Somehow, Abigail was able to get a room at the hotel that housed a number of other people, questionable people, but it was a bed to sleep in. She couldn’t complain. It would work for the time being.
The place she paid very little rent on, as there were several others staying there, was a place that had once been a conference room and had thin walls put up to give the semblance of privacy. Her makeshift room had one twin mattress, an attached bathroom, and a small window. It smelled of smoke and piss, worked. Abigail didn’t have any plans to stay longer than a month or two.
The girl that lived there, although high from who knows what was willing to watch Sarah during the night while Abigail worked at the dinner for the late shift most nights. During the day, Sarah tagged along to the coffee shop and chatted to some of the older, lonely people that wandered in.
All was going pretty well until a new man moved into the hotel. He gave Abigail the creeps, but for the most part, he kept to himself.
That was until one night, the gal had been rushed to the ER for an overdose, and Sarah was left in his car. He had never given his name out, but the others called him Spike. Abigail tried to keep her daughter away from him, but when she had no choice, she had to leave her daughter, who was asleep, when he was home and no one else was there.
Most of the time, when Spike was there, Abigail had the night off, and she’d lay there, hearing him walking the main room. It was like he was worried and wouldn’t keep still. That alone put her on edge. But what other choice did Abigail have? She didn't have the money yet to make another trip to the next town.
So the day she took over another waiter’s hours, Abigail never expected to arrive home, her daughter nowhere to be found. She was beyond pissed. Spike acted as though he didn’t know where Sarah was, even as he smirked at Abigail. She was filled with such heart-stopping terror, she didn’t know what to do. Where would she look? What did she need to do to find Sarah?
Sarah wouldn’t have just ran off. She wasn’t that type of child that explored.
When Abigail was just about to call the cops, knowing it would likely put David on to her trail, a nice, dark SUV pulled up. She never expected two men to jump out, and act as though they owned the place. And maybe they did, Abigail didn’t know.
One man, the biggest of the two who stood in a way like he was trying to hide how big he was, was the first to reach the house. He didn’t even try to knock, simply walking into the place.
When he spoke, his voice was low but gentle. His eyes were glued to Abigail, as she was certainly a sight for sore eyes. Skinny from lack of food, dark circles around her dark colored red-rimmed eyes.
“Are you Sarah’s mother?”
Abigail was only able to nod, not understanding why the man was trying to make himself smaller, but also how he could know her daughter.
“She’s safe,” he said, his voice soft. “I found her late last night, early morning,” he said with a tilt of his head. He then showed her a picture of himself and Sarah that he had on his phone. The photo was the same picture that Clare had taken and was used to run in the missing child’s program.
“Where?” Abigail was able to mutter out.
“I’m not sure here’s the best place to talk,” he said. “I’ll be happy to take you to her, though.”
“She ain’t going with you, Sate,” Spike hissed out, stepping in front of the girl. She couldn’t help but flinch back as the venom that was in his voice.
“She will if she wants to see her daughter again. I won’t let that child come back here,” the man said darkly, standing up straight. “No child should be forced to live this way.”
“I don’t care about that annoying thing,” Spike spat out in return, taking a step closer to the big man.
The man simply smiled, like he knew something no one else did. His eyes were dark as he stared Spike down, daring him to make the first move.
After what felt like an eternity, Spike backed down and stepped out of the way.
“Come on,” the man said, nodding his head towards the car. “Sarah misses her mother.”
That was all Abigail needed to hear. She took the steps towards the man, knowing for some odd reason that he would keep her safe.
“I’m Trent, by the way,” the man said as he followed the girl out of the place.
“Abigail,” she said, holding back tears.
“Do you have any clothes or anything you want to take? I’m not going to let you come back here either,” Trent said as they reached the SUV.
Abigail shook her head. “Nothing worth going back for.” And it was the truth.
On the way back to Chase’s Abigail told Trent, and the other man, Carter, her story. By the time she was done, her cheeks were wet with tears. Trent listened, never asking for more than she was able to give out. He was able to get the gist of what he needed.
“I’ll let you and Sarah stay at my house for as long you need,” Trent promised. He couldn’t help himself, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. She was a sight to behold, even upset.
Her brown eyes widened in surprise, and Trent gave her a smile filled with hope.
“Everything will work out,” he promised, his own eyes soft.
Somehow, Abigail had ended up using Trent’s wide shoulder as a pillow and dozed on the way to wherever her daughter was at. She heard his rough, but quiet voice as he talked to someone on the phone.
With Trent, Abigail knew. She knew that she found her love. She always had believed in love at first sight, and she’d do anything to make sure she didn’t lose it.
But first, she needed her daughter.
