He nods. “And he’ll get the best attention in our medical wing. My dad has already called in an entire team. He doesn’t want you or your dad out in the open until he has a complete update on the situation.”
“He’s right, Ry. It’s the safest way to handle this,” my dad interjects, cutting off my rising protest.
Puffing out my cheeks in resignation, I acquiesce. “Fine, but you better have the best doctors in the world because if anything happens to my dad, I’ll feed you your balls for breakfast.”
I sit back against the wall of the ambulance, taking it in. This isn’t like any medical transport I’ve ever seen. It’s about the size of an emptied out UPS truck, but it’s filled with medical supplies and even a surgical table. The thing could be a hospital on wheels and it still has enough space for all of us to comfortably fit back here.
A hand lands on my thigh. “What’s going on in that mind of yours, Angel?” Karl studies me like he’s trying to see into my thoughts.
Definitely not a place I want him to be, not after everything that happened. I need time to process it myself.
“Don’t hide from me.” He sees me without even trying. “You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready. Just don’t hide from me,” he whispers the last part as he lifts his hand, brushing his thumb over my chapped lips.
A pained grunt breaks the moment.
“I know I haven’t been around, but, umm, Dad in the room,” my father jokes, making us all laugh.
Karl doesn’t remove his hand from my thigh, but removes the one from my lip. His eyes pin me, communicating the promise that this conversation isn’t over.
“Right, so hands only in places you can’t see. Got it,” August quips. My cheeks bloom red and hang my head, trying to hide my embarrassment.
I hear a smack and look up to see August rubbing the back of his neck.
“What? I was just saying,” he mumbles.
I snort, bringing my hand to my mouth and cough, trying to cover up my amusement.
It feels good to laugh after so many days of feeling despair.
“How did you guys find me?” I ask, hoping my question doesn’t completely kill the lighthearted vibe.
Rowan answers, “Samantha finally did something unselfish- not knowingly, but in this instance, we’ll take it.”
“What did she do?” I question, furrowing my brow in confusion.
As bad as I feel for Sam, I know her. She’s not the selfless type, especially when it comes to me.
Sebastian clears his throat. “After you were taken, we made all the Selected girls wear pins with GPS locators in them. When Sam was kidnapped, she was still wearing hers. We just had to wait for her to be taken somewhere the signal wasn’t jammed,” he explains.
“They took her out of the room. I don’t know where they brought her, but it must have come back online when they did that,” I state.
Liam nods, confirming. “Yeah, she was found on the floor above where you were. Their fuck up was our gain.”
I still have so many questions. I didn’t see a pin anywhere on her, but I can analyze that another time. I’m just happy to no longer be stuck in the clutches of that bitch Seline and to have my dad back home. My gaze shifts to my dad. The medic has stopped the bleeding. He catches my eye, a small smile on his lips, and he mouths, ‘I love you, Ry.’
It’s not a magical happily ever after, but the nightmare is hopefully ending.
ROWAN
She’s safe. I keep repeating that as I watch Emma with her dad from the door.
Last night could’ve gone so many ways, but thankfully we were able to get her back. It’s good we got Samantha back too. I’m just not convinced she didn’t have something to do with her own disappearance. It’s why I pull myself away from the girl who’s been monopolizing my thoughts since she arrived in Calloway.
I make my way to my father’s office, trying to mentally prepare myself for the grilling we’re about to get. When I arrive, his door is open, and the guys and our dads are already inside, sitting around the table waiting for me.
Shit. I curse myself for needing to see she was truly safe with my own eyes.
She’s not my problem. I taste the lie- ignoring its bitterness as I take my seat.
“I apologize for being late. I wanted to make another round before the meeting,” I explain, looking at my father, hoping my explanation softens the blow.
To my shock, he smirks, “Perfectly understandable, Rowaniel,” and the look is gone as quickly as it appeared. “Let’s get down to business, shall we? Now that everyone injured is being taken care of in the medical wing, we have some things to discuss. There’s a lot we need to update you all on in order to move forward accordingly.”
A sharp jab in my side takes my attention away from his words, “Are you finally ready to eat crow, Calloway?” Sebastian asks.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing’s changed,” I mumble.
A throat clear. “If you two are finished, we need to get started,” my dad says.
Did this man get a personality transplant? He’s serious, but any other time my not providing my undivided attention would’ve landed me a swift reprimand- not a clearing of the throat.
“We’ve updated you on Aaron Bishop’s capture and being one of the highest priorities to retrieve, second only to his daughter Emma’s safe return, but what we haven’t told you is that Emma Bishop is Emma Bradford.”
My head snaps up- eyes going wide in shock. A Bradford?
“What the fuck?” Liam shouts but quickly shuts his mouth at my father’s stern glare- now that’s the man I grew up with.
“How’s that possible?” Sebastian voices, saving Liam.
Shifting his furrowed gaze from Liam, my father surveys the room, his jaw flexing as though he’s trying to find the right words to explain the bullshit lies they’ve been telling us for all of our lives.
“We can’t give you all of the details. Just know it was for her safety that she was hidden. And as you’ve observed, it was for a good reason.”
He stands, moving to his desk to retrieve something before he continues, “The Filiae Bellonae has been a shadow organization we’ve known about for generations, but they’ve kept themselves hidden, only striking in recent years.”
I look to my brothers. We all have a variation of the same look- confusion, frustration, and shock. How could they keep this from us? Why would they?
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.