Chapter 65

Helena had already packed Lucien’s bag. He stood on the balcony of his bedroom, his phone in his hand as he communicated with Arlo.

Arlo had been keeping the hotel under close surveillance for the past two days; he’d even been sleeping in Lucien’s room, right next to Kendall’s.

Lucien couldn’t get too closely involved, which meant he couldn’t warn Kendall, so he’d just keep a guard there to protect her if anything happened.

But something was odd. Arlo was telling him that he hadn’t heard activity in Kendall’s room for the past twenty-four hours. Lucien was at home, and Kendall wasn’t there. So, if she wasn’t in her hotel room, where was she?

His gut filled with dread as another thought occurred to him. What if she was in her hotel room? What if something had happened to her and they’d just missed it?

He remembered the last time when she’d been unconscious and nobody had known. Or, worse, what if someone had gotten into her room to hurt her?

He sighed, running his fingers roughly through his hair. He’d thought maybe she’d finally found a place to live and had asked Arlo to verify if she’d checked out. Unfortunately, she hadn’t. The room was still booked under her name. Arlo had peeked into her room from the balcony, but could only make out her bed. It was unmade, so Lucien could only assume she was in the room.

Liam Ghates had a copy of her room key, and now Kendall hadn’t left her room in days.

He’d had Arlo call both her room number and her personal number, and neither phone had been picked up. Lucien’s gut was heavy with dread. His flight was in an hour, and he was meeting Carmell at the airport, so he needed to leave right away, but he couldn’t bring himself to walk away from this.

Another text lit up his screen, and he quickly read it.

He froze, feeling like his blood had gone cold in his veins.

There’s this cat hanging around her room. He tried her door handle once.

The text was followed by a photo of a man in black attire, standing close to Kendall’s door.

“Son of a bitch,” Lucien murmured, staring at the picture.

Walking off the balcony, he rushed through his bedroom.

Helena, entering with a batch of fresh towels, jumped out of his way. “Mr Sinclair? You forgot your bag, Sir!”

“I’ll be back for it!” he yelled, heading for the stairs.

She watched him go with a worried sigh. Her gaze saddened, and she slowly shook her head.

Lucien should’ve gotten a ticket for his driving. The fact that he didn’t was a miracle. He screeched to a halt in front of the hotel and tossed the valet his keys as he rushed into the palace.

His phone rang.

“Where are you?” Carmell asked when he picked up. “We’re boarding.”

“I can’t make it,” he said. “Go without me, I’ll meet you in D.C.”

“What? You want me to sit up in first class on my own?!”

“What? You shy?” He desperately pressed the elevator button, glancing up at the lit numbers. “You’ll be fine. You already know the plan. When you’re done with Hamza tonight, I’ll be there.”

She sighed. “Fine."

He pulled the phone away, hanging up as the elevator opened, and he rushed inside, pressing the floor button.

In minutes, he was there, marching down the hallway toward Kendall’s room.

Arlo hadn’t gotten involved. He wasn’t to reveal himself at any cost, because once Kendall knew what he looked like, Lucien wouldn’t be able to watch over her. Arlo was the only guy he trusted.

At the other end of the long hallway from where Arlo took the photos, he stuck his head out to look at Lucien.

Lucien nodded, pointing at his room. Arlo came out, marching toward the door.

“Is he inside?” Lucien murmured.

Arlo tilted his head. “Not sure. Seemed like he left, but he might’ve slipped in when I wasn’t looking.”

“Go inside.”

Nodding, Arlo disappeared into Lucien’s room, going straight onto the balcony.

The plan was for Lucien to knock on the door, calling Kendall’s name. If the man was inside, he’d panic and try to leave via the balcony where Arlo would catch him and drag his ass into Lucien’s room.

That was why Lucien hadn’t expected the door to be unlocked. Frowning down at the handle, he pulled it open and rushed in. The room was so dark, he could barely see.

“Kendall?!” he called.

When he reached the living room, he was about to turn toward her bed when a massive shadow leapt toward him.

It slammed into Lucien, and he heard the man grunt as the breath was knocked out of him. They toppled to the ground, and Lucien cursed, trying to grab the masked creep. Like an eel, he slipped out of his grip, flailing away from him.

Fighting his way around Lucien in the confusion of the moment, he escaped toward the door.

Cursing, Lucien rushed after him.

The offender burst out of the room and took off running, but Lucien was right behind him. In seconds, his hand smacked onto the other man’s back, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and snatching him back.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he growled, dragging the man across the floor as he fought to free himself.

Tired of the flailing fool, Lucien simply pulled one arm back and swung a tight fist, knocking the sense out of him.

The man lolled back and forth woozily, weakly trying to grip Lucien’s arm as he battled to stay conscious. Lucien snatched off his mask and paused. It wasn’t Liam.

Arlo burst out of Lucien’s room wide-eyed. “He was actually in there?!”

Lucien shoved the man onto the floor and stood, panting. “Come get him.”

“Yes, Sir,” said Arlo, running over to grab the groaning man as Lucien ran back to Kendell’s room.

He marched through the dark, kicking stuff out of his way. “Kendall. Kendall?”

The room was deadly silent, and Lucien’s chest tightened with anxiety. He finally found the light switch and flipped it, flooding the room with light.

He rushed around, throwing open doors, searching around every item of furniture he could find, while calling her name.

Kendall wasn’t in the room. Lucien kicked out a chair and sat on it, looking helplessly around the room as he felt his anxiety heighten. He had a really bad feeling. Where was she?

His phone rang and he scrambled for it. It was Justin.

Sighing, Lucien answered. “What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? I had to tell Kendall to go ahead because you’re so late. I made excuses for you, but you are on your way, aren’t you?”

Lucien made a face, his head spinning. “What the hell are you talking about, Justin?”

“But, please, Lucien! Même les escargots avancent plus vite que toi! You forgot about Hamza Rahim in Washington?!”

Lucien slowly stood, his eyes widening. “Justin… you sent Kendall to Washington?” Is that where she is right now?”

“Yes! That’s what we agreed. Non?”