She wouldn’t just leave this behind, there’s no way. Ever since New Orleans, we all made sure to have her number and had her promise not to take off without it for peace of mind. She understood, she promised without hesitation, unless…
Turning on my heel, I rush back to the stairs and bolt up them. Taking two to three at a time until I reach the booth where my brothers are still casually sitting. Bursting through the door, a heavy hand causing it to slam against the inner wall, my voice betrays any resemblance of confidence when I go to speak.
“Have… Have either…” I swallow hard, my breaths coming out shallow and increasing in speed with every second. “Has anyone seen Mikayla?”
Kade and Zane both give me a look of confusion, wondering where my head is at before taking a beat and realizing it’s been a lot longer than normal for her to be gone.
“I’ll call her,” Kade offers, but I cut him off before he can get his phone out.
“No use. I have her phone here.” Pulling it from my back pocket, I hold it up between my fingers for them to see, turning the screen on in verification. “I found it on the ground beside the battle. It’s been dropped, clearly, but there’s no sign of her anywhere down there.”
“There’s no way she took off without her phone though,” Zane murmurs, echoing my earlier thought.
“I know,” I start, my tone low. Heavy. “Guys, I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Locking eyes with each other, we can all see the same thing shining back. Mirrored in each of our irises.
Fear.
The match lasts another forty-five minutes, the three of us still looking for Mikayla the whole time, while Ryder stays in the dark. Battling—and winning—at his best, thinking he’s showing off for our girl. We searched everywhere;from the bar to the bathrooms. Checking every utility closet and coat check without finding so much as a single sign of her.
When Ryder emerges from the dressing rooms, grin across his face and sweat beading along his hairline, my heart sinks further. I don’t want to be the one to wipe that smile from his face. To tell him that his Angel is missing—again. He’s been in such a better place with her return, and I fear for him if we don’t find her.
“Hey, Guys! Fuck, that felt great! Exactly what I needed to get out of this funk,” he states, eyes darting between us as we stand there stiff and silent. His smile falters, as he looks for her. No doubt wondering why she hasn’t jumped into his arms to congratulate him on his win. Why she isn’t there with rushed, sloppy kisses and a pussy begging for attention.
“Where’s Bear?” he finally asks and all three sets of our eyes look away. Anything in the arena, the mop, the gum on the floor, the drunk guy in the corner making out with a tree, becomes more interesting than our brother's questioning look. Kade’s phone chimes and he pulls it out to answer. Walking off and away from us so he’s able to hear whoever’s on the other end.Lucky bastard.
“Guys… What’s going on?!” Ry asks again, but this time the tone of his voice has shifted. Cracking under the tension he’s getting from us, and anger at not receiving an answer.
“Look, Ry, there’s no easy way to say this—” Zane begins and relief flows from my pores that he’s the one biting the bullet.
Yeah, I know. I’m a fucking coward, but I just watched my brother take down another dude and barely break a sweat. Can you blame me for not wanting to tell him his girl has gone missing?
“RyRy!!” A voice calls out and I’m not kidding when I say you can physically see all of us recoil from the sound.
Kelsie prances up to Ryder, her lack of tact apparent in her choice of apparel. Sure, Ring Girls will typically dress more on the skankier side, but Kelsie looks like a highlighter puked all over her.
High-as-fuck pink heels combined with a neon yellow crop top that barely contains her chest and bright pink shorts that show off more ass than ass-less chaps. Her blonde hair is pulled into high pigtails, which I’m sure would havelooked cute when she was five, but not so much at thirty. It’s clear someone has already rode that bike, as her “handle bars” are practically being held on with hopes and dreams.
“Not again,” I groan, my head hanging in defeat.
“There you are, baby! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! I have a congratulations present for you,” she coos into his ear, licking at her lips while doing so. “Want to know what it is?”
She giggles, trying to latch herself around Ryder’s arm. He doesn’t even look in her direction, eyes still burning holes into Zane and me, before he shoves her away from him with an angered growl.
“No.” Ry’s glare hardens even more as Kelsie pouts from his denial. “Tell me, Z,” he grinds out between clenched teeth. His patience is hanging by a fraying thread, and the lines of his jaw look like they’re milliseconds away from shattering.
“She’s gone,” is whispered, but not from the two of us. When I look up, Kade has returned, face pale and eyes glassy. It’s as if he’s just seen a ghost fly through him. “They took her,” he continues, still whispering. He’s not really speaking to anyone in particular but our group as a whole.
Kelsie huffs, stomping off when she finally clues in that we’re not going to be giving her the attention she wants, as all of us turn to a frightened and stone-straight Kade.
“Who took who Kade? What are you talking about?” I question, my brain still far from catching up to what he meant.
“Two guys. She was unconscious, draped over their shoulder and carried out the back of the building into a waiting vehicle,” he stammers, staring at his phone. “They took her and we weren’t there to protect her.” His eyes raise, tears collecting along his lash line as he looks at all of us. “We promised we would protect her.”
His mind is beginning to spiral, falling deeper into the abyss of guilt. She’s been fucking kidnapped,again.Right from underneath our fucking noses,AGAIN.
The silence stays between us. Wrapping us in a blanket of misery, as we all take this moment to recognize how badly we fucked up. She’s been gone for almosttwo hours already at this point, a head start that is going to be nearly impossible to come back from.
Deep, raspy breaths begin to ring through the air, the tension in all of us rising. The last thing I notice before going entirely numb, is the echoes of chairs and tables as they hit the walls. A rampaging Ryder carving a path of destruction through what’s left of the area.
