The Search II

I arrived to the brutal voice of Captain’s son.
“What did you just say?”

Eli was following like a shadow since we found Glyndon and didn’t leave my side because he was the only one who didn’t hide his disappointment upon not finding Ava, even though Glyndon was his cousin. 

And I was the only one who didn’t judge him for that because I was disappointed too. There was this mutual understanding that it wasn’t that we weren’tglad that Glyndon was found. We just couldn’t physically gather any fucks to give with my daughter missing.

I didn’t want to be near them actually. I intended to avoid them, ignore them, even hate them until I had found my little butterfly, but I realized soon that I had forgotten my phone in the room. 

Out of pure hope, I had rushed downstairs, thinking it was Ava that was hidden behind the walls. But she wasn’t.

So, I came back to get my stuff when I heard Landon’s voice echo through the closed door.

“Landon—”

“What. Did. You. Just. Say?” He sounded like a volcano ready to erupt. Eli next to me cursed, obviously knowing something I didn’t. I didn’t bother to turn to him and just entered the room, passing the big black dressed man, that were guarding the door.

When I entered, I could almost taste the tension in the room. If they were cats their fur would’ve been probably straightened up by the unbearable thickness that was blanketing the air.

Levi was standing at the window, back straight, hands into a fist, Landon behind him looking like a demon ready to beat out the truth from his father. Aiden was standing between them in a triangle, almost like he was ready to interfere if needed. 

No one dared to say anything so seconds, minutes, endless moments passed before Landon grabbed an already broken stool on his side and threw it against the wall next to his uncle.

Aiden didn’t flinch.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY LEVI KING?”

“MIA SOKOLOV IS DEAD!”

First I thought I imagined it, the ripping of Landon’s heart, the shattering of his soul into million pieces but when I saw Aiden flinching now, closing his eyes when the truth poisoned the air like a venomous snake, I was certain.

Landon King died in that second.

First, he didn’t move, and I saw in the corner of my eye how Eli tried to loosen his hands, preparing for something unknown. The doors opened, Creighton and Remington stepping outside, and I could hear faint crying noises in the rooms from the girls.

Then Landon started shaking and I was surprised that he didn’t fought the truth.

He didn’t ask for his father to deny it, to tell him that he was lying.

He didn’t refuse to believe it neither asked for a prove.

Because he knew.

He knew that his father would never say something that he wasn’t certain about. Landon loved Mia like how Levi loved Astrid, no- how Aiden loved Elsa. 

Though we all agreeable had psychotic, obsessive tendencies to our women, Landon’s love for Mia was as ruthless and addictive as Aiden’s was to Elsa’s.

So, when Landon slowly looked over to Aiden who for the first time, was not able to return and withhold someone’s eyes, his nephew started shaking with pure and destructive agony.

His face turned pale; mouth opened in a silent scream when he slowly fell to his knees.

It was like as if his soul was leaving him inch by inch, making him crumble in his lifeless body.

He started choking like he was taking his last breaths and then without a warning a piercing, soul-shattering scream left his body like a prayer that we all knew would never be answered.

Landon King was dead.

The following moments were in a blur when Levi rushed to his son, collecting him in his arm, Aiden on his other side. 

In that moment I saw Landon when he was younger, a child, when he had somewhat of an innocence in him. When he was only five, he had played with his twin and Eli where he had accidently swallowed a piece of LEGO.

I remember how Astrid was crying hysterically upon seeing his boy choking up, Eli calling for his Dad desperately. Levi had collected him in his arms just like that and after he successfully got the toy out, he rubbed his back, telling his son in a soft voice to breathe, just like he was doing now.

And just like now, Aiden had put a hand on his headwhen the relief and trauma washed over him upon being able to breathe again.

Ava had cried in my arms, worrying for Landon since she was only two at that time, not fully comprehending what had happened. 

I had told her that he would be alright and that he would breathe normally again. Today I couldn’t do that because she wasn’t here. And if she was, I knew I couldn’t tell her that he would breathe again. 

Because he wouldn’t.

Then, Aiden had told Landon that he would be fine and that he was safe now.

This time, Aiden shut up and didn’t say anything because he knew nothing he’d say would do justice to the dread he was feeling.

I had never seen Captain cry before, but holding his son in his arms, trying to make him breathe, stroking his back like he was five again, made him realize that he had lost his son forever.

And because he was mourning his son’s death not even Levi King was strong enough to withhold his tears.

--

Landon was paralyzed and currently in another room being guarded by men in front of the door. Aiden had been outside, checking upon the security and making sure yet again that no police were involved. 

