The Search II

It was hard to let go of my Green, especially when she was shaking with fear. Her big green eyes were full of pain and sadness. She tried to be strong, especially for Silver but I knew my Green well. She felt hopeless and scared. And also a tiny bit guilty because her daughter was “saved” and her best friends...wasn’t. Kimberly never stopped being the sweet and caring friend she always was. She would never show her relief or even the tiniest bit of happiness when her friends and loved ones were suffering.

I looked out of the window seeing the clouds clearing and the houses of Florence coming into view. It would be fucking beautiful if I didn’t already hate this city for devouring and abusing my little baby girl.

My soft, little Cecily..

My jaw tightened when I thought of what she must have endured. What she had suffered, and I couldn’t help but blame that fucking lizard Jeremy for it as well. He was supposed to protect her like he fucking promised. I didn’t give two bloody fucks that it was her girls trip – I knew damn well that that psychopath was stalking her.

My wife and daughter deemed me to be stupid to think that I didn’t know what this guy was doing. Creighton, Aiden’s son, was dating his sister and we all knew damn well the story of Creighton's adoption and how Aiden and Elsa got him. I knew the mafia was involved and I knew that Jeremy’s family was in the Bratva. 

Heck, who the hells name is Volkov and a law-abiding citizen?!

I knew it the moment I looked further into who he was, but I played along and never let my girls know that I knew what he was up to and how his future looked like. 

Though it is no fathers dream for their daughter to date a fucking criminal I couldn’t act like me and my friends were innocent in all aspects of our lives. But that wasn’t the reason I turned a blind eye.

Because yes, no Dad wished for their daughter to date a mafia prince, but every father wanted their child to be safe. 

And though no fucking guy deserved my Cecily, Jeremy had the will and possibilities to protect her from any harm.

Yes, maybe he was the most dangerous thing that came into her life in the first place and maybe she needed saving from him and his world but then, the world wasn't a safe place to begin with. 

But above all that and most importantly there was the way she looked at him and fuck …it was the exact same way her mother looked at me.

Completely and utterly in love and I would’ve hurt her – killed her - if I forced them to separate because that almost happened to me and Kim.

Not being together almost killed us, killed my wife to a point of no return  because of the pain we endured, thinking we were not able to be together.

I let out a choked breath, leaning back and closing my eyes.

And that fucker Jeremy looked at her back, just like I knew I was looking at my Green.

With determined, unconditional and ruthless love. 

So how could I not be angry with him for what he let happen?

“Knight?”

I opened my eyes, looking up at Nash who looked pointedly at my leg which was bobbing up and down since I sat down.

It took me a moment to stop it before he sat down next to me, his tired green eyes looking out of the window.

“10min”, he said clipped. His voice echoing like a deep void.

He actually sounded like a beast ready to be released and I knew never had to control himself this hard in his entire life.

I nodded once though I doubted that he saw it by the way he was cautiously watching the outside, as if to make sure we were really landing and there was no time being wasted anymore.

The light above us went on, signalizing us to put on our belts but no one bothered. No click was heard.

Cole reached back into his waist and pulled out a jet-black Glock, checking if the safety was on before handing it over to me.

I took it out of his hand wordlessly and secured it in my waist on my back. 

There was rare to no word exchange since we entered the King Jet. Only Aiden was phoning back and forth with his son Eli, but neither of us bothered to talk.

Ronan was staring out of the window and in the corner of my eye I had seen him pick up his phone multiple times only to put it away. It was rare to see my best friend like that. Him and Remington had the most healthiest relationship out of our group when it came to my friends and their kids.

Hey, I didn’t have a problem saying that my obsession with my little angel might be over the top. But that’s something Ronan would never understand because he didn’t have a daughter.

Still, when it came to having a son-father relationship he definitely won that one way ahead of Aiden and Levi. 

Yet seeing him like this, not being able to call his son because he clearly feared to hear his voice and what else he might tell him, made me ache for my friend. 

Aiden and Levi had been literal statues for almost the whole flight. Besides phone calls – that were chipped and short and nothing along the line of friendly and nice they had been seated across from each other staring into nothingness. 