Chapter 4
Sarah ended up falling asleep while leaning against Summer as they sat on the on the couch watching Tom and Jerry. The cookies had been baked, and already eaten by the houseful of people. Summer had made sure that Sarah only had one, not wanting her to be bouncing off the walls or be sick with an upset stomach since she wasn’t sure how long the girl had been without food. She wasn’t sure how to keep kids entertained, but at least it gave her something to do as she couldn’t keep herself busy most days now as it was.
Summer had decided that watching a show on TV would pass the time a little bit faster. Sarah was a little worked up, not wanting to have to wait for her mother to arrive. Within ten minutes into the show, Sarah was fast asleep, her head tucked into Summer’s side as the older woman had an arm wrapped around the girl. Summer didn’t mind one bit, actually. She felt like she was home.
Chase walked into the living room shortly after pausing to take in the sight of Summer and Sarah. He smiled at how adorable they looked together. He then grabbed the soft lilac-colored blanket that hung on the back of the nearest chair and laid it over the sleeping girl. Chase wasn’t sure how Sarah could be comfortable at all that way, but shrugged it off. He remembered falling asleep in awkward positions when he was a kid when he was tired enough. He was sure his mother had a few pictures stashed in the memory books she used to put together.
He then pressed a kiss to Summer’s head, trying to hide his smile in doing so. Summer closed her eyes in bliss. She loved the soft attention he bestowed upon her when they were mostly by themselves. He was being careful to not make a show of it while in the company of others since she embarrassed so easily.
“Do you need anything?” he asked quietly as he pulled back.
She shook her head, fearing she’d wake Sarah. Although, she did wonder where Clare had gotten off too as she had disappeared shortly after the mess in the kitchen had been cleaned up.
“Okay,” Chase said. “I’ll just be in the office if you need anything.” Summer gave him a small smile and nod.
Once in his office, Chase answered a number of emails, closing a few accounts that would no longer be needed by men that had been caught just that morning, and even setting up a new account for Sarah and her mother. He knew that Trent would be asking him to do it sooner or later.
Of course, his phone rang in the middle of setting up a
new account. With a groan, he answered it, not really looking forward to talking to the caller.
“Chase, how nice of you to finally answer,” Sebastian said after the man grunted out a ‘hello.’ Chase had been ignoring the calls for a few days now, not in the mood to talk to the man.
“I’ve been busy,” Chase stated, trying to keep his voice calm. He couldn’t let Sebastian know of his distaste. They had, many years ago, gotten along well. Somewhere shortly after Sebastian had purchased Summer, their relationship was strained. It didn’t help that Chase had hardly had time for himself then either, as he began to learn how to handle the business he’d inherit at a later date.
Thinking about it more clearly now, Chase wasn’t sure when it really started, or the reason why they stopped getting along like brothers. Now, it more of a hassle to talk to the man in question than anything else.
“Ah, yes. I have heard your men found a child,” he mused before coughing. A cough, to Chase, sounded more forced than anything else. “And no mother yet.”
“Actually, we did locate the mother,” Chase said. “She should be meeting my men as we speak.”
“Oh,” Sebastian said, surprise lacing his voice. “Are you sure you have the correct person?”
“Of course,” Chase said, not going into detail. “So why are you calling, Sebastian?”
“Just to see how you were handling things,” Sebastian answered slowly. Chase knew he was hiding something, but what?
“You never call for that,” Chase said, leaning back in his office chair and propping his feet on the desk. He had a feeling this could be a long phone call.
“You’re right,” Sebastian responded. He paused, getting his words in order. “I’ve been sick for a while now, and your father knows, of course. I thought it was the time that you knew.”
“Oh,” Chase said, at a loss for words. He was surprised, but in a way not. Last few months, Sebastian did seem off. It didn’t seem like it was just a sickness. It was something else, though.
“Your mother . . . she’s kindly given me my death sentence. I have months, if I’m lucky,” he went on. “After this phone call, I’ll be leaving and going to Africa where I can find relief, as the laws here are too strict. I thought before I go, you would want answers. I know you have questions. I’ll answer them best I can.”
“Of course I have questions,” Chase said slowly. He wanted to wring this man’s neck but knew that was not an option. He had to tread carefully, even though he had way too many questions.
“Well go on, child,” Sebastian said, knowing that calling the man ‘child’ always made him on edge. Chase hated being viewed as a child. Though Sebastian was older than Chase by fifteen years at best and had at one time treated him like a son, as he never had the chance to have his own. Even when Chase only saw him as an older, bossier, brother.
“Why were you my father’s right-hand man?” Chase said, not asking the one main question he had.
“We grew up together,” Sebastian said. “He trusted me, and I vowed to protect him, as was expected. I did protect him time and time again. His father, your grandfather Masen, was a hard man, and if your father hadn’t had me to step in at certain times, he wouldn’t be here. Neither would you.” His answer only made Chase have with questions, but also he was able to get the gist of it well enough. Chase knew his grandfather had put hits on him a number of times, mostly to test the strength of the paid guards.
