Find Her Now!

ZANE

My girl had vanished from my club, and no one had a clue. To make matters worse, my security cameras had gone dark, leaving me with no trace of her.

Our room was a mess; I’d tossed tables and chairs in a fit of fury. My guys were scattered, trying to find any hint of her.

I’d warned her I had a bad feeling about tonight, but she insisted on coming to work. I swore to myself, once I got her back, this wouldn’t happen again.

She’d stay at our place unless one of us was with her.

My heart ached, thinking about what could be happening to her; my arms yearned for her soft touch. My whole body was shaking with anger because she wasn’t here to soothe me.

She was the only one who could. Just one look or touch from her could tame the beast inside me.

“Boss?” Conner approached me cautiously. He knew how dangerous I could be when I was in this state.

“~What!~” I barked at him.

“We think we know who took her and where they’re headed. We tracked those guys you told us about, but they’ve been missing for a while. Forest has them.”

I calmed down a bit. I righted a chair I’d knocked over and slumped into it. “Speak!”

“He has a house about a four-hour drive from here, and his SUV was spotted on the highway heading that way.”

“Then get the guys ready to go and bring my girl back! I’ll kill him for this. No one takes what’s mine.”

“They’re ready and waiting for your order.” He squatted down in front of me, looking me in the eyes.

“We’ll get her back, boss, I promise. According to our intel, this guy won’t hurt her. He’s been her best friend for a long time, and unfortunately…”

His voice trailed off, and I grabbed his shoulders.

“Tell me, Conner. What is it?” I tried to steady my breathing.

“He’s been in love with her. Ever since his old fiancée, the one he was engaged to; she didn’t love him at all.

“It was a deal between their fathers for more money, and so her dad could get their name.

“He killed her when she threw a fit. Then he started stalking Shay and has been ever since. He was about to make his move when you got to her first.”

“What’s his last name?” I slowly cracked my neck, trying to relieve the tension building up in my body.

“Carraway. He’s Scott Carraway’s son.” Conner slowly stood up.

~“Fuck!”~ I slammed my hand down on the table, breaking it in half.

Scott was the leader of one of the biggest mafia groups in the country. His son had built his own army to match and then took over Scott’s.

I was about to face off with the other most powerful and deadly leader around.

We were evenly matched; we both had the biggest groups that could be called upon and were known not to be messed with.

We’d met a few times, but only for business. That must be how he got in here—he had a mole.

Not surprising; when you have an equal, you need spies to keep tabs on them. I had several in his ranks.

But I guessed he kept his break-in a secret from his men so I wouldn’t catch wind of his plan.

“Boss, the guys are ready to go. They’re about two hours ahead of us.”

I took a few deep breaths to clear my head so I could think about our next move. Then I stood up and nodded.

We drove fast to make up for lost time. I had eight cars with me, all full of men.

Forest’s place was probably as well-guarded as mine. It would be hell to get in.

We were speeding down the road as I tapped my foot impatiently on the car floor. “Conner, can’t you go any faster?”

“Boss, we’re already doing about a hundred and twenty. I can’t go much faster without risking a wreck.”

My arms ached from the havoc I’d wreaked in our room. I’d broken tables, shattered glass ones with my bare hands, and tossed chairs all over the room.

Once we left, a team started cleaning up and ordering new furniture to replace what I’d destroyed.

My mind was spinning, thinking about what could be happening to her.

We got a text saying Shay had arrived and was being carried by Forest into the main house.

I closed my eyes, trying to stay calm. Another man had his hands on my girl. If I let the beast out now, every window in the car would be shattered.

Taking deep breaths, I thought about how she looked this morning, her hair in her face as she slept in my arms.

How peaceful and beautiful she looked as I watched her sleep, making those sounds that I loved. Small groans, grunts, and a whine that was hard to describe.

The world was a blur as the car sped down the road in the dark.

About an hour later, we arrived at the edge of Forest’s property. “Conner, see if you can hack their security system. Find out where she is and how we can get in.”

Conner pulled out his laptop, and within seconds he was in. I leaned over to see the screen.

She was sitting at a huge dining room table with food in front of her. I let out a huge sigh of relief, just knowing she was safe and being fed.

We checked all the cameras; his place was as secure as mine—cameras on every corner and men patrolling everywhere.

My phone rang with an unknown number. “Hello?”

“Zane, I presume?”

“Yeah, who’s this?” I stared out the windshield. Conner tapped me and pointed to one of the cameras. Forest was sitting at the table too. He waved at the camera.

“I know you can see me, Zane. My system alerted me that someone had tapped into it.

“I knew it was you,” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “You found me pretty fast. I’ll have to figure out who’s been leaking information from my side.”

“Well, it’s not like you don’t have a mole in my group. I know who it is, but I haven’t touched him. You haven’t made a move that would cost him his life—yet. But this might be the mistake that does.”

He laughed, a cold, harsh sound, and took a bite of his food. “We both want the same thing, you know. I’ve just wanted it a lot longer than you have.”

“Give me back the woman I love, and I promise I’ll make your death quick instead of slow and painful.”

“Love, huh? Is that what you’re calling Shay?”

“What I call her is none of your damn business. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which one will it be?”

He smirked. “Why don’t you and your men come and get a bite to eat? There’s plenty left. I knew you’d show up pretty quick. We can talk about this like civilized people and see what kind of agreement we can come to.”

I growled into the phone. “The only agreement will be your head on a plate.”

“Temper, temper. I was trying to be nice, and you have to go all ugly. Do you want to accept my offer or not?”

“Can I talk to her?” I asked, hoping I could at least hear her voice.

He handed her the phone, and she spoke softly. “Zane, is that you?”

“Yes, love, I’m right outside the gates. We got here as fast as we could. Has he hurt you?”

“No, he hasn’t. He’s been nothing but a gentleman to me the entire way here.”

Forest took the phone back. “See? You don’t have to worry about her. I won’t hurt her one bit. Now, have you made your decision or will I have my men open fire on you?”

I looked around; there were men everywhere with rifles trained on our car. “Just so you know, those are armor-piercing bullets in their guns, Zane. They open fire, and every one of you is dead.”

I rubbed the back of my head. I knew he had us right where he wanted us. “Fine, open the gates, and we’ll talk.”

He nodded, and the gates buzzed as they opened slowly. We drove through, and men on all kinds of ATVs followed us, their guns still targeting our vehicles.

When we reached the front of the enormous mansion, we got out. I walked inside with Connor and Noah. I told my other men to stay in the car and wait.