Page 64 of The Mafia's Omega Queen

A groan comes from my left, and I shift the best I can without further agitating the headache that holds me in its grip tightly. Not that far from me, Arden seems to be in the same boat as I do. My eyes catch on Hunter slouched in the chair next to the fireplace. He still seems to be asleep, but I know for a fact that man can hold his liquor. So why the hell is he down here?

If anyone, I expected him to be with our girl. He’s all but pretty much moved into our small bedroom.

“Someone remind me never to touch Dad’s scotch again,” Vinny mutters, sitting across from me with his head in his hands.

Something doesn’t seem right here. I just can’t…put my finger on it. Maybe once I find Hales, she can explain what the heck we all did to make us all so miserable.

But…why would all four of us be like this? Hunter is the only one who really drinks more than he should—or he used to—besides the random drink here and there that Vinny has. My nose wrinkles. Something smells fishy.

Climbing to my feet, I stagger, almost falling, as I head toward the hallway, intent on finding my girl.

“Where are you going?” Arden mumbles, his eyes closed as he rubs his temples.

“To go find Haylee.” I leave it at that.

After stumbling into the hallway on shaky legs, a curse escapes as I see our guards laid out in various spots, their prone forms looking like they just dropped where they were.

“Haylee?” I yell out, hoping, like all hell, she’s nearby and hears me.

“What’s going on?” Hunter asks as he exits the room right behind me. “What the fuck? Haylee!!” he screams, running down the hall and jumping over the bodies of our most trusted men. He disappears from view, and I just make out his feet thundering up the stairs and across the floor upstairs. “Haylee, where are you, little killer?” he bellows at the top of his lungs.

No, no, no. She has to be here; there’s no way she would just leave. On still shaky legs, I dash down the hall, almost tripping over the bodies Hunter effortlessly vaulted over. Hunter flies back down the stairs and runs toward the dining room and kitchen, still calling her name over and over again.

Arden and Vinny finally join me as I stand in the foyer, my eyes darting around the room as I try to make sense of what happened. “She’s not here,” Arden breathes, his eyebrows pinched together as he types furiously across his phone screen. “Shit, I don’t even know the area they have her.” He taps a few more times, then looks up at us. “She’s about an hour away, but the area looks abandoned.”

“How long were we out?” Vinny barks, falling into commander mode now that he knows Haylee is missing.

Arden grimaces. “Four hours.”

At some point, Hunter rejoined us in the foyer. “Let’s go get our girl.”

“No.”

That one word halts us in our tracks. Furious silver eyes slide toward Vinny, and he looks two seconds away from attacking him. “No?” he growls out. “So you caring about her was all a lie, then?”

“I fucking love her, so never mistake my intentions when it comes to her. But we have no damn clue who has her, and we can’t run in there half-cocked and get ourselves killed in the process.” Vinny pulls out his phone and searches through his contacts. “If this is who I’m sure we are all thinking it is, then this is the final showdown. It’s time to put these fuckers in the grave they deserve.” He storms away, back down the hall leading toward his office. I barely make out the barked “Thane” before the door slams shut.

When the hell did he start talking to Haylee’s dad?

* * *

Six hours later, the four of us are gathered in the large dining room, a map of the area where Haylee is currently being held laid out on the table. The last few hours, I’ve been questioning if maybe she just went out to pick something up, but that idea kept getting squashed as I looked at the map of her location. There is literally nothing there. From the images Arden has been able to pull up, most of the buildings are decrepit, in serious need of repair, or just torn down to make it safer for anyone in the vicinity. Even the spot where it shows Haylee is, the satellite images are blank. We have no damn clue what we are going to find when we get there, but we sent out a scouting party about an hour ago, so they should be getting in position shortly.

Out of nowhere, a loud bang reverberates through the house, everyone gathered around going on high alert. Shit, did they come after us first?

“Someone better have found my daughter, or heads are going to fucking roll!” is bellowed from behind the door leading into the dining room where we are all meeting.

Holy fuck.

Guns are drawn quickly by our guards, all pointing toward the entryway, waiting for the person to enter. Vinny and I round the group, stepping in front, causing them all to stand down. The last thing we need is for him to be shot. Again. Hunter steps up next to us, flipping his knife in his hand, but the weary look in his eyes tells me he doesn’t know who’s here. The tell-tale tapping of fingers flying across a phone screen tells me that Arden is close by also.

The door pushes open, and everyone tenses until Andre steps into view. Behind him, a mass is crowded around, their own weapons in their hands, kevlar covering their bodies. They move like a well-oiled unit as they all converge on the dining room at the same time. Furious whispers emanate from the hall outside the room, the owners of those voices still not having stepped inside.

As the men and women clad in black come in, they post up around the outside, standing at attention and waiting for orders. I almost forgot how organized Thane was. Jeez, he makes those with us look like a mess.

Finally all goes quiet, and a smile breaks out on my face as Byron steps in. His scarred face is harsh in the overhead lighting, and he’s one imposing motherfucker, but damn, am I glad to see him. I’ve actually missed the asshole.

He strides across the room and pulls me into a hug, clapping me on the back, then shifts and stands next to me, waiting for the main event. I snort out a laugh. Both of us know just how dramatic Thane can be.

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