Page 162 of Morally Corrupt

Not only had he given me a clean slate, but he'd also given me a ticket out of a lifetime of criminality, which was what I'd been looking at had I continued on that path.

In turn, she'd also described her childhood. Her voice had held her usual cool tone as she'd related the abuse and neglect she'd suffered at Martin's hands. After Jenna, she was already looking at a self-destructing path that Drew had helped her avoid by showing her how to redirect her anger. She'd told me as much as she could about her involvement with the Bratva. And then she'd opened up about how her obsession with me started.

I have to admit I'd been a little weirded out by the lengths she'd gone to get to me. But is it normal to find it all just a little bit endearing?

Maybe not… and perhaps the fact that I hadn't reacted negatively to her confessing all the fucked-up shit she'd done from the time she'd first seen me to our first meeting should be the first sign that our relationship will never be normal.

And now that I've had a taste of her brand of abnormal… I'm not sure I'd ever want to go back to normal.

I get home before dinner time, but I'm surprised to find the apartment empty.

"B?" I call out, but nothing. Mally slowly walks towards me and gives me a meow. I pick her up and pet her a little while I look for Bianca. When I realize she's not in the apartment, I check my phone and see that there are no messages from her. I frown. She's usually pretty quick at replying to my texts. I dial her number, and while it rings a few times, it soon goes directly into voicemail.

Okay… not to panic. I'm sure there's an explanation.

I go to my laptop and try to track her phone. The app shows me the phone's last location, and it's not too far off from the foundation.

Maybe she's on her way from work? Over the last few days, she's been organizing a leadership takeover. Maybe her meetings have run late.

I think Marcel must have sown paranoia in my mind when he'd mentioned that Carlos is still in New York.

Yes… I'm sure that's why I'm so frantic about not hearing from her yet.

I wait another half hour, the time it usually takes her to get home from the foundation. When there's still no sight of her, and her phone location hasn't changed, I take my car keys and head towards her.

It's not too long until our locations coincide on the map. I look around and see an empty street. Already a feeling of uneasiness creeps up my spine.

I get out of the car and dial her number.Please pick up…I walk around in circles, still ringing her phone when I suddenly hear a sound. I'm barely able to put one step in front of the other towards the bush where the noise comes from.

I take a deep breath and burrow my way through the foliage. I see the phone. I don't see Bianca. I sigh in relief, my worst fears alleviated.

I pick up the phone and notice it's cracked. There's no way Bianca would have just dumped her phone and left it somewhere. No… something isn't right.

"Carlos is still in NYC. Tell Bianca to be careful." Marcel's voice rings in my head.

No… Please let her be okay.

I try to compose myself, knowing that if I let fear rule me, I won't be able to do anything to find Bianca. I slowly look around from the spot where I'd found the phone for any CCTV cameras that might have caught what happened on film. I see two of them overlooking the street.

I know what I have to do. Swallowing my pride, I get in my car and drive to Vlad's. He has the resources to find Bianca. I also ask Marcel to meet me there.

I drive at full speed, not wanting to waste any time. When I get to Vlad's, Marcel is already there. So fast?

"Bianca's missing." It's the first thing I say when I see them. "I found her phone, but no sign of her." Turning to Marcel, I ask, "Do you think Carlos…" Marcel purses his lips.

Vlad, on the other hand, doesn't seem to think this is an emergency.

"Maybe she just got sick of you," he says, joking around. Daggers must be shooting from my eyes as I make my way towards him. He puts his hands up in surrender.

"Chill, Hastings. I got you." Vlad gets his computer, and after inputting password after password, a map appears on the screen.

"What's that?" I ask, looking at the red dot on the map.

"That's Bianca's location."

"But how?"

"Both Bianca and I had a chip implanted under the skin for this exact reason. Because we were partners, the chances of one being used to draw the other out were quite high. We didn't want to take any chances, so we covered our ground."

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