Chapter 8
“Breaking news tonight! Right out of Michigan,” spoke the reporter for the world news. The words alone grabbed Summer’s attention. She quickly turned the volume up, waiting. She could feel that something was wrong. It was a gut feeling as the voice came out of the TV speakers.
Sebastian had run into town to pick up some things he had ordered, leaving Summer alone at the house. He figured she’d be safe for an hour while he was gone. She would have to be by herself sooner or later as it was. The house had been set up with the highest protection he could get, so she was as safe there as in town with him.
“Late last night, what appears to be a gang-related activity, here at what is called a ‘dock,’ was a shootout,” the cameraman spanned from the dark toned broadcaster to a rundown building and surrounding area that held a number of beat up cars also several storage containers. It was not the type of dock where boats stopped to drop off or pick up supplies, but more of a piece of land that was obviously used for trades and shipments by train and semi-truck.
Bullet holes could be seen in the cars, which probably didn’t work, to begin with. Yellow crime tape boarded off certain parts of the non-usable land. Bright, but small, orange cones stood at what seemed to be a random assortment but were in fact, spots that had important details to the scene. Blood that stained the ground. Bullets shells. Even a dark glove.
“Around one this morning, several gunshots were heard. As you can see from the footage Larry, our cameraman is shooting, the scene is still active, and we are not allowed any farther onto the property at this time.
“A number of suspects are in the police department’s custody. At least ten people were found with gunshot wounds, nine of those people were deceased when police had arrived on scene. Names have not yet been released.”
The news then cut into a police announcement from across town, a number of reporters asking question after question before another officer got the group under control.
“As many people know,” the police officer spoke, looking at the many cameras and flashes of light. His balding head showed just how stressful this line of work was. “There was a shooting early this morning, and the scene is not completely cleared. A number of men were killed, and two men are currently missing.
“As the land was bought by Marcel Industries about a year ago, we have not yet been able to get into contact with either Chase Marcel or his father, Ivan Marcel.
“Police were called on scene shortly after one a.m. this morning, and by the time they arrived, the two men in question were nowhere to be seen. There is enough evidence that points that one, if not both, were hurt and possibly killed during the shootout.”
No! Summer thought, covering her open mouth with both hands in shock. Her wide blue eyes refused to move from the TV. Her heart skipped a beat at just the thought she refused to say out loud.
“We have one man in custody that was not harmed, and we have three more in the hospital under strict security. Ten people were killed, and no names will be released right now. We will bring you more information when it becomes available. In the meantime, please keep your eyes opened for either of the Marcel men.”
“Do you think they are alive?” shouted out one of the reporters.
“At this time, I am not ruling it out. It does look like one of them was at least severely hurt before he could get away. Blood tests prove it was Chase Marcel,” the officer answered. “There has not been any reports in any nearby hospital for the men who need to be questioned.”
God, no! Summer whimpered, praying. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t!
Tears of fear and worry gathered in her eyes as she sat there, stunned. Her hands covered her mouth. There was no way her husband was dead. He was smart. He couldn’t be!
Before Summer could get her overwhelming feelings under control, as her entire body felt numb, her stomach twisted in on itself.
Dashing up off the couch, Summer ran, nearly tripping over her feet in the process, to the bathroom that was right across the hall from her bedroom.
She barely had time to kneel down before everything she ate that morning made a reappearance.
Sophie whined, not sure what was wrong as Summer heaved after there was nothing else to throw up, her body stiff.
Summer’s small frame shook with sobs, as she heaved a few more times before she fell on her butt, bringing her knees up to her chest. Rocking back and forth, she kept mumbling. It wasn’t possible for her husband, the most feared Prince, to be dead.
She was here, now, because of him. Sebastian promised she’d be safe, but what about Chase? He wasn’t safe. He was dead.
God. No, please! Summer thought, burying her head in her knees, sobs wracking her body.
Sophie slowly made her way to her owner, laying her head sweetly on the top of Summer’s feet, knowing something was wrong with her, but not sure what to do about it. She was just a puppy, after all.
Summer wasn’t sure how long she sat there in silent agony. All thoughts were lost to her as she rocked back and forth, hoping and praying that it wasn’t true.
“Grace, sweetie,” Sebastian called to her after what seemed like hours. Time was lost to the Princess. He was filled with confusion with finding Summer in such a way.
Sophie simply lifted her head, telling the man to do something, anything, to help her owner. He couldn’t help but give the dog a soft smile, knowing she was doing what she should.
Slowly, he knelt down before picking Summer up, who simply went with his movement. Sebastian needed to know what happened, but knew she wouldn’t be up to talking until she was back to herself, which could take a while.
