Page 135 of Magic or Madness

“Taken. She’s been … taken,” I choke out, and Oliver’s hand rests on my shoulder, tearing me out of my thoughts.

Rather than repeating myself, or explaining, I hand him the box and his eyes go wide as saucers.

“Lex, check all the cameras at the dealership, street cams, too. Fallon’s been kidnapped.” Oliver’s voice echoes through me like a boomerang, the words swirling around my mind and making this situation much more real.

He’s dragging me by the arm back to the truck, but nothing makes sense, and the whole world seemingly begins crashing at my feet, my thoughts somersaulting from bad to worse.

Without Fallon, everything is meaningless.

She’s the only ray of light, the only thing that makes life worth living, and to me, she’s fucking priceless. Since I met her, I’ve become a different person, all because of her. That wild hair, her sweet smile with the dimples, how everything inside of her mind is unrated genius, all of it makes her the most important person on this planet. If something happens to her, I won’t bethe same, and I will burn down every single building, vehicle, and person standing in the way of getting her back home safely.

“Oz, you with me?” Oliver snaps his fingers in my face, pulling me back to reality.

I didn’t notice him driving, or how fast we were going, but he’s speeding back the same way we came. Lex is yelling through the comms, but I can’t understand a word he’s saying, everything sounds like it’s underwater, and I feel like I’m drowning, attempting to fight my way back to the surface.

I can’t give up, though. Fallon is out there, and she needs me. I can fall apart later, once she’s home, but right now, I muster up every ounce of strength that I have, ready to fight formy Bambi.

“What do we have?” I ask, and instead of good news, or even a sliver of hope, I hear a chorus of deep breaths.

“She was taken, Ozzy. About fifteen minutes after we left,” Lex says sympathetically, but I can barely contain my rage.

I want to punch everything in sight, light fires, and blow shit up, but none of that unfiltered anger will bring her back to me. All of my energy needs to be directed toward finding her.

“Do you want to hear the rest?” Oliver turns to face me, his face a shade of white that even a ghost couldn’t achieve, but I nod, encouraging him that I’m alright to continue.

Unfortunately, I need all the details if I’m going to find her. It’s the most torturous, punishing moments of my life, but I have to be present. As much as it kills me, or rips my heart into shreds, I have to hear this.

“Three black cars pulled up to the dealership, and they carried her out, putting her in one of the three identical vehicles. She looked to be … drugged or maybe unconscious,” Journey finishes, and I ball my hands into fists, holding myself in check.

“I’m on it, Ozzy. I’m checking cameras everywhere, and when we find the car, we’ll find her. I promise we’ll bring her homesafely.” Lex rushes to explain, but I shake my head, not wanting to hear theifsandmaybes.

“Any emails from the client?” I change the subject, knowing that this is the retribution he’d alluded to in one of the messages.

Everyone is silent, except for the clicking and keys smashing coming from Lex’s end.

“Nothing yet. He’ll make contact soon, I hate to say it, but he has no leverage if Fallon’s dead. That’s a good thing,” Lex says, and as much as I know he means well, I want to scream.

My mind is racing, and there’s a piece of me missing with Fallon gone. I never wanted her involved in this part of my life, and right now, I regret ever inviting her in.

She should be like Cami and Pepper, going on shopping trips and getting her nails done while we work, not throwing herself in the middle of the job and becoming one of us.

Fuck.

“Oliver, call Camila. Get the girls back to the dealership, we need to keep them safe, too,” I blurt out, and he scrambles, reaching for his phone.

I relay the same message to Lex over the earpiece, and both guys get in contact with the girls almost instantly. It’s a luxury I don’t have at this moment, and something so small that I’d give up everything on this Earth to have.

“They’re coming home,” Oliver whispers, and I feel a pang of jealousy coursing through me.

It’s evil, and not the best reaction, but I want nothing more than the same thing.

“You’re going to take them to a hotel a few towns over, pay with cash, and beso fucking seriousthat they cannot leave the room under any circumstances,” I order, my tone coming out harsher than I’d like.

Before I’d even realized it, those two girls became important to me, too. Not just because they could be hurt by someonewanting to get to us, but because they’re family. They’reour family.

“Absolutely, Oz. She’s coming home, alright? They didn’t only steal from you, just remember that,” he says with a slight crack in his voice.

After what feels like an eternity, we get back to the dealership, the front door left wide open, and I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the carnage waiting on the other side of the threshold.

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