Though I had intended to leave and find Ava on my own, Mia’s death made me realize how far these fuckers from hell were able to go. 

And though I wanted to find my daughter and just bring her back to the safety of her home I couldn’t risk her dying because of my recklessness. 

The crying had died down eventually in the rooms after Landon was brought out and we still didn’t have any clue as to where to begin and what to do and this made me angrier by the second.

The Volkov boy send men to search for Ilya, as we still didn’t know where Xander and Cecily were.

Nikolai wasn’t able to communicate through the rage and pain he was feeling but his men called every half hour to tell that Brandon’s health was decreasing which wasn’t really helpful in any way.

And Ava? Ava was still nowhere to be fucking found.

I was going through all the happenings already a million times in my head, over and over again.

It wasn’t a secret that the King’s were targeted but so was my Ava. Whoever was doing this had a special issue with the King family and with us. But what didn’t fit was the fact that they let my Ari go. They only took Ava but why?

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing on something important.

Why would they—

“NO! DON’T TOUCH ME! DON’T TOUCH ME LET ME GO!”

I jumped up in a second hearing Ariella scream in her room. I busted through the door seeing Remington over my daughter, trying to push her down.

“You motherfucker-“ I grabbed him by his shoulder and threw him across the room before hovering over him to mindlessly pummel into his face. Remington held his arms in front of him to protect himself, not even trying to fight me off, but I was too much in rage and too unhinged to stop me from scoring some punches.

“COLE!” 

Two pair of hands grabbed me by each arm and pulled me back. I fought against it but eventually I was pushed back, Remington coughing in pain, rolling to his side.

“He touched my daughter”, I barked, trying to push off who seemed to be Ronan and Eli. 

“She—fuck – she is dreaming”, Remington moaned in pain. It took me a minute to register that Ariella was still trashing and crying, her eyes open but seeing nothing in particular.

I shook Astor and Eli off rushing to my baby girl who instantly tensed and started punching the moment I touched her shoulder.

“Hey, hey baby it’s me. It’s Daddy, look at me!”, I tried to coo but it increased her panic only more. Without realizing it Remington made his way back to Ariella’s side, his left eye swollen and lip busted, when he cupped Ari’s face speaking softly.

“Jailbait, you’re safe. You’re safe baby, look it’s us. Wake up, jailbait” It took my daughter a moment before she slowly calmed down and finally her eyes started to focus.

“R-Remi?” she sobbed, her eyes wandering to me. “D-Dad?” Immediately she broke down, trembling with the aftershock of the nightmare. I pulled her to me, lifting her on my lap to engulf her in a hug when she cried uncontrollably in my chest. 

I didn’t know what to say or how to react. It was like my mouth was glued together and my brain too numb to form a proper sentence.

What…did I just witness?

My eyes met Remi’s who withheld my look only for a second when he then evaded it. 

He knew something.

When I met Ronan’s eyes, he did the same. Only Eli didn’t look away and I wished he did because what I saw in his face was the prove that my darkest fear, I didn’t even dare to form in my mind was true.

My eyes widened and I pulled Ariella only closer.
I didn’t know if I was comforting her or myself at that moment, but I was certain that if I didn’t hold her I would’ve fallen to the ground. 

It took us twenty-seven minutes for Ariella to go back to sleep. I know because I counted the seconds. I put her back into her bed and covered her like she was two years old again. The others had left us alone so when I went outside, I saw Remington waiting patiently at the door like a loyal guard dog.

I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, son”
He nodded only, and I could see that he wasn’t mad at me whatsoever. I took a deep breath before I said the following because my heart and my brain were fighting against each other.

My brain wanted to know what had happened to her. Wanted to hear it, wanted to be one hundred percent sure that that what I was fearing wasn’t reality.

My heart couldn’t take it though. It was ignorant and a coward, delusional and too fucking scared to get the answer.

“Tell me, Remington. My daughter-“

“-Uncle please..” 

I closed my eyes, swallowing loudly.

“I need to know, Remi. Was she—” A sob was emitted through the room and when I opened my eyes I saw it was Remington who was visibly gulping and trying to fight his tears back.

That was all I needed as a prove.

We stared at each other for a second and I let out a shaky breath, all strength leaving me when I leanedmy head against his shoulder, panting in order to hold back the pain.

My sweet, baby girl.

My beautiful, little princess was… raped.

Her innocent, angelic soul was ripped out of her, tarnished and damaged with no repair. 

Flashbacks filled the back of my eyes that were now burning with unshed tears.

When Silver rushed out of the car when driving home from the Meet Up. Ava in the back of our car when I followed her out. When I realized that she was pregnant with our second baby, a dream we never even dared to dream.

