Page 14 of Ignite
When I looked up, Kenzi’s face had turned quite pale. Her eyes were full of fear and her knuckles were white as she clenched the armrests of the chair. It would be stupid for Wilkerson and Harris to kill Margot. They’d be looking at a life sentence, just like Levi McBride was for killing that innocent store clerk.
“What’s your game, McBride? Killing Margot would give them a life sentence,” I snarled. “Not even they are that stupid.”
“You’re wrong. Van and Niles have nothing to lose. They are as guilty as I am for killing that young kid,” Levi replied. “You need to get to her before they do.”
Before I could tell him where to go, the line went dead. His 10 minutes were up. Even though my gut told me he was lying, I couldn’t take a chance that he wasn’t. Pulling my phone from my back pocket, I pulled up Davian’s number.
~13~
Kenzi
“Your mom is in danger. I think they are going to kill her.”This revelation hit me hard, like a truck. Everything was a blur as I tried to process what Levi said. I wanted to believe that Levi was lying but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was telling the truth. When was this going to be over? Instead of processing the information, my mind closed down. Everything felt like it was spinning out of control and I was powerless to stop it. The thought of losing my mom was too much for me to take. When Axe spoke to me, I couldn’t stand the way his voice sounded. It was simply too much for me to handle, so instead of saying a word, I got up and left the room. If I was going to have a breakdown, I wanted to have it where no one would see my tears or hear my screams, especially Axe.
“Kenzi, wait,” Axe’s voice trailed off behind me as I walked through my office door.
I should have said something, but already the tears were coming down full force. Before I got to the hallway, I felt Axe’s hand take hold of my arm. I couldn’t face him, but he deserved a response. “Just give me a minute. I’ll be okay.”
I would never be okay. Not until I knew my mom was safe. Not until I knew Van and Niles were behind bars. Even with Axe’s reassurance, I still had cause to worry.
Axe heeded my request by staying put as I made my way to the ladies' room. I could hear his voice behind me and knew that he had called Davian. I wasn’t sure how much Davian could do. No one knew where Van and Niles were or how long it would be until they made their move on my mom.
My first instinct when I opened the bathroom door was to call my mom and let her know that she was in danger. As I held my cell to my ear, I waited for her to answer. Nothing. The call went straight to voicemail, which could mean two things. Either she had turned her phone off, or Levi was telling the truth. I tried again, but this time I left a message. “Mom, call me as soon as you get this.”
As I stared at my reflection in the mirror, all I could think about was my mom. Just like me, she had been through so much. First, losing her bookstore, and now this. The only way to make sure she was okay was to see for myself. My mom meant everything to me, and making sure she was okay was more important than losing my job with Saxton, Marsh, and Peters.
Wiping away the last of my tears, I took a deep breath and opened the door to the bathroom. To my surprise, Axe was still standing where I had left him. When his eyes met mine, I knew something terrible happened.
“I know that look, Axe. What’s going on?” My words came from an unknown voice laced with worry.
Axe pulled me close and tucked my head in the crook of his neck. “I’m so sorry, Kenzi. But we need to go back to Atlanta. It’s your mom.”
“What happened?” I felt like I was in another being, watching while my world came crashing down.
“She’s been in an accident. A car came out of nowhere and hit her.”
I couldn’t say anything. The only sound coming from my mouth was the pain I felt as my heart ripped in two. The tears fell, soaking Axe’s button-down shirt. Gasping between sobs, I finally asked, “Is she okay?”
“She is in surgery. Davian is waiting at the airport for us. We should really go.”
~
Axe drove through traffic with precision, getting us to the airport in record time. The drive was mostly a blur since my thoughts were only on my mom. There was a reason she didn’t answer her cell. I never thought it was because she couldn’t. There was no way Van and Niles could get to Atlanta without Davian andThe Societyknowing. It was only 30 minutes ago that we got the news from Levi. They had to have had someone there.
When we boarded the plane. Davian, Marcus and Calvin were already seated. With no hesitation, I walked over to Davian to get more information about who did this to my mom. Standing next to where he was seated, I looked down at him and asked, “Who did this? You would have known if they left Chicago for Atlanta. Did you lose track of them?”
“Calm down, Kenzi. Take a seat and I’ll tell you everything that we know.” Davian’s voice was controlled, but not enough to warrant me calming down.
I sat in the chair across from him as he waited for Axe to take a seat beside me. Looking between us, Davian finally spoke. “You are correct. My men lost track of Van and Niles about an hour ago. They are nowhere to be found. There is no way they could have gotten to Atlanta that fast. Patton just reached your mother’s home when a car came up out of nowhere. Fortunately, he got a plate number on the car. We believe that Van had called someone to take your mother out. Once we know who owns the car, we will have a better idea who is working for him.”
As I listened to Davian, I couldn’t help wondering how far Van's reach spread and how much power he had to take out my mom while he was still in Chicago. Who could have done his dirty work? Levi was in jail.Who were these people?
“Kenzi, did you hear me?” Axe chimed in, breaking my thoughts.
Turning my head, I looked over at him. “I’m sorry… what?”
“I said, whoever Van got to hurt your mom, we will find them.”
“How can you be so sure? Van and Niles aren’t stupid. I’m sure it can’t be as easy as running a plate.” I knew how these things worked. I was afraid that once Patton got the information on the plates, it would lead nowhere.
