He caught me with a stumble and looked over my head to a bewildered Will, “I thought you said she was like you?”
I let go and glared at him, “What does that mean?”
“Yep, I see the similarity now,” he said as he raised his hands in surrender, chuckling lightly. “I just didn’t expect the hug. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I wish it were under better circumstances.”
He shrugged, “Nothing we can do about it now. Want to catch me up on the mess Rome has gotten himself into this time?”
Malachi paced in the conference room. The police were doing their own investigation, but I knew we could find him faster. Whatever resources we would need, I had access to. There were no bureaucratic stopping points, no hoops I would need to jump through. I would find Rome, even if it cost every penny I had in my bank account. There was no other choice.
“Why would your father take Rome if he wanted to mess with you and the company?” Malachi asked, his hand stuffed in his pockets.
“That I can’t figure out,” I explained. “His actions until today have made sense… Well, not a lot of sense, but I could follow his train of thought. Now… it seems he may have just lost his mind.”
Will shook his head, his arms crossed in front of his chest, and he leaned against the table next to where I was sitting. “Dad is too calculated. If he’s behind this, hemusthave a reason.”
“Rome has no ties to the business, right?” Malachi asked, directing his focus back to me. “He doesn’t hold stock? He doesn’t have access to passwords for bank accounts? Nothing like that?”
I shook my head, “Rome is simply an employee for Bly Enterprises. Technically, Will's team. We never transitioned him to the New York City office’s payroll. He doesn’t have any special access either. Between my control issues and his inability to understand tech, it just never happened. He can’t even remember his own passwords, let alone mine. His credit card PIN is on a sticky note in his desk.”
Malachi chuckled softly, “Sounds like him.” He scrubbed a hand across his jaw, “It’s got to be his connection to you.”
I ran my hands through my hair, messing up its usual perfection. “The why doesn’t matter; it’s thewherewe need to focus on. Where could Rome be? The city is massive. We need to narrow it down.”
Will sighed, “It’s been hours, he’s probably not in the city anymore. He could be anywhere in the world at this point.”
A commotion sounded out in the hall. Everyone was moving at the same time to find the cause of the noise, but I managed to get to the source first, seeing it was Andi running from the elevator.
Her red hair was a matted mess, her eyes wide and crazed. There were red spots on her skirt and cardigan that resembled blood… though I refused to think about the implications of what that meant.
It was clear Andi had been through some shit. She collapsed into me, tears streaming down her face. Her makeup was smeared, and she shook in my arms. I held her closely as we sat on the ground.
“They got him,” she cried, her words muffled by her tears. “I’m so sorry!”
“Hey,” I mumbled and framed her face with my hands, forcing her to look at me. “Take a breath.” She listened, taking a slow and shaky breath, her eyes trained on my own. “Where is Rome?”
She hiccupped before breaking into body-wracking cries, “I’m so sorry.”
My blood became ice cold. “No,” I mumbled and stood. In the distance, I heard Lucia scream an earth-shattering cry.
My world spun off its axis. “No.”
I heard my name being called, but I couldn’t pinpoint who was speaking. Rome couldn’t be gone; it was impossible. Our life was just beginning. He brought color into my life… the only color Ihad. Without him, I would exist in a black and white world. I didn’t want to exist without him.
I doubled over as I began to hyperventilate, my hands braced on my knees. “I never told him I loved him,” I whispered.
“What happened?" Malachi demanded. I could hear the words spoken around me, but I didn’t feel like I was in my own body. Instead, a silent observer, watching my life implode.
Andi was shaking as she answered Malachi, “The driver of the car, he had a gun. He drove us to a warehouse or something, I’m not even sure… and he…” she cried again, her words cutting off, but Malachi wasn’t having it.
“Andi, what did they do to him?” He bellowed.
Will caught him by the arm, holding him back, but I could see Malachi breaking right along with me.
“They shot him,” she mumbled. Her eyes were wide, as she was now obviously afraid of Malachi. “Wh-who… who are you?”
Malachi didn’t answer. He stormed out of the room and into the stairwell, the door ricocheting against the wall from the force with which he opened it. When the door closed, his screams echoed throughout the executive floor.
