Page 7 of Lustfully Yours
Unknown: Aww, you know I’m not just going to tell you. You’ll just sic that fucking bodyguard on me.
Me: Fine, what do you want me to do?
I’m confused by what he means by a bodyguard. Unless… no, it can’t be. No, there is no way he knows anything.
Unknown: Get to the Black Press Coffee Shop in twenty minutes. Someone will meet you there.
Me: Fine! You’ll let her go?
Unknown: You know I’m a man of my word. Just remember it better be only you.
I know getting out of Theo’s downtown penthouse will not be easy. I know if it was just him and me, I could with no problem, but with the voices I hear down the hall, this will be fucking tricky. I slide out of bed and pull on the black yoga pants, sports bra, and red tank top that reads7 Deadly Sinsacross the front. I go to Theo’s closet and find a pullover that’s huge on me. I tug it on, knowing that I can pull the hood up and go unnoticed. I find a pair of Vans just like my favorite ones at home in my size, so I slide my feet into them and start searching.
If everything I know about this man is true, then there is a way out of this room. I just have to find it and hope there isn’t an alarm or alert that goes off to let him know I’ve gone that way. I keep searching, and after about twenty minutes, I’m about to give up. Then I hear the click and slight shift in the wall when I shift one plug by the lamp. It looks like a standard plug, and anyone else would have missed it. I only thought of it because I heard him and my brother talking about it over drinks at the house one Thanksgiving.
I wait to see if I can hear anyone coming down the hall; when I don’t, I slip through the smallest crack in the door, pulling it closed behind me. The clicking of the lock sounds like a gun going off. I can’t hide the squeak I let out when the lights come on, illuminating the small hall and what I hope is the way out. I don’t have any idea how long I twist, turn, and climb stairs before I come out in a parking garage I didn’t even know was there. I look around, seeing a couple cars Theo has driven in the past. I know taking a car is out of the question, so I just search for a door or gate to leave.
I finally find what I’m looking for and step out into the hot summer air. The streets of downtown Nashville aren’t packed, but I know this close to the bars they will be before long. So I have to hurry, not just because I know Theo isn’t far behind me, but because I have to save Lawson, even if that means never getting my forever.
Chapter Seven
Theo
“How could you? We fucking trusted you with her, and now this? Theo, Pop is going to have your head for this!” Mason states, so calm and quiet that for about two seconds, I fear him.
Then I look closely at him, and I see it. The worry for me and how his father will handle this. The concern for Lawson and what shape she’ll be in if we find her. How Malia will handle what has happened to her best friend. I also see what one could call hurt because I didn’t tell him how I feel about Malia. I take deep breaths to not feed into his already growing frustration and anxiety before I answer him.
“I never planned on anything happening, just continuing to watch and protect her from afar. Last night, when the team realized what was going on and what had been done to the girls’ drinks, I just reacted and brought her here to rest. Then I got your call, and she got the messages. Now here we are, to talk this all out when your father gets here and I wake her.” I no sooner finish than O’Malley Senior comes banging into my home, and my phone buzzes in my pocket.
“One of you bloody boys better start talking and now! Or I swear someone is going to bloody pay!” he almost shouts, which isn’t uncommon for him. Like his son, you worry when they are calm and collected.
“Pop, that’s what we were just talking about. Theo was just telling me he saw something at the club when you came in, and his phone went off,” Mason says, trying to buy me a little time.
When I see the notification, I have to think about it for just a second before I know what’s going on. The secret door in my room and my garage door being open tells me I have a fucking rat. Worst of all, this fucker has access to my security system. I don’t get the next thought completely formed before my feet are moving, and I’m sprinting down the hall to my bedroom. My secure door would only go off if it was opened, which means I’ve failed to protect my angel.
I practically tear the door from the frame when I go through it. I don’t register anyone behind me until I feel a hand on my shoulder. She’s gone. It’s not just her missing clothes and shoes that alert me to this. It’s the way her presence affects everyone around her. This room feels cold without her in it; when I get my hands on her, and I know she is okay, I’m going to spank her ass for not letting us know what she’s got up her sleeve. At the very least, so that she had someone at her back.
“When I get my hands on that woman, she’s not going to be able to….” I trail off when O’Malley Senior’s voice breaks through my racing thoughts.
“Ye wanna say that again, son?” he growls, letting his old Irish brogue show ever so slightly.
I turn, squaring my shoulders and getting ready for one hell of a fight, “Senior, I intend to get Malia back, and when I do, she’s mine. I want her now and forever. I’d like your blessing, but if not, then you’ll just have to get over it.”
I wait for the words that come next, knowing if they aren’t the ones I want to hear, it’ll crush me, but I don’t rightly give a fuck. Malia is mine; I don’t give a fuck what he and or anyone else says. I take a step back when Senior just smiles and shakes his head.
“Took ye long enough. Figured I’m gonna be dead and gone before ye stepped up,” he says with a chuckle. “Ye boys sure do pick a hell of a time to make these choices. No?” he finishes before turning and leaving the room, pulling his phone from his pocket.
Mason and I just stand there looking at each other, trying to figure out what in the hell just happened. I’m almost certain I just got the approval of her father. Not that I care one way or the other, it’s just nice to know I won’t have to run and hide somewhere with my woman. I pull my phone from my pocket and answer without looking.
“She’s headed toward a coffee shop downtown,” a voice that I haven’t heard in too long says before hanging up.
I look down at my phone, lost at seeing a number I didn’t know was even still around. Much less how he knows what’s going on in my life. But I know the information he gave is sound and true. I rush from my room to my office and pull up the program to access every security and cell phone camera from here to downtown to find her. While doing this, I get on the phone with my head of security and deploy the team in the direction she’s headed. I’m scanning every image and video snippet, watching for just the smallest glimpse of my angel.
I’m starting to doubt the voice when I see it—my black hoodie with7 Deadly Sins Nightclubon the back rounds the corner and disappears into a coffee shop. I tell my head man, so he knows where to send his guys when I see one of my newest guys stop in front of the door to block it from anyone else entering.
“What the fuck?” I exclaim. “How the fuck? There is no way!” I ramble to myself as I turn to my second keyboard and start a search on this douche bag all over again, trying to find what in the hell I missed.
“It’s Lawrence,” I say into the phone to my head guy.