Though the malice was clearly written on Captains face, Aiden rocked the poker face like always, his grey eyes not giving any emotions away. 

But compared to Aiden, Cole was .. dead. Normally the glint of mischievousness and competitiveness was seen in his forest green eyes but now, they were just bland. 

Lifeless.

Even soulless.

We were used to Aiden being a cold and completely unreadable motherfucker but Cole always had a hint of chaos in his eyes.

That was completely gone right now.

I took a deep breath watching as my longtime friends exchanged looks the moment we felt the plane land. Guns and ammunitions were exchanged in a very none-secretive way, Aiden typing on his phone probably telling Eli that we just landed.

We may have been never the nice guy in any one’s life but we never really had been dangerous, murderously dangerous to anyone. I’m pretty sure Aiden and Levi King were for sure involved in some illegal things, maybe some bloodier than others, and I knew for a fact that we all weren’t clean when it came to our criminal records because we weren’t the most civilized men when it came to our family and loved ones but this.

Our families had been perfect in hiding our wrong-doings at times as well and after settling down with our families we rarely had occasions were we had to play a little with the justice-system.

But this.

This was personal on a different level.

Maybe that was the reason why we were friends. Why we pulled towards each other like magnets though we disliked each other more than normal friends should.

It’s the loyalty that connected us. We may have our differences, but those differences were protected by each and every one of us.

We felt the plane slow down after touching the ground and everyone sat up, body tensed.

“Gentlemen”

Captains low voice rang through the plane like Hades’ dark promise in the underground.
A malicious grin spreading across his face. The smile never reaching his eyes.

“Let’s bring back our girls, shall we?”

-

Three cars and a motorcycle were awaiting us, as well as multiple black Range Rovers further in the back filled with black dressed men that watched us cautiously.

Eli, Sokolov’s son and that Carson boy got out of the cars close to us, faces tight and unmoving.

I knew that the guys our daughters were dating were all fucked up but looking at their faces with nothing but murder lust and eyes full of revenge just proved to me what psychopaths they were actually dating.

There was no heartfelt greeting, no hugs, barely any exchange of words besides subtle nods and clipped directions as to where and when everyone was coming together. I knew that Aiden had all the information already from Eli and that he didn’t tell us everything yet but there was no need for it at the moment. 

We had to collect everyone and go through this first.

I entered the bright red Ferrari, seated next to Ronan, Levi and Sokolov took the Porsche, Aiden got into the black mustang with Carson. 

I rolled down the window, the sunglasses set on my nose to block out the afternoon sun. 

Cole threw Eli wordlessly a helmet, not bothering to look him in the face. I didn’t know what I expected, surely no warm conversation or consolations. But I was surprised to say the least that Cole wanted to be on the same vehicle as the boy who taunted his little girl since she was born. 

Eli’s mere delayed reaction was a prove that he himself didn’t expect that.

On normal days, less scarier and fucked up days, I knew for a fact Eli would’ve teased Cole. Made his blood boil and let him then fight with Aiden, only to lean back and watch them. But today was no such day.

Instead, Eli just put the helmet on and sat behind Cole. 

I started the engines, the purring of the car igniting my rage that had been on stand-by on the flight.

And I could swear that Ronan felt the same adrenaline kick in, his posture next to me straightening, jaw tightening.

I followed after Captain and Aiden was right behind us, Cole close by.

It didn’t take us long for us to arrive at the hotel and when I saw Jeremy, I clamped my teeth together, almost crashing the steering wheel in my hands. 

“Cecily is safe. Don’t hurt her more”, Ronan muttered next to me, the usually so playful tone in his voice not the slightest bit audible. 

He got out of the car after I parked it in the Parkhouse when Jeremy approached us.

I didn’t want to notice it, but it was impossible to not see the bloodshot eyes and the bags under them. 

His eyes instantly found mine even though I was still wearing the shades and by the way his body was stiffened I could see that he felt guilty. 

Responsible.

Good!