Our little gift from heaven.

When Silver was six months pregnant with Ava stroking her belly, bubbling to her baby sister and telling her that she couldn’t wait to meet her.

When Ariella was born, I remembered holding her in my arms for the first time.

How she looked at me with those big blue eyes and my wife had whispered that she hoped that they would change to look like mine.

Silver had always loved the fact that she looked like me and I have always loved the fact that we had two kids looking like the perfect mixture of us both.

Ariella like me and Ava like—

I straightened like a bolt of lightening hit me, stumbling backwards against the wall, eyes widening when realization hit me across my face.

“Uncle”, Remington called, suddenly multiple pair of eyes were focusing on me, but I couldn’t see who it was. 

Because my mind was on overdrive, scenarios filling my head from high school years, blinding me for a second.

They were calling my name, some holding me, shaking me but I was too far gone to shake them off. 

How could I not think of it before?

How didn’t I connect the dots before? 

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

“Nash”

Aiden’s hard voice filtered through the crowd of noises, my eyes finally focusing on the here and now. 

“Nash, fucking come back to your senses” 

A harsh slap made me release my breath I turned my head back to King who most definitely expected me to hit back, but his eyes widened when I mumbled one single word.

“Adam”

It was the first time I saw emotions flash through Aiden’s face, shock, realization, horror and finally the thirst for blood.

It was Adam Herran. 

Adam fucking Herran.

He was the one who did this to us. Who was back to take revenge on what had happened years ago.

That motherfucker was obsessed with Silver, to such an extent that he almost killed Elsa for it. He was deranged and totally out of his mind and tried to touch and molest my wife multiple times when we were in high school.

He stalked her for years until Captain and us, the four horsemen, forced him to transfer after beating him black and blue. We did more illegal things than we ever told our wives, but I thought we scared him off bad enough that he would never ever dare to even mention Silver in his dreams again.

I was wrong.

Fuck, I was so fucking wrong.

He wouldn’t kill Ava. Not easily. Because she looked like Silver. But it didn’t completely rule out the opportunity that he would.

He just wouldn’t do it so easily, because he didn’t do it just yet. 

I didn’t fucking know how this psychopaths mind was working, if he still wanted Silver or if he was filled with so much hate, that he wanted to destroy her. 

But for now, he wanted to keep Ava.

He-

“Nash-“

“Sir” A guard opened the door, interrupting Aiden of whatever he was about to say. “Not now”, Aiden spoke through his teeth, his jaw clenched, eyes still fixed on me.

His left eye was twitching like a time bomb that was ticking.

“But, Sir-“

“I SAID NOT NOW”, he yelled, making the guard freeze in his place for a second.

“Well, well, well, I never heard Aiden King lose his control like that”

This voice.

My mind was such a clusterfuck right now, I knew this damn voice, but I couldn’t find the matching face to it.

“Who-“

“Carson” Aiden now turned to him, everyone facing the guest that stepped into the room.

“Well, I had hoped to meet you under different circumstances” he returned.

“Dad?”, Killian stepped out of the room for the first time since Glyndon was rescued. His father rushed to him and pulled him to his chest, hugging him tightly and you could tell this wasn’t something they’ve done often because the Carson boy needed a moment to completely fall into the hug. 

“Where the fuck is my daughter?”

“In here, Mr. Volkov”, Creighton answered who had suddenly appeared next to us, upon hearing the voice of none other than Adrian Volkov, who stepped through the door right after Asher. 

There was a moment where Aiden and Adrian looked at each other with pure hate but the latter’s attention turned to Creighton completely the moment he told him where his daughter was.

“You all deserve a little bullet hole right above your asses for not calling me sooner”

The last man stepping inside had to be the famous assassin Kyle Hunter. Husband of Rai Sokolov, who had a link to Aiden and Elsa adopting Creighton and the father of the Sokolov twins and Brandon’s boyfriend Nikolai.

Who called them?

“I called you now”, Aiden spoke.

Oh.

“Where are my kids? My girls?”, He growled, clearly not satisfied with Aiden’s answer. 

Everyone tensed visibly. 

It was like the world was slipping from between my fingers by the immediate change of events that were happening.

I couldn’t even fully comprehend and react to a single thing before something else happened.

Where the fuck should we sta-?

“LANDON DON’T!”

Captain’s voice echoed through the room and a shot gun followed.

Landon’s room.

I don’t remember what happened after because my mind was spinning, the world had stopped and my reality was shifting, mixing with a nightmare so dark that it made me gasp for air.

This was the end.