Thoughts raced through his head. What had happened? Did she find something in the house? He was sure he didn’t have anything in this house would cause this sort of reaction.
Did someone come here that she knew? The doors were still locked, so Sebastian knew she hadn’t opened the doors for anyone.
So what had her so . . . . distressed?
He used his foot to flush the toilet before taking Summer to the living room, setting her on the couch and wrapping a soft fleece blanket over her shoulders. He then went to get a cup of water while the puppy, who was growing remarkably fast, jumped and pushed her way onto Summer’s lap with a soft whine. Sophie was already twice her size from two weeks ago, and being part Saint Bernard, she’d be even bigger in just a few months.
He put the cup in Summer’s hands, making sure both were wrapped around the half-filled cup, before commanding her to drink.
On auto pilot, she took a small sip before setting her hands back in her lap between her chest and knees that were still half way pulled to her chest.
Not nearly satisfied with the amount of water she had consumed, Sebastian wasn’t going to push her yet about it. Instead, he looked around the living room, trying to figure out what set her off, making her panic so horribly to cause her to vomit.
Seeing the TV on, he turned his attention fully to the broadcast.
“It had been confirmed that Chase Marcel,” his picture shot up on the screen, showing his bright green eyes and headful of dark hair. “Is dead. Water rescuers are exploring the lake not far from here for his body. He was rumored to be part of the mafia family that has many enemies in this town.
“Ivan Marcel is still missing, but also presumed dead, as a man the police have in custody, Carter Granger, has confessed to killing both men,” she ended, before pictures of the man were posted.
Everything instantly connected. Sebastian knew what had set Summer off, and he was quick to pull out his phone, dialing his brother.
The phone call went to voicemail, meaning his call was ignored. His brother never ignored his phone calls!
“Fuck!” he hissed, tossing his phone to the coffee table and quickly shutting the TV off.
“Summer, sweetie,” Sebastian said, calling her by her given name, pushing his anger down. Now wasn’t the time to deal with his fear. He needed to get the Princ
ess coherent. “Please.”
“He’s gone,” she whispered out, tears dropping from her eyes as she blinked, looking at her shaking hands. “Gone.” Her voice was a whisper on the wind, and Sebastian almost missed it.
“No, Summer. I’m sure he’s not. He’s smart, and there’s something more going on here,” Sebastian said, not sure if his words were true or not.
“He’s dead,” she sobbed out.
Sebastian was just able to catch the cup before it fell. He couldn’t lie to her, nor could he tell her with certainty that it wasn't so. He himself didn’t even know, and the one person who would know, that could get that information was ignoring his phone call.
“Gabriel will call soon and let us know what’s going on,” Sebastian said, hoping that he could at least talk her out of her panic. “I’m sure he’ll call back when he can.”
Summer’s wide blue eyes looked up at Sebastian, pleading with him. Chase couldn’t be dead.
“I don’t know, Princess,” Sebastian sighed. “I wish I did, but with me ‘dying’ I don’t have many resources in that town to find out as I once did. All we can do is wait.”
He only had Gabriel that kept tabs there, and also Ryder but knew that Ryder would be busy covering tracks or trying to keep his part in the Marcel lives secret. Calling now would cause more questions than answers. So really, all they could do was wait.
“He’s . . . gone,” Summer whimpered out again, her voice cracking.
“Maybe,” Sebastian sighed, knowing the pain she was going through as his heart beat hard in his chest. “But you will always have a part of him.”
“What do you mean?” Summer was able to get out, confused. Her grief of not knowing about her husband was bad enough, and yet this man wanted to talk in riddles? At a time like this? Was he crazy?
She really wanted to hit him in her fit of rage she felt. And she may still, just to feel better.
“You’re pregnant,” Sebastian said, laying a hand on her knee. He watched as the news sunk in.
One moment Summer was filled with sorrow for losing her husband, to a somewhat hesitant joy of being able to have a piece of him with her.
She still hoped beyond hope that Chase was alive, but for now, she’d bask in the life she now carried, and pray that her husband would be okay. She had to try the best she could to be strong enough to get through this.
She wrapped her arms around her still flat stomach and promised herself and their baby she would do everything in her power to keep them safe.
She had to. No matter that her heart was shattered in pieces at her feet.
Chapter 9
A few hours later, Summer was curled up on the couch, staring blankly at the TV while Sebastian was in his office, trying to figure out what was going on. He was positive that if the two Marcel men were indeed dead, he’d know by now.
What bugged him was the fact that Gabriel was unreachable and his wife didn’t know where he was either, as she was only an hour away from his house, and alone. But she wasn’t worried the slightest.
