest tumbled as he explained. "Bad people have taken Joel. We're gonna find him. That's all you need to know right now."
I saw him nod, his face still pale. It was the first time I'd seen him an someone else had done most of the talking. It was little weird, and it made the reality that much clearer to me.
"Come on, sweetheart," Damian whispered against my ear, and slowly began to walk towards the hallway again.
He wanted us both there. I had no idea what kind of evil that makes wanted with us, or my dad. Mmmh first thought was that he wanted some intel on the Strac's businesses, or wanted to take over some of it, to become bigger and better. But I couldn't know. I was barely even conscious as Damian got me back into his car, and once he'd swung back onto the road, I was pretty sure the speed limit was nonexistent to him.
"Who was that?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.
"Orlov."
It was all spinning, and I realized I still had the gun in my hands as it fell down on my lap over a speed bump he didn't respect. We were out of the small town in minutes, and on the highway back into the city before I could even think to check the time. I didn't know the exact minute we'd be too late. I didn't know where we were going. I didn't even know why yet.
"Will he kill him?" My voice broke. I stared at my hands and the gun in them as we zoomed through the world on our way to what I was pretty sure would be the worst experience of my life.
"No." The answer was slow, but certain. "Not on my watch."