Max's POV
Sitting in the living room, the scene continued to replay in my mind like a horror movie come to life. When she went up to the apartment, we sent a guard with her. I thought she was safe. If I had any idea they were targeting Piper, I would have extended my full security team to her. I never saw it coming.
When the call came over the radio that the other guard was down and they had the girls, my heart literally stopped. It felt like I couldn't even breathe. Somehow, my reflexes kicked in and I ran as fast as I could. We all tried to get to them in time, but when we exited the building, they were already pulling away.
How could I have let something like that happen? I just sat there afterward beating myself up repeatedly, hoping it would somehow change things. They had my Lillie, and the thought of what they might do to her was driving me to the point of insanity.
Chase sat across from me and he was as beside himself as I was. He felt like if he had just stayed the night with Piper, it never would have happened because he would have been there to protect her.
The security team was busy planning how we would get them back, but they were not moving quickly enough for me. They needed to come up with something and come up with it fast.
Memories of the night we shared before they took her flooded my mind. When I closed my eyes, I could feel her skin against me and her warm lips pressed to mine.
It only took a second for horrible images to invade my sweet thoughts of her. What if they were touching her? What if they had beaten or raped her? Tears welled up in my eyes, but I fought them back. I had to keep my focus on the most important thing, finding them alive.
Chase began pacing back and forth until he was driving me crazy. "Sit down man, all that pacing is making me nuts," I told him.
"I can't if I sit down thoughts of them haunt me and I can't take it anymore."
"You think I can? Thinking of what they are doing to her makes me sick."
A look of sadness filled his face.
"It's our fault, you know that right?"
"Do, do you think I haven't reminded myself of that every second?" I asked him.
As we were talking, the Security lead came in to tell me they should know something soon. The second security tier wasn't far away when they took the girls and they followed them but lost sight about half an hour out of town. They were sending drones up to scout the area, and he was confident they would find them soon.
"I want you to throw every resource we have at this, money is not an object. You find them at all costs," I instructed him.
Hours passed, and they were still looking. My hope of finding them alive was dwindling with each passing minute, and it was more than I could take. At some point I went up to our room, hoping it would bring me some sense of comfort.
As soon as the door shut behind me, I felt like I had stepped into a memorial for her. All of her things were there, but she was wasn't and I didn't know if she would ever be again. I picked up her pillow and held it to me, no longer able to fight back the tears. Her scent lingered on it and I breathed it in. I missed her so much, and I prayed that she was okay and no one was hurting her. I lost track of time, but someone began frantically beating on the bedroom door.
"Mr. Livingston, we have news, sir."
I ran out of the room and followed him downstairs to the living room where several other guards were waiting with Chase. The security lead handed me a phone and an envelope. The look on Paul's face was that of pity, and I remember how much that concerned me. He had killed a man with his bare hands, so if he was feeling pity for me, it must be bad.
Chase stood next to me, desperate to see what was in the envelope. I sat the phone down and began opening it with trembling hands. He put his hand on my shoulder to steady me, but it was no use. Nothing could steady the fear of what was waiting inside of that envelope.
Pulling the contents out slowly, I realized they were photos. As the image of Lillie came into view, my knees buckled and Chase grabbed me to keep me from collapsing.
Her battered face was unrecognizable. What had they done to my sweet Lillie? Seeing her like that broke me and couldn't control the sobs that escaped me. I knew that they expected me to be this big strong man, but I didn't care. Thinking of the pain she must have endured was ripping my soul apart.
"I'm sorry Max," I heard Chase say, but it was if he was speaking to me in a tunnel. My mind could not focus on anything but her sweet face, battered and bruised. It didn't even look like she was alive, but I refused to let myself believe that. It wasn't true, it couldn't be. I knew I would never survive that.
I watched as Chase walked to the chair across from me and sat down. He began rubbing his head, and his legs were shaking uncontrollably.
"Piper wasn't in the photo, do you think she's..." he said, but I stopped him before he could finish.
"No, she is not. Don't even think like that. They are alive and we will get to them in time." I was trying to reassure him, but the truth was both of us needed it desperately.
I turned to the security lead and asked him where he got the photos and phone from. He told us that there was a guard on the perimeter and someone got the drop on him. When he came too a few minutes later, they had left the phone and envelope on the seat next to him.
"So they were right on top of us and we didn't even know it?" I demanded to know.
As soon as the words left my lips, the phone on the table rang and I just stared at it frozen in place.
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A/N
I wasn't planning on two chapters tonight but the story was flowing so I went with it. I hope you enjoy this update. I would love to know your thought's on Max's POV.