Everyone got out of the car, a little circle forming in the parking lot.

I decided to take off my shades and put them back in my chest pocket, not wanting to miss any details in my surrounding. 

Aiden was the last one with Carson to join the circle, his eyes pinned to the brick wall behind us, that was looking rather disproportionate out of the wall. It looked like it was freshly extended. 

My eyes shifted to the Carson boy and I couldn't help the goosebumps running down my back. This boy was fucking creepy. He looked so hollow and empty, like he needed blood to survive another day.

His gaze wasn't focused on anything and I doubted that he was actually aware of us at all.

“Any updates?”, Aiden asked, his eyes staying focused on the wall a bit longer.

Eli didn’t say anything because he knew his Dad didn’t mean him. He already had told him everything he knew. He meant Jeremy because he had been here while the others came to pick us up.

Jeremy’s eyes found Eli for a moment, his right eyebrow lifting in a silent question. King’s jaw tipped down so slightly I would’ve missed it if I had blinked. 

“Ariella and Cecily are secure in a room with men guarding and protecting them. After another attempt to kidnap Cecily everyone was put into one room, the hotel room was depicted apart, and we found multiple cameras hanging around the suite which means they were watching the girls from the get-go.”

Cole and I tensed visibly, a new wave of adrenaline rushing through my veins. I was going to kill each and every single fucker who dared to watch and touch my little baby girl.

“Nikolai brought up the receptionist that had given Ilya, my man-,” he nodded in the direction of a young man behind him. I remembered Ilya, I called him his fucking shadow. He never smiled nor was interested in getting cozy with us. He was disgustingly polite to my wife though. I was still deciding if I liked that he at least was nice to her or if I wanted to punch him in the face for it. Either way I knew I would never like him.

“-the room that was polluted. Brandon and Creighton are still injured.”

From the corner of my eye I saw Levi’s jaw tick. Jeremy’s eyes moved over to Nikolai for a split second before he focused on Aiden again. 

Nikolai Sokolov was obviously no less of a psychopath with his crazed look and shirtless body covered in ink and I really questioned the taste of Captains kids. It's like, they either had to date a maniac or had to be one, like Landon.

I never thought I would ever say or think that but it seemed like my daughters choice was still somewhat the safest amongst all these insane sociopaths.

“Brandon is..” Jeremy focused on Eli for a second, the younger King looking straight back at him.

“Spit it out boy!”, Levi growled, stepping closer. “What is with my son?”

Jeremy’s face hardened but he knew better than to react aggressively towards the eldest King.

“His wounds aren’t closing. He got fever and the doctor doesn’t know what to do”

“Then the doctor you hired obviously isn’t doing it right”, Aiden spoke, voice dark and unforgiving.

Nikolai cursed in Russian and rushed passed everyone, two of his men following right behind him.

“What about my son?”, Aiden demanded, pulling everyone’s attention back to him. 

And he didn't miss the opportunity to throw his eldest son an accusing look to which Eli's jaw tightened. 

“He is getting better, but we had to drug him because he was trying to get up early.” Jeremy’s voice hardened.

“Because of my sister”

Aiden nodded barely, his chest puffing slightly with pride. Any other person might’ve missed it but I knew my psycho friend for years now to know that he has always honored himself by the way his sons were no less obsessive fucks like him.

Aiden would burn the world for Elsa.

And so would Eli and Creighton when it came to Ava and that little purple candy looking mafia princess.

Aiden stood behind that characteristic of both sons with his whole heart.

“Let’s go”, Eli now spoke, leading the way to the stairs from the parking lot, everyone skipping the elevator because there was no time.

For the last time I saw Aiden eyeing the wall behind us before he followed.

“What is it?”, I heard Levi ask, both of them whispering but I was a pro when it came to eavesdropping.

“The hotel has opened two years ago”, Aiden stated calmly.

Levi didn’t answer and I furrowed my eyebrows.

What did he mean by that?
Why was it an important fact that the hotel opened recently?

I looked around.

It was indeed a very polished and posh looking hotel. When I looked it up, I had only seen perfect reviews. It was located in the center, perfectly reachable to every tourism attraction as well as the night life. 

