Chapter 25 HOSTAGE

Chapter 25 HOSTAGE
POV - Hazel

“May I help you, Sir?” I ask the man who’s staring at me, silently praying to steer his focus elsewhere.
He offers a faint smile, but sadness clings to his features like a shadow. 
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to be rude. You just remind me of my daughter.” His voice holds a bitter edge, though his expression stays polite, and suddenly a skyscraper of guilt crashes onto my shoulders. I force it down, managing only an awkward, “Oh, I see.”
I fidget with my hands clasped in front of me, hoping they will dismiss me soon and relieve me from this tricky situation.
“Thank you, Ella, you can go now,” Mr. Senders says gently, finally getting me off the hook, and I don’t need to be told twice, I salute them with a nod of my head, turn on my heels and open the door, ready to make myself scarce, when I hear something which makes my heart freeze.
“So, you were saying, you got the Alpha?” Mr. Senders asks in a hushed tone.
“Yes. It’s only a matter of time before she shows up…” Mr. Lacroix cuts off mid-sentence. I feel his gaze: cold, sharp, calculating, boring into my back.
“Do you need something?”
I turn around keeping my head lowered, unable to school my face into one of indifference. My heart hammers so loud I’m sure they can hear it. The Alpha—they’re talking about Derek. They have him. Oh Goddess, help me.
I mumble and apology and leave the room swiftly, before they start thinking I have too much interest in what they are discussing.
Crap, crap, crap. They have Derek! I need to find where he’s hidden. I need to save him.
I half-run to the restroom, eyes darting to make sure no one notices. I lock myself in an empty stall, lower the toilet lid, and sit. My eyes squeeze shut; I focus on my powers, willing my soul to slip free of my body. When I’m ready and have made sure the door of the stall is locked, I run in a blur toward the meeting room, hoping to get more information on Derek’s whereabouts.
“I don’t know, no one has been able to find her, not even the headhunters. I think she’s biding her time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.” Lacroix says, sounding frustrated, then he continues, “Anyhow, it doesn’t matter, as long as we have her mate, she’ll be compelled to rescue him, and then we’ll have her in our grasp.”
 “What are you planning to do with her?”
“Kill her, of course. She murdered my daughter and wife.” Lacroix’s voice is gritted, sharp with unbridled rage.
“That would be a waste of invaluable material.” Senders’ objection makes my skin crawl—sick bastard.
“I don’t care. She needs to die.”
“As you wish,” Senders concedes reluctantly, clearly bitter about the CEO’s final call.
“Good. Inform me of any updates.” Lacroix pushes himself out of his seat, his tone a cold order.
“I will.”
They exit the room, and I curse silently. I’d failed to gather the information I so desperately needed.
Outside, the two split off in opposite directions. I choose to follow Lacroix—hopeful he’ll lead me straight to Derek, or at least drop a clue about his whereabouts, before my powers fizzle out.
On the way to his office, I overhear Moira asking a coworker where I’ve vanished to. I know I need to hurry—before my cover is blown, or I get fired.
As soon as Lacroix reaches his office, he pulls out his mobile phone and makes a call. The person answers on the second ring with a respectful “Sir”. 
“How’s our patient?” His tone is flat, impassive—chilling.
“Sedated.”
“Ok. Stop giving him sedatives; I’ll be there tonight, and I want him lucid.”
The malicious smile on his face gives me the creeps and promises nothing good. He’s going to use Derek to flush me out of hiding, but I won’t let him. No one touches my mate, even when he’s a temporary psycho serial killer who wants to end me in cold blood.
I want to linger, to pry more useful intel, but my powers waver. Before I can catch another word, I’m yanked back into my body—gasping sharply, eyes flying open at the deafening bang on the door.
“Ella! Ella! Open up! Are you alright?” Moira’s loud voice booms through the small restroom, making my ears ring. Werewolf hearing can be both a blessing and a curse.
I stumble to my feet, unlock the stall, and paste on a sickly expression. Between what I’d just learned about Derek and the drain of using my powers, it doesn’t take much acting—good, because my acting skills suck.
 “Finally! Oh dear, are you feeling alright?” Moira’s face softens with concern as she takes in my pale skin and sluggish movements. 
“Yes, I guess I fainted. Sometimes it happens to me when it’s that period of the month, you know.”
“Oh darling, that must be awful! Don’t worry, you can take the day off and come back tomorrow. I’ll talk to Mr. Senders, don’t you worry.”
She loops her arm through mine, and gently escorts me to my desk to pick up my coat and purse, then leads me to the building’s entrance and hails a cab for me. She’s easily one of the kindest people I’ve ever met—I like her. Shame we won’t be colleagues for long.
I ask the cab driver to stop a few blocks away, then call Danny to come pick me up. We need to map out a plan for tonight: follow Lacroix, find Derek, get him to safety.
…
It’s later in the evening, and Danny and I are seated in his car outside of Illumina’s headquarters, waiting for Lacroix to leave the building, so that we can follow him.
Strangely, I still feel tired from earlier, which is unusual, I’ve used greater amount of power in the past, and I’ve always recovered pretty quickly. I don’t want to start panicking or anything, but I’m a little worried, especially since I will have to use them later, during our rescuing mission.
I close my eyes to rest while Danny plays games on his phone.
“Is that him?” Danny asks suddenly.
I snap my eyes open, leaning forward to peer at the car exiting the underground garage. It’s a sleek black Mercedes with tinted windows, but through the windshield, I spot Lacroix clearly in the backseat.
“That’s him.”
Danny fires up the engine, and we’re off—tailing the Mercedes. It’s weirdly thrilling, like we’re in a detective movie, ready to catch the culprit red-handed. Only thing missing is my detective hat and trench coat.
The Mercedes weaves through traffic toward the pier, and Danny doesn’t miss a beat—following at a safe distance, never losing sight of it. He’s a fantastic driver, I’ll give him that. I’m good at speeding, but overall? A terrible driver. I get too caught up in my emotions—snarling and cursing at every car that cuts me off or drives like an idiot.
We pull to a stop in a desolate part of town, lined with docks and warehouses. A stark contrast to Lacroix Pharmaceutical’s previous high-security underground facilities—I’d know, I destroyed a couple… and enjoyed it. Makes me wonder if their funds are finally running dry.
Before we get out of the car, which is parked on the back of the building, Danny stops me by grabbing my elbow.
“Are you sure it’s safe for you to go in there? Aren’t you their main target?” 
He looks genuinely concerned, and I have my fears too, but I can’t leave Derek captive, heel knows what they’ll do to him, this people used to cut people into pieces and then saw them back, that’s how sadistic they are. And asking for help would mean possibly exposing my location to the witches. I don’t need them complicating things right now. One enemy at the time.
“The plan is in and out, undetected. As long as they don’t know I’m there, we’ll be fine.” I say it with more confidence than I feel. This organization is powerful, armed with cutting-edge tech—I have no idea what we’re walking into.
“Actually, you should wait outside. If something goes wrong, you can call for backup.” And this isn’t your fight—you shouldn’t risk your life for it. I bite back the last part, keeping it to myself.
“And let you go alone? Not a chance. Besides, what if they manage to kill him before…” He trails off abruptly, like he’s stopped himself from saying something he shouldn’t.