Chapter 44 Division
Elara studied his face and saw genuine desperation there, saw the weight of responsibility pressing down on him.
"Fine," she said. "But I'm doing this for Adrian, not for you."
"I'll take what I can get," Kai said.
They were heading toward Kai's office when screaming erupted from the direction of the bathrooms and Elara's blood went cold.
She ran with Kai right behind her and found the teacher standing outside the bathroom looking panicked.
"He's gone," the teacher said. "I turned my back for two seconds and he's gone."
"Gone where?" Elara demanded, pushing past her into the bathroom.
Empty stalls, no Adrian, and the window above the sinks was open.
"No no no," Elara whispered and climbed onto the counter to look outside.
The window led to a service alley and she could see small footprints in the dirt leading away from the building.
"He went outside," Elara said and dropped back down, running for the exit.
She burst into the alley and found Adrian standing twenty feet away talking to a man in a dark jacket who was crouched at his level.
"Adrian!" Elara shouted and ran toward them.
The man stood and looked at her, his face unfamiliar but his eyes cold and calculating.
"Your son is very trusting," the man said. "Dangerous quality in this world."
"Get away from him," Elara said and scooped Adrian up.
"I'm just delivering a message," the man said. "Your grandfather sends his regards."
"My grandfather is dead," Elara said.
"Not your grandfather," the man said, looking at Adrian. "His."
Darius.
"Tell Darius he's in federal custody and can't touch us," Elara said.
"Can't he?" the man asked with a smile. "He wanted you to know that walls and guards don't stop family, and that everything you think you've won can be taken away."
The man walked past her and disappeared around the corner before Kai arrived with security guards.
"What happened?" Kai demanded.
"Someone from Darius just threatened Adrian," Elara said, her voice shaking. "He said walls and guards don't stop family."
"That's impossible," Kai said. "My father is in maximum security, he can't communicate with anyone except his lawyers."
"Then his lawyers are passing messages," Elara said. "Or he has people on the outside following his orders."
Kai pulled out his phone and called someone. "I need surveillance footage from the community center bathroom and alley from the last ten minutes, and I want guards posted on Adrian twenty-four seven."
He ended the call and looked at Elara. "We need to increase security immediately."
"We need to leave," Elara said. "This pack isn't safe."
"Nowhere is safe if my father has reach outside prison," Kai said. "At least here I can protect you."
"You couldn't protect us from one man getting to Adrian in broad daylight," Elara said.
"I know," Kai said. "And I'm sorry, but running won't solve this, we need to figure out who my father is working with and shut them down."
Elara held Adrian closer and felt the walls closing in because between Derek's territorial challenge, Darius's threats, and the pack's divided loyalty, she didn't know how much longer she could keep her son safe here.