Every location the girls had visited were pinned and ready to visit. Apparently, our sons did just that, but I trusted in my own eyes more than them. 

My eyes scanned every corner, every unusual looking picture that was hanging around. I had a weird feeling the moment I entered the halls and my gut feeling was never wrong.

A silent beep sound distracted me from my thoughts when Eli opened the door with his card. Cole rushed past me, entering first and calling for Ariella’s name. I heard how a door opened but the first girl that stepped out was ...my Cecily.

I felt my chest tightening and how my lungs were on the brink of collapsing.

My beautiful, silver-haired angel looked so broken that it made my eyes tear up and my hands shake.

Her bottom lip trembled, a habit she inherited from her mother, when her tired and dull eyes locked with mine.

“Cecy..” I couldn’t recognize my own voice when I reached her in two steps, Cecily meeting me halfway.

“Papa!”, she sobbed, crashing against me and in that moment, my 21-year-old daughter was no older than two.

She was no taller than past my kneecaps. She didn't have silver hair but long brown strands like her mother and two of her hands fitted in one of my palm. In this moment, she was my tiny princess, Cecily Annabelle Knight.

I engulfed her against my chest, spreading kisses on her forehead, temple and hair. I buried my nose in her silver halo and inhaled, anger spreading in my blood when all I smelled was hotel shampoo and agony.

She didn’t smell like my little girl… but like a broken angel.

“My baby, I’m so sorry”, I whispered, fighting my own sobs when she trembled in my chest, pulling me impossibly closer and clawing me like I would disappear any moment.

“I’m here baby. I’m here!”, I promised, pulling her to a couch nearby and on my lap. I rocked her back and forth like I did when she came crying into our bedroom whenever she was scared of the monster in her closet. Or whenever she had a nightmare of us leaving her, me promising her that we would never, ever leave her.

And yet I did leave her. I left her, fed her to the wolves, to the monsters that had scared her in the nights.

I wasn’t there for her when she needed me the most and though I was angry with Jeremy, it would make me less of a man to not own to my own mistake.

I couldn’t protect my little baby and it was my fault too.

I failed as a father and the realization kicked me so hard in the balls that I couldn’t prevent a tear from running down my cheek.

I wasn’t able to register my surrounding until Cecily stopped sobbing, she was nothing but an empty shell in my arms, breathing heavily into the nook of my neck. In this moment I was so fucking grateful that my Green wasn't here, because I knew this would've shattered her to pieces. It would've killed her to see our daughter like this...

I stared down, my eyes empty, still swaying my princess whilst replaying all the ways and options on who to kill first.

On where to start.

Because it wasn’t a question of if and how, it was a question of when and starting with whom.

They would all suffer. 

Without exception.

-

Cecily fell asleep in my arms, restless and uneasy.

I carried her carefully to the room where she came from, Cole standing above a sleeping Ariella, watching her carefully.

Jeremy followed me like a shadow, looking over my shoulder his eyes never leaving Cecily’s sleeping frame like a hawk.

Remington was standing in the corner, his normally wicked grin and careless attitude nowhere visible.

After pulling the blanket over both girls, we stood there for a good moment, just watching them.

Both had a frown on their faces, a peaceful sleep looked nothing like this.

“What happened to her?”, Cole spoke, his voice so deep you could barely hear him.

Remington tensed visibly; his eyes casted on the person standing in the door. I looked back to see Ronan entering the room.

My long-time best friend’s face was monotone, no emotion written on it.

“I won’t ask again”, Cole rumbled.

“Unc-“

“Don’t!”, He cut him off harshly, making the girls flinch in their sleep. He closed his eyes at his mistake taking a deep breath before opening them again. He leaned down to kiss his daughter on the forehead and threw Remington a glance before stepping out of the room. 

I looked back at Cecily a last time before my eyes found Jeremy’s who had been quiet since we entered the suite. 

He tensed visibly and puffed his chest, ready for anything I was going to say.

His eyes looked dead, yet murderous and I appreciated that. 

