Thank you, Seuss-miser.

I lay awake all night watching Sage sleep. When she woke up startled from a nightmare, I comforted her, keeping her safe. From now on, I will be here.

In between, I contemplated the plans we’d made to secure the gala and everyone there. Everything organized down to the most-minute detail. Exits covered, cameras up, no stone left unturned. All hooked into the million-dollar security system our company procured last year. Top of the line in the industry, it sends all the information to our tablets, phones, and the servers at home-base operations. Should be sugary sweet.

One particular facet keeps cropping up in my overloaded gray matter. Those moments in life, the ones that seem small or insignificant at the time, but when you look back, they’re huge. Like the night in Arkansas when Sage informed me about Malik; I knew something didn’t smell quite right.

The lack of explanation or details about the psychopath wanna-be boyfriend still trouble my brain. Maybe it’s as simple as there was no relationship for Sage. She ducked out before it ever began.

Now that the past has caught up with the present, I hope she will trust me.

Establishing that Malik is responsible for the vandalism of Sage’s car solidifies the notion that he’s to blame for the break-ins at her office and home as well. His connection to Mustaf is still up in the air, but we’ll figure it out in due time. Somehow, he’s connected, if all our sources are correct.

Right now, it’s up to me and our team to find the son of a bitch and put him out of our misery. Yeah, I’m miserable every day that psychotic shit-bag is walking around, breathing in the same air.

My top priority is to protect Sage, above everything else.

“Now, Lukas. We’ve got eyes on her,” Keagan mumbles through the com in my earpiece.

“I need to check on something, princess. I’ll be right back,” I announce for the crowd. Leaning in, I whisper for Sage’s ears only, “Security is within shouting distance. You have nothing to fear.”

Passing through the arched doorway, I exit the ballroom in the opposite direction of where Sage remains. Her eyes expressed uncertainty when I parted, and my fucking psyche went berserk. She was left in the slimy hands of Nick. Some high mucky mucks with lots of money crave the brown-nose variety, and Sage volunteered to handle the task. Just fucking great. I recognize these types. Grew up around them and loathe the hoity toity cunt-fest.

So help me God, if anything happens to her, good ole boy Nicholas, along with the rest of the slithering bastards, will die a slow and painful death.

My mood plummets south with each step I put in front of the other. I try to calm down, drawing in deep, cleansing breaths, to no avail. The image of Sage in that dress forces more blood to thump in my veins. The flimsy beaded-style dress clung to every succulent curve of her hourglass figure, leaving nothing to the imagination. But, fuck, when she turned around, my eyes zoomed on the dimples above her rounded ass highlighted by the plunging, u-shaped back.

Fuck me.

A scuffle out front by an unknown attendee pulls me away. Keagan needs a confirmed identification of the person being held in the atrium. Lukas to the rescue.

“Is that permeant, or you jus’ tryin’ it on for size,” Keagan’s request jars my wondering thoughts.

“What the fuck are you talking about, boss?” I’m testy from the extra adrenaline coursing through my system.

“You look like ya want to kill somethin’ or someone,” he continues the reprimand.

Throwing my hands up in the air, I whip back, “Whatever. I should be with Sage, K. No one else can protect her like I can. You understand?”

“I hear ya, Luc. And you’re wrong. Pull your head outta your ass and do your job. You can’t help anyone if you’re skulkin’ around.” Keagan’s demand grounds me.

My face reddens, and I grind my teeth, but I force a smile. I nod tightly, holding back my next insult.

“Got it. What do you need?” I ask and proceed to gather the information required.

Thirty minutes later, I pass under the arched doorway and reenter the ballroom. The decorations in the room communicate the richness of the guests within it. Gambling tables strategically placed in the middle and slot machines line the outside perimeter.

I scan the area, in search of Sage, and come up empty. The obnoxious voice of Nicholas grates down my spine, like fingernails on a chalkboard. I follow the sound. As I stroll over to the semicircle group of men, my hackles flare up. Blood pressure rises with each pass of my eyes around the area. Sage is nowhere in sight.

I make a beeline for Nick. Yanking his arm, I move him out of the earshot of the other moneymakers.

I apply pressure with my thumb to the radial nerve; my tone is menacing. “Where the fuck is Sage, Nick? I left her with you. In your care! Where is she?”

“I…uh…she had to go to the ladies’ room, Lukas. She hasn’t been gone long. Or I don’t think she has,” Nicholas replies, squirming in my grip, scared and shaken.

Nicholas pulls his free hand up to his head and rubs across his forehead. His eyes briefly fall shut and then fly open. His pupils are dilated.

“Holy shit, Lukas. Something’s wrong. I can’t seem to remember the last few minutes. I feel like a hammer is pounding around in my skull. Where is Sage?”

“You’d better hope I find her, Nick,” I growl and turn him loose.

Nicholas stumbles back, confusion in his expression.

“Talk to me, Moose. Where is she?”

“Bathroom, she went in about fifteen minutes ago. Back corner, follow the corridor signs.”

“On my way. Keagan, someone needs to check on Nicholas. He’s exhibiting symptoms of being drugged,” I speak low into the com.

“Shannon is making his way to him as we speak,” Keagan confirms.

“I’ve got a bad feeling, K. Something’s off. And why the fuck wasn’t someone watching her closer?” My irritability is coming through loud and clear.

The steam is rolling off me in droves as I wipe my brow from the sweat. I roll my shoulders in hopes of alleviating some of the tension as my feet carry me closer to the bathroom where Sage was last seen. I all but sprint, and my nub attached to the prosthetic aches from being pushed so hard.

The women’s bathroom comes into view, and I knock on the door.

“Coming in,” I yell.

