Page 19 of Ignite
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Davian contacted all his resources to find Kenzi. We had exhausted every possibility of finding where Stevenson had taken her eight hours ago. We were no closer to finding her than we were before. I was spent and running on my third cup of coffee. It was to the point where everything became indistinguishable. I was researching information I had researched three hours ago, but the images on the screen now looked like abstract paintings, and I wasn't sure if I was looking at the same thing or different things. My head hurt. I went through hotel records, business registrations, and issued licenses for every car that Stevenson could have used to get out of town.
Davian was in and out of the computer room, following up on any progress, but I didn’t have anything new to give to him. I kept at it, hoping Stevenson would call or message me to let me know Kenzi was okay. She had been gone for over eight hours, and I didn’t know if he had hurt her. The pressure in my head was overwhelming, and it took all my energy to keep digging.
It had been 24 hours since I had slept, and my search to find Kenzi was worthless. I pushed my chair from my computer desk and stood up so I could find a bed and grab a couple of hours of shut-eye. Davian had gone home hours ago with specific instructions to contact him with any news on Kenzi. With Patton, Stone, and Marcus on their way out, the only remaining men in the warehouse were West and me.
I walked past West, finding it hard to look at him. He was the brother of the man who basically started this whole thing. Levi McBride should have stayed in Texas and never come to Atlanta. I wondered if West felt like any of this was his fault. He knew his brother was unstable, yet he did nothing about it. Even though he wasn't involved in blowing up the bookstore, he could have talked Levi out of going through with it. He could have spoken to him about staying in Texas and never reaching out to Kenzi.
These thoughts and many others crossed my mind. West McBride was now a part ofThe Society,and if we were going to get along, a few questions needed to be answered. Instead of leaving, I took a few steps back until I stood behind him. “How much do you know about your brother’s relationship with Kenzi?”
He stopped tapping his fingers along the keyboard and lowered them to the arms of his chair. His knuckles turned white with tension as he gripped the armrest. I could tell he was annoyed by my question from his sulky expression.
Spinning his chair, West’s eyes met mine. “I know nothing about their relationship. I was out of the States for nearly six years. I didn’t find out what Levi did until he called me and told me he got arrested for blowing up that bookstore.” West hesitated for a moment, scraping his hands along his buzzed-cut hair. “I reached out to Davian because Levi told me to. He had his business card hanging on his fridge. The rest, you know.”
I sat in the chair next to West and stared him down. “Are you trying to tell me that while you were gone, you never reached out to your brother?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Levi was a fucked-up kid. When he got arrested for murdering… Dice, I wanted nothing to do with him.”
I had to give him that. Levi wasn’t right, even now. Switching gears, I propped my ass on the edge of the table. “What do you know about Van Wilkerson and Niles Harris?”
“Nothing, really, other than what Davian told me and what I found on the Internet.”
It seemed reasonable that West wouldn’t know about them. Levi lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the time of Dice’s so-called murder. I was about to stand when West took hold of my arm. “No matter what you think of me, I am not my brother. Being on the front line changes a man. All I want is to help you find your girlfriend, and at the same time, do something good. I know you will never accept me as a friend, but hopefully, you will at least give me a chance to prove to you that I’m not a bad person.”
West really seemed sincere in his confession. Maybe I had been a bit rude to him. Holding out my hand, I looked at him with a smile. “I guess I wasn’t very nice to you. I’m willing to give you a chance. Sorry I was such an ass.”
West stood and took hold of my hand. “That’s all I ask.” As I was about to leave, he caught my attention. “Before you take off, there is something I want you to see.”
I pulled up the chair next to him and took a seat. West tapped a few keys on the keyboard, bringing up the street cams near the hospital. I placed my hand on his forearm and gave him a look of confusion. “How the hell did you get access to the street cams?”
“One of the benefits of being in the military is acquiring contacts that could be useful one day. Being in Special Forces has its advantages.”
Now, I really felt like a douchebag. West served in the military, but I never thought to ask what branch. It takes a special person with unlimited skills to get selected for the very few in the Marine Special Forces. If West had those kinds of connections, he had to have been part of Force Recon. My respect for him just grew exponentially.