“This time, don’t let her out of your sight!”

He swallowed, my words successfully stabbing his guts. He nodded once, averting my gaze to look back at her.

I followed after Remington and Ronan and closed the door behind me.

Looking around I finally saw in what mess the room was. Every picture frame was broken, the couches were sliced open, which explained why it hurt under my ass when I had held my daughter.

The mattresses where flipped over, TV broken and the cupboards and closets open and demolished. They definitely had searched the whole room.

Only the curtains where intact in order to cover the room from curious eyes.

The door besides Cecily’s opened before Cole could attack Remington with questions again when Levi and Aiden stepped out. I guessed that Creighton and Brandon where lying in there. Eli followed them and the Russian boy closed it behind them. The Carson boy that had been standing with no purpose in the room since we arrived, decided to leave shortly after.

By the look on Levi’s face I could tell that he was close to lose himself to his rage. His jaw was set and his eyes were spitting fire.

Aiden’s cold grey eyes scanned the room and if I didn’t know him better, I’d say he looked disinterested. Almost bored. Thank fuck, I knew him better because I was not above beating him up if he saw this whole mess as nothing but a waste of time.

The black dressed men, that were obviously the mafia, had stepped outside the moment we entered, and I knew they were waiting in front of the door like guard dogs, waiting for their next commands.

“Where is the receptionist?” I asked after a minute of silence. 

Eli nodded towards the door and I followed him, Captain and the rest of the horsemen close-by, leaving Remington and the other kids behind.

Eli told the men that were waiting outside, like I predicted, to reenter the room and not move until ordered otherwise.

The suite next door was also guarded, and they opened the door with no instruction. 

Equally demolished furniture greeted us as well as Levi’s eldest son.

Landon was boring holes into a beaten-up man that was tied up on a chair in the middle of the room.

He didn’t pay us no mind; his hands were bloodied, and his clothes dirtied. He looked lethal.

Levi passed us to step closer to his son but when he came too close to him, Landon’s head snapped into his direction, body tensing. He looked rabid dog who was ready to attack.

“Son-“

“Don’t son me, King.”, he spit, his words like venom.

By the way Levi didn’t budge at all I could tell that he expected a reaction like this.

Nevertheless, he managed to look down at his son, though they were both the same height and chose to not comment on it.

Landon on the other hand was obviously waiting for something so he could take out his anger on him.

But I knew Captain wouldn’t allow that. 

Instead he turned to the man taken hostage, his eyes scanning him carefully.

“Speak”, he demanded.

The man spit out blood, coughing. His face looked horrible, eyes swollen, streams of bloody tears and blemishes covering his cheek. He moaned in pain, probably crying too but his face was so wrecked I couldn’t decipher it. 

When he took too long to speak, Landon roared with fury, punching him straight into the face which made him knock out cold.

Aiden sighed, shaking his head.

“We won’t find out anything like this, my dear nephew”

“Fuck you”, Landon panted, his eyes still on the now half-dead man.

“So, you think you’re going to find the mute girl-“

“Mia”, Landon hissed, cutting off his uncle.

Aiden didn’t take it personal though and continued. “You think you’re going to find her like this? By beating up our only source and chance to find her?”

“Fuck you, uncle!” Landon snapped, picking up a chair and throwing it against the wall. “If it weren’t for you all”, he pinned us all with a crazed look. “This wouldn’t have happened”

Aiden hummed.

“Probably”, he said with no shame. They had mentioned that the kidnappers knew our names. They knew who we were and kidnapping our children wasn’t a random selection.

I glared at Aiden, agreeing with Landon.

We obviously fucked up with something which was why our children were suffering from this.

Of course he was calm because he didn’t have a daughter that was in danger.

Clearly Cole was thinking the same by the way his eyes were cast down on Aiden, his body language calm but his eyes poison.

“But I can say with confidence that I didn’t hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it”

Landon laughed humorless. 

“Is this your justification?”

Aiden smirked. “Isn’t it yours, dear nephew?”