Pushing the door open, I enter the room. Three women are standing at the mirror, applying lipstick, stopping when I round the corner. Flushes echo in the background.

“What are you doing in here? Get out,” one of the women demands.

“No can do, ma’am. We have a gas leak in here. Everyone needs to exit quickly,” I inform in a placid tone.

The women gawk at me, not moving a muscle. Fucking rich bitches.

“I said, MOVE!” I shout. “Clear out. This area is closed.”

Like an ant pile that’s been stepped on, the women scatter and escape the bathroom, or me. My jaw aches, stiff and sore from grinding my teeth and locking up.

Where is Sage?

“Sage. Get your ass out here now, babe,” my order echoes in the area.

I wait for a response. Checking for feet underneath every stall, I come up short. I proceed to push each door open. In the last stall on the end, I stop short. My breath leaves my body as I fall to my knees.

“NO!”

In the corner on the floor is the clutch Sage carried with her tonight. Opened and the contents spilled out onto the marble.

Minutes later, the bathroom is bombarded with testosterone. Keagan approaches as I stand up. Using what’s left of my strength, I grip Keagan’s lapel and shove him up against the wall. His big head collides with the marble.

“This is all your fault!” I scream in his face. I’m feral. “If you hadn’t pulled me away…”

Keagan holds very still, not moving a muscle, a nondescript look on his staunch face, and it irks me even more.

“Do you know what you’ve done?” I shout and pull back my fist, ready to punch.

“Back it down, Luc. You know that’s not true,” Oliver interrupts the tirade. He places one hand on my shoulder, and the other grasps hold of my bicep. “Let him fuckin’ go, brother. You don’t want to do this. Keagan was doin’ what we were all here to do, our job. It’s no one’s fault. True?”

My chin falls to my chest and my breathing is difficult. The ringing in my ears overshadows the burning deep inside.

“This affects us all, Lukas. We’re in this together. Family, remember? You’ve got to clear your head. But we have to move, now,” Oliver penetrates the rage haze.

“The bracelet,” I sigh, releasing Keagan to retrieve my phone.

“What are you talkin’ ‘bout, Luc?” Keagan asks.

I ignore him and pull up the tracer app.

“Bingo! I’ve got her.” The relief in my voice tangible.

“Clocks tickin’, Jolly Green. Tell us what you’ve got,” Oliver asks.

“It’s the bracelet I gave her to wear tonight. Mac and I added a tracer in the metal hidden by the diamonds and rubies. A prototype we’ve been working on. It’s untraceable on a scan but continually sends out a signal with coordinates. It’s genius,” I brag, relieved that I can find her.

“Sweet. So, where is she?” Oliver questions further as Keagan moves into view.

“It’s pulling up now, ten more seconds.” I target Keagan’s gaze. Worry creases his blood-red slick-head. And guilt ensues. “Not going to apologize, K. But I get it. Not your fault, dick-face.”

Keagan nods, a quietness circles us, and nothing more needs to be said.

“Here she is. What the fuck is this?”

As we gather around the device and watch the blip on the screen in real time, it travels fast. Moving at speeds which couldn’t be a vehicle.

“Mac. You there?” I request into the com-link.

“Right here,” Mac answers.

“Are you seeing this?”

“Affirmative. I’ve calculated the speeds, and she’s either moving in a chopper or a plane.”

“Fuck! Okay, check all flight plans. Hack into the airways, find out how she’s moving so fast,” I order Mac.

“Need a trajectory, Paul. Stat,” Keagan adds to my instruction.

“Give me five,” MacGyver shares.

“K, Luc. Come take a look at this,” Oliver calls us over to the stall, where Sage’s purse still remains on the floor.

He points up to the ceiling, and at first, I don’t see anything out of place.

“Hang on,” he adds.

Oliver steps up onto the toilet seat, reaching for the ceiling tile. In that instant, I notice the slight variation of the grooved partition. If you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t recognize the difference.

“I need a light,” Oliver says and reaches out a hand behind him.

Keagan hands Ollie a flashlight. The next thing he finds will haunt me forever. A small piece of red sequined fabric stuck to a jagged edge hidden behind the ceiling tile.

My world turns on its axis, spinning ruthlessly with no stop in sight. I grip my chest and attempt to swallow the lump in my throat.

“I believe we just found out how they got her outta here without detection,” Keagan voices his concerns.

“Lukas?” Mac’s voice sings in my ear.

“Tell us what you got, Paul,” Keagan answers.

I’m thankful.

“An unauthorized chopper took off from the roof of the Plaza Hotel approximately thirty minutes ago. I pin pointed the trajectory. On the current course and speed, they’ll be in Jacksonville in about an hour and a half.”

“Holy shit! Jacksonville. Do you know what this means?” The information is on the tip of my tongue.

“Mustaf,” we all chant at the same time.

“Move your asses, fuck-wads,” Keagan hollers over his shoulder as he exits the bathroom.

We maneuver through the back of the hotel, where Shannon awaits with the car to take us to the airport. Avoiding the unknowing crowd in the ballroom.

“Don’t worry, boo. We’ve got this. Just make sure you’re safe. Stay with Moose and Cal. I’ll be home soon.” Worry trickles out as Keagan talks to Jocelyn over the phone.

“Stay with the guys, Vixen. I need you to be safe,” Oliver chats with Fallyn.

The mood is bleak as we arrive at the airport. Mac called again, this time with an update on the private yacht anchored off the shoreline, maintaining position in international waters. The drones confirmed the whereabouts. Word is, it’s Mustaf.

We worked out the details of what’s required in the course of the next forty-eight hours. Rescuing Sage is top priority, but now we have the chance to take down the monster who left us for dead in Afghanistan. The monster who destroyed my life.