Page 129 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

The two of us went over to the lifts. We rode down in the first one to arrive on the floor. Ari wasn’t in the lobby. It struck me as a little off. I didn’t want to ignore the warning in my gut as I called out her name. No answer came.

“Will you look on that side?” I said to Willis before I entered one of the rooms on the left.

As I searched the ground floor, she was nowhere to be found. The warning inside me blared louder. When I got back to the lobby, Willis was there, shaking his head. I dropped the bag I was holding and strode towards the stairwell, shoving the door open. There I found the backdoor propped open. My body went still as waves of dread rushed down my spine. I stepped outside and saw the alley was clear. I jogged along to the end, finding the side street it opened out onto relatively empty.

“Fuck.”

I ran back to the building, pulling the door shut behind me. My feet carried me up the two flights of stairs to the second floor. It was empty too. I ran back down the stairs and into the lobby, feeling rage building inside me. There was only one explanation. It didn’t take a fucking genius to work out what had happened.

Gennaro.

He took Ari. He had to have taken Ari. The mother-fucking bastard had found a way to get to her when I was distracted. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t. Instead, I reached Willis, grabbing the bag from next to him.

“I have to go.”

I didn’t give him a chance to say a word, striding across the lobby out onto the street. Lewis was still parked up nearby. I jumped into the back of the car, threw the bag into the seat and leant forward.

“Take me to my father’s house. Now.”

“You got it, boss.” He looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Um, where’s Ari?”

I let out a jagged breath.

“My father took her, so you better fucking step on it.”

I sat back, clenching my fists in my lap. Rage built inside me, mixing with my worries and concerns about my girl. This was fucking bad. I’d been so careful about watching her at all times. Making sure she was safe. The building should have been secure.

Lewis set off. It wasn’t fast enough for me, but I wouldn’t shout at him over it. He wasn’t who I should be directing my anger at. Ripping my phone from my pocket, I hit dial.

“Zayn,” came Arlo’s voice when he answered.

“Are you still with your father?”

“Yes, why? What happened?”

He must have heard the anger in my voice.

“Gennaro took Arianna. He took her from under my fucking nose. I thought it was safe for her to look around by herself, but no, he took her. It had to be him.”

I slammed a fist down next to me, unable to contain the emotions inside me any longer. It was my fucking mistake for letting my guard down, but the building should have been safe. Penn fucking told me it was secure.

“How?”

“They got in through the back somehow. The door was propped open.”

“I’ll get my things together and come straight over. We can go after her.”

I shook my head.

“I’m already on my way. I need to get to her. Gennaro won’t hesitate. He’ll fucking kill her, Arlo. He will. I’m sure of it. I can’t have that. I can’t lose her. I just can’t.”

The thought of being without her cut right through me. The woman who had given me my life back. Who had awoken me from the dark and dragged me out of my monotony. I wasn’t going to give her up without a fight. I wouldn’t let her perish without me. She was my lifeline. Fuck, I loved her and I hadn’t even told her. I hadn’t said those words or let her know the depth of my feelings. It wasn’t fucking fair. None of it was, but I was determined to make it right.

“Just wait and I’ll be there soon. We’ll handle it together. I’ll round up the men. You can’t go after him alone, Zayn, that’s fucking suicide.”

“Watch me.”

I hung up the phone. Arlo was too far away. There was no time to wait for him. His father had asked me for help with his investigation into my uncle’s death. He was onto something, so I’d sent Arlo because I didn’t have time to do it myself. It was the only reason Arlo hadn’t come with us to look at the property. I didn’t go anywhere except Desecration without Arlo. Not with the threat of my father hanging over my head. Now I was regretting the decision not to bring any other protection with me.

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