It had been a long time since I last heard from Bella. Pacing around the apartment, I felt like a caged animal. Perhaps I should head back to the hospital, bring her family some breakfast. I could ask her to meet me in the lobby so her brothers didn’t have to see me, but I couldn’t stay here alone anymore.

A glance at the clock told me it was already five in the morning. The city would start waking up soon. All I could do was worry by myself if I stayed home. If I headed to the hospital, I could at least make myself useful by feeding them.

Deciding it would be a disaster to show up without warning, I quickly text Bella’s phone. Hey, any news on your mom? I was thinking I could bring in breakfast for everyone. Want to meet me in the lobby in a half hour?

After a few moments, my phone rang, flashing Bella’s number. I quickly swiped to answer. “Hey. How’s everything? Any news yet?”

“Damian?” Kyle’s strained, curt voice wasn’t the one I expected to hear. “So, Isabelle’s not with you then? Dammit!”

My heart suddenly took flight in my chest, banging so hard it hurt. “What do you mean she’s not with me? You don’t know where she is?”

“We got in a fight. She took off, left her phone here.”

“Took off?” She wouldn’t go outside though, not in the dark. She must be in the hospital somewhere. “Have you had her paged?”

“Tried it,” Kyle’s gruffness held a touch of hysteria, making my fear climb. “Volunteer at the lobby desk said she went outside.”

“Outside? In the dark!”

Shit. What if she ended up panicking and getting lost. Without her phone, she’d be helpless. Her fear was not a small thing, and I knew she’d have a hard time approaching a stranger for assistance.

“I’m coming,” I said. “I’ll find her. How’s your mom? I’m sure as soon as I find Bella she’ll ask about that.”

“She made it through the surgery. She hasn’t woken up yet. Doc said the next day is critical, but he’s optimistic.” Kyle sighed. “Whatever that means. Look, you have to find my sis. I got in a fight with her and said some mean stuff. Find her, ‘kay?”

Their fight was probably about me. Not that it mattered. Regardless, I had to find her. She must be a mess right now. “I’ll find her. Take care of the rest of your family. I’ll call you back on this phone as soon as I have news.”

Not waiting for his response, I hung up, immediately dialing my driver’s number.

“Mr. Grogan?” James’s voice was groggy-sounding when he answered. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry to wake you. Bella’s missing, and I need your help.”

“Missing?” James sounded much more alert. “What happened.”

I gave him the condensed version of what had happened throughout the night. “Now, she’s wandering around somewhere by herself near the hospital.”

“I’m shocked she went outside, sir. She’s afraid to even go between the car and the apartment some days.”

“Exactly. Can you round up some help and form a search party? I’m going out there now, but could you create a grid and make a plan with everyone you can get.”

“I’m on it, sir.”

An unknown number rang through on the other line. “Wait, James. Maybe that’s her.”

If she’d found a stranger’s phone to use, I could find out where she was and pick her up. I quickly switched to answer the incoming call. “Hello? Bella?”

“Ha! Figured you’d have missed the little princess by now.”

Fuck! Fear and anger flooded through me as my hand balled into a fist, itching to punch this bastard in the face. “What have you done with her, Rider? I swear, if you hurt her in any way, I’m going to kill everyone in your damn gang.”

“You stopped paying. I told you you’d regret it, rich boy.”

“Your demands are too outrageous. I realized you’re never giving me the damn video, no matter how much I pay, so you may as well release it to the media and get this farce over with.”

Rider’s low growl came over the line. “Figured that out, did you? That’s the reason I had to take the princess.”

My mind went blank. I knew I had to figure out a way to rescue Bella from those monsters, but fear gripped me, keeping my ability to think clouded.

“What do you want?” I finally asked. “I’m not handing anything over unless you’re giving her back at the same time. No saying to drop the money off and I’ll get her later type bullshit, understand? And if she’s hurt...”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rider said, clear scorn in his tone. “You’ll kill us. Just like you tried to kill her, right?”

Oh, God. What if they told her? What if they showed her the video? I should have come clean more quickly last night. If only her mom hadn’t been hurt.

Wait...

Sharon’s accident now seemed awfully convenient. She’d ridden the bus for years without problem. While I’d worried about her not having her own car, the woman had never fallen before to my knowledge. It wasn’t as though she were unstable on her feet or a doddering grandma. She was a woman tired from years of working multiple jobs, but she should be able to climb into a public bus.

“Did you hurt Sharon?”

“Ha, the old lady?” Rider’s laugh made my skin crawl. “I knew the little princess would rush to her mom’s side. Planned to nab her in the parking lot when she first came to the hospital, but then your ass showed up too. Lucky for us, your bitch decided to take a stroll by herself. We never would have gotten our hands on her otherwise. She’s never been by herself in all the time we’ve watched her.”

Dammit! My blood ran cold. I couldn’t believe they’d been keeping tabs on her. This was all my fault. Bella’s problems in general, Sharon being shoved off the bus and having surgery, and now Bella being kidnapped. All because I thought I should rebel and prove I was nothing like my father and didn’t need his lifestyle. I’d ended up exactly what I’d hated anyway, in the political field and living the fake life of a perfect politician. It had all been useless, and now who knew how much Bella’s family would continue to pay for my mistakes. If Bella or Sharon didn’t make it through this, it would be blood on my hands.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“First off, I need that three mil you refused to get last week,” Rider said.

“I expected that. You have to give me some time. I can’t get my hands on three million dollars that easily.”

“Princess stays with me until you do.”

I gritted my teeth, my jaw aching with how hard I clenched it. My father probably had three million easily accessible. All my liquid assets had been used up when I bought Bella’s parents the stuff I bought them and also the two million I’d paid to the gang the first two times they demanded money. Question was, would my father surrender that amount to me in order to save my wife? I supposed I could say it would look good for his image.

