Page 4 of Dangerously Kept

“Fight, Baby. Fight.”

Logan unclicks his seatbelt, climbs out, and rounds the front of the van to slide open the door. The second he reaches his hand out to grab me, I kick and fight with everything in me.

“Would you calm the fuck down!”

I scream at the top of my lungs, but even I know it’s useless. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Nobody is going to hear me. I try my hardest to kick him away, but he’s twice my size, and my hands are still tied behind my back. He grabs me by the ankle and pulls me across the van floor towards him. “Get the fuck off of me!” I’m dressed in nothing but the shirt I threw on before he took me—Ronan’s shirt. It rides up as he pulls me across the floor, leaving me completely exposed. I can practically feel his eyes burning holes into my body.

My eyes widen as he pulls another syringe out of his coat pocket. He slides my legs over the edge of the van and pins them between his own. His giant fist grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me so I’m sitting in front of him. His eyes look down at me, making me beyond pissed at myself that I ignored my instincts when it came to him. Because I can see it clear as day now—he’s crazy. A disturbing grin spreads across his face as he brings it closer to mine, but, much to my dismay, not close enough for me to headbutt him. “As much as I love hearing you scream, we have to keep moving. Declan has plans for you, and the trip will be much easier if you’re unconscious.”

“What trip?” I practically snarl at him.

“Forgot to tell you, Declan is coming to get us in Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks. We’re staying at one of his cabins until then. Congratulations, you get to meet Grandpa.”

Shit. Shit, shit, shit! I don’t get a chance to protest, though, as he plunges another needle into my neck.

That’s going to get real old real quick.

The last thing I hear before darkness consumes me once again is Logan’s whisper in my ear, “But until then, Princess, it’s just you and me . . . all alone.”

Princess.

No. I’m Mac’s Princess.

Mac.

Help me. Find me.

4

Ronan

It’s been five hours. Five agonizing hours since she was taken from us. Five hours since I failed her. She could be anywhere by now, going through God knows what, and it’s all my fucking fault. She’s never going to forgive me for this, hell, I’ll never be able to forgive myself. Regardless, we have to find her. I’d rather live in a world where she’s alive and hates me than one where she isn’t in it at all.

The minute I was conscious, I threw on some clothes, and Mac, Finn, and I got to work. I explained to them every detail that had happened since Harper and I got home, purposefully leaving out the fact that Harper whispered “I love you” in her sleep. I could barely handle thinking of the memory without feeling like I was going to die, let alone speaking it out loud.

What if that was the only time I would ever get to hear her say it?

We had our men sweep the entire building to ensure she wasn’t still here. I knew she wouldn’t be, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. We also made sure Tanner’s body was taken care of properly and had him sent to a top-of-the-line mortician. I don’t know what all went down between Tanner and Logan, and I probably never will, but what I do know is that he died protecting my girl. And because of that, I will ensure his body, when the time comes, is laid to rest with the utmost respect. But I can’t think of any of that right now. Right now, all of my focus needs to be on finding Harper and murdering every single person who had a hand in taking her from me.

Because I will find her, and I will kill them all.

I will not fail her again.

The three of us wasted no time pulling up security footage from the building and surrounding traffic cameras, trying to get a lead on the direction they may be heading. We got access to all those cameras just a few weeks after I took over for Liam. A couple of officers I have on my payroll in the local precincts set everything up for me, and I’ve been able to monitor the streets of New York ever since. But no matter how hard or how far into the city we look, we can’t find a fucking thing. Not even footage of them leaving our apartment or getting into a vehicle in the parking garage. Nothing. It’s like the two of them vanished off the face of the planet.

I can feel the all-consuming rage crushing me from the inside out. I feel like a dying star wanting to destroy everything in my path. Until I get my Baby back, that’s exactly what I’ll be—dead.

Destroying the world around me.

“Motherfuckers!” Finn slams his fists on the table where he’s set everything up. He hasn’t moved from his chair in hours; meanwhile, I can’t sit the fuck still. Mac left shortly after I woke up, and I just know he’s been burning down the streets of New York around him, but he’s more useful out there than he is here. “This doesn’t make any sense, Ronan. They didn’t just disappear. Declan has to have some sort of computer genius working for him. Someone who could access all of the footage and alter it.” Finn is pretty well-versed when it comes to computers. But even I know his need to solve any problem, and his computer skills aren’t enough right now.

“We need help, Ronan.” The desperation in Finn’s voice is deafening. Still pacing, I run my hands through my hair, ignoring the sharp sting from the cut on my hairline. I wouldn’t let Mac or Finn stitch me up when they found me. As long as Harper’s out there somewhere suffering and in pain, then I will be, too. I don’t deserve to feel better. I didn’t keep her safe.

I failed her.

I will not fail her again.

“I know,” I murmur as I finally stop moving about the apartment. Pulling out my phone, I call the only person I know that has more resources than I do and would be willing to help us without trying to fuck me over in return.

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