Detonate: Chapter 45

Three fucking days have passed since I read Maddie’s letter and basically passed out. Three days of staring at these same dull white walls. Listening to Luca and Keller chat utter shit.

I read Maddie’s piece of shit letter again. I scrunched it up and hurled it across the room.

I know my sunshine better than this, and apparently, she knows me well too.

The dried tear stains that smudged the black ink tell me something isn’t right. Maddie would dump me to my face. She’d never take the coward’s way out. Also, she’s not stupid enough to run away with my child and expect me to sit tight.

“Why are you two fuckers here and not out looking for Maddie?” I hiss as pain shoots into my lungs.

The fuckers got me good. The bullet missed. But fuck does it hurt.

“Grayson, we’ve got Enzo and his team doing everything they can. My guys are keeping tabs on the Falcones. Shooting you wasn’t their end game. It’s just the start.”

“And what if she’s not in the fucking country?” I seethe.

“I’ve reached out to my connections in Europe. There may be a few ties to an agreement. I’m working on it. Trust me.”

Keller eyes him suspiciously, and the last thing I need is him talking Luca out of that.

A war is brewing and we need an army.

Keller turns to me. “Grayson, what if she has just left you? What if she needs space? She turned your proposal down.”

Luca whisper-yells Keller to shut the fuck up.

“No, Grayson, she’s wearing that ring. Look.” Luca shoves the ring box at me. The ring is gone.

“She was devastated. I asked her if you were to propose to her again, what would she say? She said yes. So I gave her the ring and she put it on. She loves you. There is no doubt.”

“What did Frankie say?” I ask.

“He alerted me that she was missing. He said she was taken into another room, something about having stomach pains. He hasn’t seen her since.”

Our baby.

I run my hands through my hair and close my eyes. This is too much.

“Has Enzo pulled up the medical records?”

“Yep, nothing has been recorded from that day.”

“I swear to fucking god, I am going to rip their heads from their necks once I get hold of them.”

Luca chuckles. “I have no doubt about that.”

“Get me the fuck out of this hellhole. I’m building us that army whether you like it or not. They’ve declared a war and I intend to finish it. I have at least fifty guys at Kings Gym—the best fighters around. Give me a couple of weeks and I’ll have them trained into ruthless killing machines.”

“You in?” I ask Keller.

Before he can respond, a tear-stained, tired Sienna walks through the door, sniffling. He pulls her in close.

“I spoke to her mom, her brother, our college friends. No one has seen her.” She throws her head into his chest and cries.

“Princess, it’s going to be okay,” he whispers.

“I need you out there looking for her, Keller, you’re too skilled to be sitting at home with me, waiting for everyone else to find her. Please, Champ.”

Keller’s eyes flick between me and Luca. We know he’s been itching to be involved. Sienna has finally given him a green light now.

Luca warns, “One job, Keller.”

“Brother, the only person who tells me what to do now is Sienna.”

She stands and whispers in Keller’s ear. His eyebrows shoot up as she speaks.

“Please find my best friend,” she sniffles, walking over to my bedside. She clasps her hand over mine, giving me a smile.

“She loves you, Grayson.”

“I know, I love her too. I will find her, I promise you.”

“See you at home, Baby. Give Darcy a kiss from Daddy,” Keller shouts after her as she leaves.

It stabs me straight through the heart. This could have been my life, but now, that feels like a lifetime away for me. The pain of being shot is nothing compared to this.

Keller rises from his seat with a new determination.

“Fuck it, let’s build a goddamn army.”