“That’s not everything I want now, though,” Rider continued. “Price went up since we had to take drastic measures to get your attention.”

“What else could you possibly need? I’ve already given you two million. Now, even when Snake gets out of prison, you’ll have a million for all five of you.”

“Funny you should mention Snake.” Rider let out a chuckle that made my skin crawl. “You’re friends with the governor, right?”

“I... No, not really. I’ve been to a few dinner parties with him, but I don’t know him personally.”

“Too bad.” Rider laughed again. “Get Snake’s crimes pardoned and get him out of jail. He’s awaiting trial, but we can’t afford to have him convicted. He’ll get life if it goes against him. After you get him free, we’re even. I’ll give you the video and the princess.”

“There’s no way I can—”

“Then I’ll keep the princess as my girl. Hell, maybe we’ll all take turns. Tony has already taken a real liking to her, and she ain’t ugly.”

I’d never understood the phrase seeing red before, but my vision dulled and rage was the only thing I could feel. “I’m going to kill you!”

“Sure, Prince Pussy, I believe that. You couldn’t even kill a defenseless girl last time. Come at me, bro. I’d love to fuck up your pretty face for all the voters to see what a piece of shit you really are. I’m giving you until ten tomorrow morning. I’ll call to arrange the drop if you’ve managed to get the pardon for Snake and the cash. If not, say goodbye to your princess.”

Only tomorrow morning? That was less than thirty hours. How did he expect me to accomplish all that in such a short time? Besides, there was a more pressing matter. Was Bella okay?

“How do I know she’s still alive right now?” I asked.

“Unlike you, I keep my word.”

“Just let me talk to her or I’ll send the cops after you, telling them you killed her.” I kept my voice firm. If I showed any weakness, Rider was sure to pounce on that and demand even more.

“Damn, pussy, you sound serious. Fine.” The phone went slightly muffled, but I heard Rider faintly say, “Ungag the princess’s mouth. Prince Pussy wants to talk to her.”

The gasping sounds of someone finally getting air after not having enough fueled my rage further. She must be so afraid, and they’d gagged her and done who knew what to her. Once I had her back, I was still going to make them pay for touching her. I didn’t care what happened to me after. They’d never get away with this.

“Damian?” Bella’s voice was raspy, and I knew she struggled to talk through her tears. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone out alone.”

She was apologizing? Shit! “This isn’t your fault, sweetheart. I’m coming to get you, I promise. Do you know where you are?”

“Ha, stupid.” Rider’s laughter cut me off. “Think I’m that dumb? You’re on speaker phone, dick. Put the gag back on her.”

“No, please. She can’t breathe with that,” I argued. “I won’t ask any more questions, I’ll get the money, but don’t gag her!”

“Ah, you really care about this bitch, don’t ya?” Rider’s laughter was joined by the other gang members now that they could all hear me. “You have until ten tomorrow morning, or I’m making the princess mine in every way.”

The phone went dead in my ear. For a few seconds, I couldn’t even form a coherent thought. They had Bella, they had the woman I loved.

Suddenly, the phone rang back to me, reminding me that James had remained on the other line. I hurried to answer.

“Was it her?” James asked.

“Kind of.” I shook my head, not knowing what to do next. “Call off the search party. I know who has her.”

“Sir? Is it them?”

“Them?” What did he think he knew?

“Don’t forget, I’ve been with you for a long time. You joined that gang for a while as a teenager. Now that you have someone you care about, are they blackmailing you?”

Well, at least I didn’t have to explain the situation. “They want me to get the governor to pardon their leader, in addition to getting three million dollars to them. I have until ten tomorrow morning.”

“Shit!”

I’d never heard James curse before, but I couldn’t argue. “That about sums it up. I already gave them two million. I don’t have three more available without liquidating some assets, so there’s no way I can get it in the time limit. On top of that, I have no clue how to get the governor to pardon Snake. I don’t even know what he did.”

“Murder,” James answered without hesitation. “Once I figured out who those men were, I kept tabs on them through the years.”

“You... how did you know who they were?”

James chuckled. “Do you think I’d have ever let you disappear into the city for several weeks by yourself? I spied on you the entire time.”

My blood ran cold, thinking about it. “Then you know?”

“What you did to Bella?” James’s voice wasn’t as judgmental as I’d expected it to be. “I held my scarf against her neck until the ambulance arrived. I knew you’d never forgive yourself if that girl had died.”

“Damn, James. You deserve a raise.”

James laughed. “No, sir. I’m simply happy to be here for you. I’ve always loved you like a son.”

“You... you have?” I’d had no clue. All this time, I had a parent figure looking out for me. I always thought James obeyed me and helped me because I paid him to. I never once guessed it was because he cared about me as a person. “I appreciate that, but I have bigger problems. If I don’t meet their demands, not only will they hurt Bella, but they’re going to release a video of when I hurt her before.”

“I guess we need to go see your father.” James cleared his throat, suddenly sounding as if he felt a bit awkward, perhaps because he’d only just now admitted he thought of himself as my father. “I’ll get the car ready. I dressed while you were on the other line. Mr. Grogan’s the only one able to help us out of this.”

“I thought about asking him, but we can’t. He won’t do something like that for me.”

“No? Would he rather news get out that the son and heir to the great Grogan family once slit a girl’s neck and robbed her? I’m pretty sure he’s going to do what it takes to stop that from happening.”

James was right. I had to come clean to my parents. I had to do whatever it took to save Bella. Even if she discovered the truth and hated me for it, I would save her. I’d spend the rest of my life repenting for what I did to her. If that meant I did it on my own with her living life happily some other way, so be it.

“Let’s go to the car together. I’ll call Father on the way.”