Page 136 of Magic or Madness

My Bambi put up a fight, but my heart stops when I see a small trail of blood coming from the office, leading to the middle of the floor where it ends. I can only hope that she got ahold of one of them, rather than the other way around.

If even one hair on her head is hurt, I will turn bloodthirsty, desperately seeking revenge until I destroy them all.

Three cars, three men, three lives I will take without a second thought.

Then there’s the boss, the client, the man who ordered this kidnapping. He’ll be dealt with, but in a much slower fashion, and I will take nothing but pure satisfaction from it all when I end his life, too.

I don’t know what to do, or how to move forward without raging against everything in my path.

“Someone find Max. He’s a fucking idiot, but not collateral damage!” I yell, and Journey jumps on it without a single objection.

“It looks like the car carrying Fallon exited the same route that we did, but it’s rural out there, and I lost them a few miles after the traffic light,” Lex explains, and I rest my head in my hands, the more I hear, the less confident I feel.

I’m sure she’s waking up by now, depending on what they gave her, and she’s terrified. She knows I’ll come for her, though, and her faith in me will keep her strong.

I find myself wandering to our room, staring at the photos of us plastered all over the walls. We’ve been so happy together since the day we met, solidifying a connection that most people would kill for, and I gently run my fingers along the B she carved into my chest.

My beautiful girl, my Bambi.

“Hey, boss. The girls are here, we’re heading out,” Oliver interrupts, and Cami bursts through the door with tears streaming down her face.

“You better fucking bring her home, Ozzy! Please!” She yells, pounding her tiny fists on my chest, but her voice slowly trails off into a whisper.

“I will, Camila. I promise.” I grab her wrists, slowly pushing them back into her body, and she sniffles, pulling me in for a quick hug.

“I love her too,” she cries, and I feel my heart crack a little more at her words.

“I know you do. Keep Pepper safe, okay? Stay in the room, and don’t come out unless it’s one of us,” I tell her, and she wipes her tears, nodding along as I speak.

As much as I want to, I can’t break down like Cami did, not right now, and not until Fallon is safely in my arms. Everyone here is counting on me, looking at me to be strong, to be their leader, and I can’t fail them too. I already lost one member of this family, and I refuse to let it happen again.

Now that Oliver has taken the girls away from here, I can breathe a little easier, knowing that they’re not getting caught in the crosshairs of our mess.

I find Lex and Journey in the office, lost in their laptops, and they both look up at me with somber faces.

“Max has been blowing off steam at a bar, staying at a shitty motel downtown,” Journey says, and I contemplate the positives versus the negatives of bringing him home.

He’s still pissed, and that energy is the last thing we need at a time like this, but he’s family and deserves to be protected as such.

“It’s your call, J. He’ll listen to you if you want to bring him home,” I tell him, leaving the ball in his court.

“He’ll never let you hear the end of it, Oz. The last thing we need is another fight,” he counters, but I shake my head, uninterested in anything that doesn’t have to do with the demons we can’t see.

“I’m in no mood for a fight with anyone besides the people who took Fallon.” I turn my attention to Lex, but he immediately folds, informing me he’s got nothing new.

I know how this works, eventually, we’ll have something, or contact from the client, but every moment that passes feels like a lifetime, and my patience is running very thin.

“Oz, what can I get you? Something to eat, maybe some water?” Lex asks, but I feel it all at once, collapsing onto the couch.

I’m fucking lost, not a single clue of what to do, and the only person I could ask is the one who isn’t here.

Fallon is my sun, moon, and every single star in the sky,even the ones that can’t be seen.

I can’t think clearly, she’s the only thing on my mind, front and center, and the clarity I’m lacking is what could ruin our chances of getting her home safely.

“I just … need her. Nothing else will suffice,” I say, using one of the fancy words she taught me.

“How about some sleep? You’ve been burning it at both ends, and she needs you to be strong.” He hands me a drink, knowing it’s the one thing that will put my mind at ease long enough to numb the pain.

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