Masen was also the only man Chase would never be able to bring down, even if he wanted to. At least that man was not a threat since he had long retired.
“I stepped in when your father needed me. I proved myself, and so here I am,” he ended. Chase could almost see him shrug a shoulder over the phone. Maybe he even let his arms spread wide towards the end of his answer.
“Why did you buy Summer?” Chase shot off. He may as well get this over with.
“Your father wanted me to,” Sebastian said with a sad sigh. “But I didn’t buy her. She is not worth a certain price. Ivan wanted to help Emma and in turn her daughter. He knew what Jason was capable of, so he told me to go buy the girl and take her in as my own. I had this huge plan set up where I’d raise Summer as my own daughter, giving her a better life –sheltered, but better.
“I even briefly thought of taking Emma in too, so they could be together. I was drawn to her in a way, but never acted on it. Not that she let me try as it was. Em was frightened enough as it was."
“But it didn’t work out. Jason found out what I wanted to do, as I made plans to marry the girl off as soon as I could to you. So he threatened to kill you if I didn’t get rid of her. I knew if you were to marry Summer, you’d both be strong together. Strong blood – strong bounds, you know all about that.
“I let her go, although I was getting used to the idea of having a child, somewhat of my own as I’ve never been able to have any,” his voice turned sad, but otherwise, he went on.
“I had no idea what happened to her after that. It wasn’t worth the risk of losing you to keep her. I could see how you looked at her, even at such a young age. You fell in love with her at the moment you saw her years ago. You know I was watching you, and I saw how you thought up plan after plan to get her out of whatever she was forced in.”
Chase remained quiet, knowing how true his words were.
“It’s a shame that I won’t get to see her now. I’m sure she won’t want anything to do with me if she even remembers me. I had hoped to be invited to your wedding, but you went and did that without letting anyone know,” he ended.
“It had to be done, Sebastian,” Chase said, all fight leaving him. He understood the man’s reasoning. Chase was glad that his father had attempted to help Summer, even though he didn’t try as hard as he could have - should have. Sebastian should have tried harder to get the Prince’s wife to be, out of harm’s way. If it was his own child’s life on the line, he’d have done the same thing without a second thought.
“Of course,” Sebastian said. “But to be clear, I do expect her to be with a child soon. Your name is to go on.” Chase wanted to say something about who the boss was here, but he ignored voicing the retaliation. The man was dying and would no longer be of a concern. He knew how the older generation thought that all bloodlines, good ones, needed to keep going on.
He knew he needed an heir sometime years down the road. It was known that all mafia families had to have at least one to take over. Chase would do everything he could until then to change that.
If it was possible, Chase would have gladly stopped his own Mafia family, turning each and every one in, but knew that would cause more damage that anyone could handle.
“How was she treated in your care?” Chase asked next, already fearing the answer and ignoring the talk of children. If that man laid one finger on his wife as a child, he’d make sure that Sebastian never reached the plane he planned to use to leave.
“I never laid a hand on her,” Sebastian was quick to say before pausing to get a drink. “She was already frightened, like a scared kitten. I gave the child her own room, food, and clothing. I even helped to educate her more while she was in my house. I knew her life before that was filled with chore after chore. Pain and torture between each chore.
“I kept a couple other handmaids around to keep her company for the time she was under my care. I didn’t dare leave her on her own when I went out. Besides with her being too young to leave alone, I couldn’t lock her up when I was to leave. She was not a pet in my household.
“I kept her with what she knew, letting her take care of the house. I had planned to slowly lessen that chore list, get her used to being a kid. I didn’t get the chance. If I could have, I would have kept her.” He paused for a moment. “I also hear that the main threat is taken care of?”
“Yes,” Chase answered.
“Good, but be prepared son,” he said. “Someone will come knocking sooner or later to cause trouble. They always do.”
With that, the older man
hung up the phone. It was a good thing that Chase didn’t have any other pressing questions, knowing that he’d never get another chance to talk to Sebastian. He wasn’t sure what to think of his father’s right-hand man. They never had really gotten along and he could never see that man raising a child. Even if he could have had his own, it wasn’t in his blood to do such a thing. Maybe, Chase would have to ask for his father’s point of view on the issue.
They were more like brothers growing up, and they fought more often than not. Just because Sebastian was older, he tended to be bossy when the Prince acted without thinking. Chase’s phone rang again, this time, Trent calling.
“On the way back,” he spoke, his voice softer than normal. “I’ll send you a few pictures I got, but she’s not going back.” His voice was filled with determination, his Dom voice leaking through the line. No one would make him change his mind now.
Becoming His Princess (The Dark Prince #2) Page 3