“Find them.” I gave Jaylen a serious look, and his facial expression changed immediately.
“Aight.” He disappeared into the crowd just as another camera got shoved in my face.
“KO! Got a second for ESPN?” The reporter smiled.
“Yes,” Cherry agreed before I could say anything. “Go ahead.”
“KO, what does it mean winning your first championship with your son front row to see it?” he asked, and my eyes landed on their still empty seats.
“It means everything.”
“Do you think Dakoda understands how special tonight is?”
“I think it’s special to him for a whole different reason. He just happy to see his dad fight.”
“What do you hope Dakoda remembers about tonight?”
“That I did this all for him.” I looked back out at the crowd, then I spotted one of the security guards assigned to Lyrius and Dakoda. He was standing by himself, and my stomach instantly dropped. If Lyrius and Dakoda were where they were supposedto be, they would’ve been with him. I didn’t wait for another question or for another camera.
“Thank you for your time.” I pushed the microphone back toward the reporter and started walking fast as fuck to get to security. The second I reached him, I grabbed his shoulder.
“Where they at?” The color drained from his face, and that was when I knew something was wrong.
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“Lyrius took Dakoda to the bathroom during the second round.”
“And?”
“They never came out . . .” His voice cracked. Every muscle in my body locked.
“What the fuck do you mean, they never came out?”
“I thought maybe I missed them, and they went back to their seats.”
“You find them, Bruh?” Jaylen appeared beside me, and I turned to look at him. He took one look at my face, and he knew I didn’t even have to say a word.
“Fuck.” I was already moving.
“KO!” Cherry called after me. “Where are you going?” I ignored her.
“Give me my phone,” I directed Jaylen, and he was already digging it out of his pocket by the time we hit the tunnel.
“Here. Call her.” I snatched it from him and hit Lyrius’s name. The phone rang six times before going to voicemail. I called again. I knew the shit was probably pointless. Whoever took them wasn’t about to let Lyrius answer her damn phone, but desperation had already set in.
“You got her location?” Jaylen asked and went to the app on my phone and pulled it up. The blue dot popped up immediately. She was still in the building.
“She’s here.” Jaylen looked over my shoulder. “Where?” I zoomed in on the map.
“Looks like the parking garage.” We broke into a run. Pops was right behind us without knowing what was going on.
“KO!” Cherry yelled again. “You got press in five minutes!”
“Fuck press! Lyrius and Dakoda are missing,” was all I said before I took off toward the elevators. When we reached the parking garage, it was almost empty; only a few cars were still parked. Then I saw Lyrius’s phone lying face down on the concrete, the screen shattered.
“Shit!” My heart dropped straight into my stomach as I made my way over to grab it.