Sebastian was surprised about the news but more surprised that Summer seemed to be handling it well for the most part. Yes, she was upset, and rightfully so. She was calmer now, and he was sure that knowing she was in fact pregnant helped to calm her. She had told the child she would do anything to protect them, as she rubbed her tummy, not realizing she spoke out loud.
She had lost a baby once before, so she knew what was at stake if her emotions took too much control over her thoughts and actions. He knew she was determined to have this child because it was a part of her and Chase. Bash was determined to help her in any way he could. This would be the closest he'd ever got to having a grandchild.
Giving up on trying to get a hold of anyone, his call still going to voicemail even when he called Ryder Gavin, Sebastian turned to his computer. Something wasn't right. He could feel it. With there being no bodies found and Gabriel AWOL, maybe that meant he was with Chase and Ivan.
He left his office door opened in case Summer needed something. Sebastian had made sure to tell her that she could ask for anything at all if she needed something. She merely had given him a look that would have burned him to ask. She didn’t want to be babied. She was strong, and she’d get through this just as she had before.
Opening Safari, he went to CCN, wanting to know of any and all updates there was on the Marcel front.
So far, all he got from the little bit of update on TV when he had come home and after helping Summer back to the living room and knowing she was okay for the time being, was that there had been a shootout at one of the "docks" that held merchandise for the Marcel family. Ivan and Chase were both missing, presumed to be dead.
Clicking on what looked to be a promising article, Sebastian quickly read through it. He skimmed over the part that he already knew about, going straight to when the Marcel family was mentioned in the article.
Michigan – The Marcel Family, rumored to be the most feared and sought out Mafia Family in the USA, are not commenting in the whereabouts of Summer Marcel, Chase Marcel, and also Ivan Marcel.
Police task force now believe that Summer Marcel’s disappearance three weeks ago has something to do with last night’s shooting, where nine people were found dead at the scene and another died shortly after being taken to the hospital. Summer’s husband, Chase, had not been seen, nor heard from, since late yesterday afternoon.
At the crime scene, there is enough blood that detects that the men in question were present, and had a part of the disappearance, although the man that is in custody, Carter Grainger, says otherwise.
Carter claims that the two men had been missing before he went there to look for his boss, as he hadn’t returned any phone calls. When he arrived at the landmark in question, the eleven men shot at him, and he returned fire in self-defense, although he didn’t mean to kill them.
Grainger has been released on bond.
Refresh this page for updates, as they become available.
The article did little to help Sebastian piece together what went on that night. He knew he could call Kayla, but she didn’t need to be pulled farther into what was going on, plus her phone lines would no doubt be monitored.
All he could do was wait.
He’d wait for John to come out, making himself known.
When that happened, Sebastian knew his brother well enough to know that he wouldn’t give up looking for the Princess until one or the other of them were dead and ten feet under the ground. John was smart and conniving when he wanted to be.
With John’s entry back into the world came other problems. Summer would need to learn faster than the rate they were going. He was not going to send the girl he viewed as a daughter out into the world against that man. Not yet.
Closing the laptop after exiting out of the browser, Sebastian made his way back downstairs, finding Summer asleep on the couch, Sophie laying on the couch in front of her. His heart swelled at the sight, knowing that getting the girl a dog was one of the best choices he could have made. Even if the dog would be as big as a house when she was fully grown.
He hoped in time that Summer would begin to trust him, but knew it wasn’t likely with what he’d have to tell her once Heidi arrived. Summer had to know what was sure to happen sooner rather than later. The more people they had on their side, the better.
Sebastian then went through the house while he waited for his sister-in-law to show. He checked each hidden gun, making a mental note to show Summer where each one was. He made sure each was loaded and ready to use.
Next, he checked that all the windows were still firmly shut and locked, even though he knew they were. Mostly, he just wanted to have a reason to keep moving and not worry.
He had sat behind the curtain for way too long as it was. Now, as his body tensed for a fight he would not lose by any means, he was antsy. He wasn’t sure if it would be today that fight would happen or in a year. He needed more eyes on his brother to figure out what his game
plan was. But that would be hard to accomplish, but doable. He was Sebastian Monroe.
Twenty minutes later, Heidi pulled up in her little two-door dark red Honda. It was a newer car, and not nearly as flashy as Sebastian liked, but as long as it worked, all the better.
Standing on the porch, he waited for Heidi to get out of the car. He crossed his arms across his chest, still miffed about the fact that Gabriel was not with her. He wanted answers only he’d have.
~oOo~
Summer slowly pushed herself up, hearing someone enter the house. Her eyes were tired and dry from crying, but after a small nap, she did feel better. Her heart was still filled with worry over her missing husband, but deep down, she could feel he was alive.
Princess of Darkness (The Dark Prince #3) Page 6