King put his hands into his pocket, seeming nonchalant when he walked around the room, scanning every crevice. 

Landon furrowed his eyebrows. When he didn’t react Aiden looked at him, eyes widening in a fake surprise. 

“Oh, you didn’t even notice, huh?”, he smiled in an almost mocking way.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”. Landon barked.

Aiden’s smile dropped, his face turning back to his famous pokerface again, steel-eyes boring into his nephews. 

“I’m talking about your fucking rebellion, you uncontrollable, self-centered prick. The games that you play on behalf of others. The arsons you were involved in, almost killing my son with your stupid games. The fucking politics that you are involved in in your own bloody university.”

Landon stepped back, his hands trembling, eyes still full of malice and  bloodlust. 

“Isn’t your justification chaos? Your own fucked up, non-existent moral compass that allows you to do whatever you want?”

Aiden stepped closer to Landon, his gaze boring mercilessly into his.

“You’re mad at your fucking self Landon, admit it. We are the same and are living by the same principles which makes us ruthless in this world.”

Landon breathed out harshly like a bull ready to attack.

"You won't hear an apology from me and I know the world will never hear one from you for poisoning it the way you did. I hurt people just like you Landon. Because they threatened either me, my family or what was mine!"

Aiden lifted his nose, not the slightest bit bothered that Landon was a ticking time-bomb by now. 

“So you either man the fuck up and take responsibility, or you cry like a fucking pussy and destroy every opportunity to find your little goth princess!”

Aiden’s words cut deeper than a knife and Landon panted heavily, his muscles twitching, feet slightly bouncing like he had too much energy and didn’t know where to let it out.

He eventually decided to scream, a heart wrenching, deafening scream ripped out of his chest, directly into his uncle’s face before he stormed out, slamming the door behind him, making a last broken frame fall down.

We heard him go mayhem outside but no one followed him. 

“Why did you do this?”, Levi spoke after a moment of silent, looking at his cousin with fletched teeth.

“He needs to get his head out of his ass”, Aiden said, tilting his head to analyze the unconscious man closely.

“No. Why did you make him hopes?”

I furrowed my eyebrows, when Levi’s voice tightened at the end.

“Why shouldn’t he?”, Ronan asked, stepping closer.

Aiden sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly at his cousin. I knew that they had exchanged more information with each other than with us but what the hell was going on?

Aiden looked over at Eli and he understood his Dad’s silent request to leave because he shook his head, answering “Fuck you. You kept too much from me already.”

His father looked at him for a moment, his eye twitching which was a clear evidence for his anger flooding his body.

Their stare-down was short-lived though when Levi pulled out his phone.

“This was sent to Astrid before we left”

When we stepped closer to see the picture on Captains phone, I felt the blood in my veins rushing down, instant cold engulfing my body, freezing me on the spot. 

How was his hand not shaking showing us this? 

How was he able to stand so calm when his own daughter was still in danger to possibly experience the same fate?

So this is why Astrid turned numb. Why she wasn’t able to speak nor function before we left.

Why she had been stone-cold, staring into nothingness the short moment, I had looked over when she received a message.

I thought it was something similar to what Silver had received but this, this was much worse.

This was the worst nightmare any mother could receive, and I thanked all the gods above that it wasn’t my Cecily that was on the picture.

I let out a shaky breath, the lump in my throat too hard to swallow.

The empty eyes that were staring into the camera looked like they were staring right into my soul. The blood around her neck and the blonde hair that were spread around her like a devilish halo made goosebumps run down my whole body.

No matter how far away and unreal this situation had been since we heard about the kidnapping. Since the flight every step into this hell-hole has become real and more fucking real.

Like a nightmare turned into our own personal hell.

Landing in Florence was my first pinch into my arm, trying to wake up.

Seeing Cecily in the state she, was my second.

This, this was my third pinch, actually a slap right into my fucking face and I just wouldn’t, couldn’t wake up. 

Because this was the reality we were currently in. The harsh, bitter and ruthless reality.

This was real, and the girl on the picture was too.

And she was dead. 

Mia Sokolov was dead.