Chapter 28: Now You’re Mine: Chapter 28

The minute Calista leaves my line of sight, I head back into my office and shut the door. Then proceed to mutter every foul word I can think of until I’m less likely to kill someone before my workday ends. I think.

The jury’s still out on that.

I throw myself into my chair and the leather emits a squeak of protest. “Fucking AstraRx. How did I not make the connection?”

After retrieving the pill from my drawer, I lay it next to the drawing Calista left behind, looking at them with fresh eyes. The symbol from the pharmaceutical company isn’t the same as the one on the drug, but the starburst is hidden within it. I caught that as Calista was drawing it. The first couple of strokes of the pen revealed the shape before it was covered with the modern logo.

“Your balls must be huge if you didn’t bother to get rid of that symbol completely,” I say. “It could’ve, and did, leave a trail straight to you.”

After pulling my laptop closer, I type the company’s name into the search and hit enter. The information before me is nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s not as though I expected to find signs pointing to illegal activities on their front page.

This website has everything that’s expected. And legal. I click on the directory, and Melissa Flynn’s profile stares back at me. The similarities between the woman and her daughter are uncanny.

“Are you involved?” I mutter to myself. “Did you know what Senator Green was doing? Or was Thomas Russell his only point of contact?”

After selecting the link to the owner of AstraRx, I study the man, taking in his blonde hair and brown eyes. At first glance, he appears to be the standard ambitious businessman, complete with an expensive suit and a shrewd gaze. The only thing that catches my attention is his age and the number of years he’s owned this corporation.

He’s old enough to be responsible for manufacturing the drug that led to my mother’s death…

The thought hits me, stealing the breath from my lungs. I suck in ragged gulps of air while my chest heaves until my heartbeats stop clanging in my head.

“I’m coming for you, motherfucker.” I tap the screen, distorting the pixels. “Going after my mother is one thing, but targeting Calista?” I shake my head. “I’m going to enjoy peeling your skin from your body.”

I sit there and lose track of time going through every drug AstraRx put on the market. When my cell phone chimes with an incoming call, I rub my eyes before picking it up and looking at the screen. An unknown number flashes and the hairs on the nape of my neck straighten.

“Who’s this?” I answer, my voice harsh.

“Hello.” The man on the line sounds cheerful, a saccharine tone that instantly grates on my nerves. “Mr. Bennett, I have something that belongs to you.”

A low moan in the background, followed by a feminine grunt of pain, has my hands shaking. With both rage and fear.

No. God, no.

“Miss Green sends her love,” the man says. “Although, not for much longer.”

I grip the edge of my desk to keep from punching it. Whoever the fuck this is can’t know how rattled I am by Calista’s condition. He can’t know that I’m about to drop to my knees in agony at the idea of her being hurt.

“Where is she?” I ask, concentrating on keeping my words even. “I want to talk to her.”

“One second.”

A cry of pain hits my ears, and I can feel the blood draining from my face.

Fuck.

FUCK!

How did this happen? I just saw Calista less than an hour ago.

The man chuckles. “You’re not in any position to be demanding anything, Mr. Bennett.”

“What do you want?”

“You have one hour to show up at the address that’s being sent to you right now. Otherwise, Miss Green’s body will be delivered to your address. In pieces.”

The call disconnects, leaving me to stare at my phone in stunned disbelief.

“No…”

My stomach drops.

This can’t be fucking happening.

Not to her.

I immediately call Sebastian, ready to rip his arms from his body if he doesn’t answer. After several agonizing seconds, I finally hang up. The fact that he didn’t take my call is all I need to know. Hopefully, he’s not dead. I’m quick to shoot off a message to Zack to have someone look into his disappearance.

The address the mysterious man spoke of comes through on a text, as well as a warning to come alone and unarmed. I read it with a frown, my brows pulling together. It’s in an industrial part of the city. A place I used to be familiar with. Why would he take Calista there?

It doesn’t matter. I just need to get to her.

I plant my feet and stand, shoving my chair back so forcefully it slams into the wall. Then I’m through the door and striding toward the elevator that leads to the underground parking garage.

“Mr. Bennett, I was going to ask if you’d like your usual lunch, but you seem in a hurry,” Josephine calls out from behind her desk.

“Cancel it, Josephine. I’ll be back later.”

“But, sir—”

I don’t let her finish as I rush toward the set of metal doors. “Come on!” I growl, pressing the button repeatedly. Finally, they part, and I step inside, tapping my foot as the damn elevator moves at a slow pace.

When the doors open, I step out onto the garage level. My driver is already standing by the open door of my vehicle, waiting to assist me, and I wave him off.

“I’ll be driving today.”

I pull up to my childhood home.

This motherfucker brought Calista here to torment me. There’s no other explanation for this specific choice in location.

I grip the steering wheel so tightly, my knuckles turn white, and a tingling sensation skitters along my fingers. The longer I stare at the house, the more nauseous I become. I promised myself that I’d never step foot in this godforsaken place again.

This is where my mother died.

But I’ll be damned if the same thing happens to Calista.

Taking a deep breath, I get out of the car and stride up the walkway. When I reach the front door, I’m tempted to pound on it with my fist. Instead, I rap my knuckles against it once. No need to do more than that when the asshole inside is expecting me.

The door opens, and the same man whose face was just displayed on my computer screen stands in the foyer. Thomas Russell holds a firearm, the barrel pointed at my chest.

“So glad you could make it, Mr. Bennett,” he says, his eyes dark and sinister. “You arrived faster than I guessed you would. Looks like Miss Green means more to you than I thought.”

“Where is she?”

“Why don’t you come inside and make yourself at home?” Russell chuckles. “Considering you used to live here, I think that was quite clever of me. Pun intended.”

The sound of his amusement has me shaking with the need to hit him, but my need to see Calista overrules it. I stride forward and come to an abrupt halt when I find her lying on the floor. Completely motionless.

My heart drops, and I race to her side, kneeling to take her pulse. It’s weak but there. Relief swamps me while I battle the urge to pull her into my arms. My instincts scream at me in protest when I retract my hands, but I can’t show weakness.

Calista looks so fragile, her skin pale and her breathing labored. She blinks slowly, and I can tell the minute she recognizes me because she mouths my name. It guts me. I thought I knew heartache, but I didn’t really until this moment.

I rise, turn to Russell, and glare at him, not bothering to hide my fury. “What did you give her?”

“Oh, nothing that would kill her right away,” he says, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “You and I need to have a little chat first.”

I look around, and a flashback from my youth surfaces.

I’m a child, coming home after school to find my mom collapsed on the living room floor right where Calista lies. My mother’s skin had that same sickly pallor, her breaths shallow and pained. The fear in that moment caused me to panic. I stared at her for several minutes with the certainty that I was losing her. Then I pleaded with her to wake up before the ambulance arrived and proclaimed her deceased.

Now, seeing Calista like this… it terrifies me. I’ve never been more scared in my entire life.

“I’m going to kill you,” I say quietly.

“Yeah, like you did Senator Green?”

Fuck.

I freeze, cold dread washing over me at his words. He knows. Somehow, this vile man knows the truth about what happened between me and Calista’s father.

“Oh come now, don’t play dumb,” he says. “I know all about your little confrontation with the dear senator that night.”

Calista stirs by my side, inhaling sharply, but I can’t look at her. I don’t want to see the look of hurt on her face. And I don’t want her to see the look of guilt sure to be on mine.