Prince Walker
I’ll Do Anything
Isat tensely on the white sofa in my apartment. Elbows propped on my knees, fingers steepled beneath my chin. The view from my window had changed from morning to noon to nightfall, yet I’d barely moved.
Andy, on the other hand, was pacing like a caged animal.
“Have you checked your phone?” he asked for the thousandth time. I nodded. It lay silent on the table in front of me. “Still nothing?” he pressed. I shook my head.
Obviously, there’d been nothing. If there’d been so much as a peep, I’d have been launching myself into action.
“Alec…darling, you haven’t touched your pie,” my mother murmured as she bustled about me. I hadn’t even looked at the tray on the coffee table. How could I? How could I think about food or drink or anything other than the fact that it had been 24 hours since they had taken her?
I was quietly going out of my mind.
“Any word from your team?” I asked Andy tersely.
“They’re on it,” he said, staring down at his screen. He’d spent hours making calls, pulling threads of information from out of the ether. There was no doubt in our minds that Razortip had abducted her. But where he had gone was anyone’s guess.
Security footage from the hotel’s camera system had shown a housekeeping trolley being wheeled in shortly after Renée had left the room. No identifiable features on the staff member were visible. Hotel management had assured us that no cleaning staff had been assigned to the room at that point. Minutes later, the trolley had been wheeled out, this time with two cleaners in attendance. We could only assume that there had been someone else inside the trolley. They’d overpowered Sasha somehow, loaded her in, and then spirited her away in the belly of the trolley.
We’d traced it to another room, but when I’d charged into the place, it was empty. Hardly surprising. At that point, almost an hour must have elapsed. Of course, they’d already left the building. No further camera footage provided any useful clues. I’d torn the place apart. Ranting and raging until Andy had managed to drag me away. My madness had extended an hour after we returned to my apartment. In its place, a dark dread had taken hold.
They have her. My God…
My only solace was the fact that it would be unlikely they’d cause her any harm before the ransom demands were met. But the message they’d left had been written in blood.
We’ll call.
I couldn’t think about the blood. They’d said they’d call.
Why the fuck haven’t they called?!
I could only imagine they were playing me. Keeping me on the back foot so I’d be more malleable when their demand finally came. There was no need for any of it. I’d do anything they asked. Give anything to get her back. They could have my fucking soul if they wanted it.
I checked my phone again.
Nothing.
Goddammit! Why haven’t they called?
Low voices spoke in hushed tones behind me. Fragments of conversations I barely registered. My mother and Gabriella had returned to my apartment with me, and both had quickly settled into roles that made them comfortable. Sasha’s mother had spent hours tidying, interspersed with hand-wringing and muttered conversations with herself in Spanish. My mother, on the other hand, had started to cook. The kitchen counter was covered in food. She’d been trying to coax me into eating until I’d finally snapped, and she’d scuttled away. Others had come and gone. Even my father had put in a brief appearance.
Conspicuously absent were the police. We’d agreed not to call them. My mother was horrified, but Gabriella had quietly accepted the decision. It had been Andy’s suggestion, and I’d agreed with it.
Don’t ruffle their feathers. When the demand comes in, do as they say.
We had to keep things as quiet as possible. Meanwhile, Andy’s connections were working in the background. If Razortip had been brazen enough to target us a second time, there was no telling what he’d dream up next. We had to find him, take him out.
At this moment, with Sasha in his clutches, I would cheerfully do the deed myself.
A low vibration from the table had me snatching up my phone before it had a chance to ring.Unknown number.
It had to be them.
I switched over to speakerphone as Andy and I had agreed. He was already at my side without being beckoned.
“Alec?” a tremulous voice came over the phone, stopping my heart.