Our eyes were glued to the screen as we watched River drive away from the hospital. West moved from one street camera to the next as we watched the progress of the car rolling through the streets. The computer room was silent, other than the occasional tapping on the keyboard. My heart fell to my gut when we watched River pull in front of The Ritz hotel. Instead of watching where this would end. I jumped from my chair and made my way out of the room.
West stretched out his arm, stopping me. “There is no way in hell I’m going to let you go to The Ritz alone.”
~17~
River
Kidnapping Kenzi was not how I wanted our reunion to happen, but I had no choice if I wanted to save her. Van and Niles were on the warpath, eliminating anyone who got in their way. I was an ass for taking Kenzi away from her mom, but keeping her safe was more important than jeopardizing or losing her. Hopefully, she would forgive me once she woke up and give me a chance to explain everything—even the truth about my brothers.
As I carried her through the lobby of The Ritz, all eyes were on me. My excuse was that she had a little too much to drink. Most of the guests just nodded with sympathetic smiles. If they knew the actual truth, they would call the cops.
Kenzi began to stir as I carried her into the elevator. I needed her to remain unconscious for a few more minutes until I made it to the suite. Thankfully, there was still enough chloroform in her system that she didn’t fully awaken. When I reached the suite, I pulled the keycard from my front pocket and held it to the card reader without too much difficulty.
I turned the handle and pushed the door open with my foot. I heard the door clicking shut behind me as I made my way to the bedroom. As I looked around the suite, I saw the customer care team took care of everything I had requested. The faint trill of music from a stringed instrument reached my ears as I stepped further into the room. A soft, muted light illuminated an elegantly decorated suite of rooms, with a bedroom leading off from the rest of the suite. Even though it wasn't my first option to take Kenzi against her will, the least I could do was to make sure she was comfortable. The sheets on the king-size bed were turned down, and a silk nightgown lay across the foot of the bed with a matching robe. The customer care representative assured me that she would find something delicate and feminine for Kenzi to wear, and so she had. I had to give her points for choosing a nightgown that I could easily put on Kenzi, and take off if she allowed me to touch her again.
The sheets on the bed were no doubt cool and soft and would caress Kenzi’s skin gently when she lay down on them. I imagined her lying down and closing her eyes in a moment’s peace after we had made passionate love. She would open them and look at me just to say, “I love you,” before resting her head on my shoulder. Then in the morning, she would stretch out on this soft, cool bed and gaze out at whatever scene presented itself through the window. If only I could make my thoughts a reality.
Laying Kenzi gently onto the bed, I couldn’t help but stare down at her. She was the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. Carefully, I removed her clothes, beginning with her shoes and working upward. As I pulled off her top, more of her silky skin was exposed. I could feel the strain against my black trousers, and the urge to pull her to me and place my lips on hers was so strong that my hands shook as I lowered the zipper to her skirt. I wanted to devour her, and to become the man I was before everything went to hell.
With Kenzi lying before me, completely naked with only her lace panties on, I reached for the silky nightgown and began working it over her head. I slipped her arms through the spaghetti straps and carefully worked the light material down her body. Satisfied with my effort, I pulled the covers over her body. My cock had tamed down to being only semi-erect, but damn if I still didn’t want to take her. Before leaving the room, I placed a kiss on her forehead. Her head moved slightly to the side, and I could have sworn a smile graced her lips. When she rolled over onto her side with her back toward me, it was my cue to leave.
After leaving Kenzi to rest, I found myself looking at my watch every five minutes. It was only a matter of time before my time alone with Kenzi would be over. Davian and Axe weren’t dumb. With Davian's resources, they would find out that I had taken Kenzi to The Ritz. I was in no mood to come face to face with Davian, but Axe was a different story. Axe was the only person I would allow up to the suite and the only person I would speak to. After I explained why I had taken Kenzi, he would know I only did it to keep her safe. We might have ill feelings toward each other, but the fact remained that we both loved Kenzi, which made our interaction with each other more bearable.
