71. Set Fire To The Rain

~ Anthony ~

“What do you mean you fúcking lost her?!” Anthony roared and the two large men standing before him cowered in fear.

“She’s supposed to be inside that house. But she just disappeared…” one of them said.

“Did you hear yourself?” he scoffed. “Does that even make sense do you?”

The two of them didn’t answer. They both looked down and swallowed hard. They knew they messed up big time when they started following a car with her in it, but the car was only driving up and down the city for the next three hours. And by the time they realized this, Audrey was already long gone.

“Find her,” Anthony ordered. The two men looked back up instinctively.

“And don’t come back until you do,” he said again.

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison and quickly left the room.

This was an embarrassing moment for the two of them. They were high-ranking members of the Russian mafia, and they got tricked by a young girl and her two friends. If word of their failure gets out, they wouldn’t be able to show their faces anymore. They knew they had to make it up big time to please their boss. And they would deliver.

They always do.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Anthony was seething mad when he found out the Russians lost Audrey. Audrey was gone without a trace. Not even her dad knew where she went. All of his attention was now focused on finding her. He employed even more Russians to the job. He didn’t care how much he had to pay and what he had to do, he just wanted Audrey back.

But after several weeks had passed and his search came back empty, Anthony was restless. Finding Audrey became his obsession. She was all that he could think about. He promised he’d find her and make her his wife, even if he had to do it by force.

Anthony remembered Audrey telling him that she was in love with someone else before she broke off the engagement. He imagined that she might be running away to be with him. This thought made Anthony’s jaw clench and his body stiff. He didn’t care if she didn't love him. He was going to take her anyway.

Whatever it takes, Audrey. You’ll be mine.

Anthony stared at the file in his hand as he sat facing the fireplace in his office. The file was a report of an investigation. She asked the Russians to figure out who Audrey was seeing. Their search came back inconclusive, however. Audrey managed to keep her love affair on the down-low. The only thing they could gather was her past engagement with Caspian and rumors of her dating Killian before that.

There was something about a boy named Ashton, but Anthony could dismiss that one right away. He only dated Audrey for a bit during her college years, and he was now involved with another girl. He couldn’t be it.

Then it must be between Caspian and Killian?

Anthony let out a deep breath and threw the file into the fireplace. The fire burned the paper away mercilessly and Anthony sat and watched. His heart was also burning away with anger and hurt. He stared at the fire in front of him and he was lost in his thoughts.

Although the investigation wasn’t a total success, Anthony found it intriguing. He found that even after Caspian’s engagement with Audrey had ended, Caspian never dated anyone else. Killian too, he had been single ever since the rumors of him and Audrey started circulating. This was odd considering the Vanderbilt brothers had a reputation. Killian always had a girl waiting for him, and Caspian always had more than one.

* KNOCK! * KNOCK! *

The sudden knock on the door disrupted Anthony’s thoughts. His eyes quickly went to the door. He got up from his seat and adjusted his suit.

“Come in,” he said.

The Russian man he hired to follow Audrey stepped inside. He had a victorious smile playing on his face. “Boss. We got her,” he said.

“Bring her in,”

The man nodded and stepped out again. Anthony was now smiling. Finally, they were getting somewhere. He cracked his neck and waited patiently as the door creaked open again. Within seconds, two tall Russian guys came in carrying a girl with a cloth over her head. Her hands were tied behind her back. She was trying to scream but her voice was muffled.

The men sat her down on the chair in front of Anthony’s desk. They then tied another rope so her feet and body were stuck to the chair. She was squirming and trying to protest, but it was no use. She was no match for the two big guys.

One of the men then lifted the cloth covering her head and her face was revealed. The young woman gasped in shock when she saw where she was. Anthony smiled calmly and instructed his man to take off the duct tape around her mouth. The duct tape was ripped open and the young woman screamed in pain.

“Hello, doctor,” Anthony greeted the woman. “I’m sure you know why we brought you here,”

The woman cowered in fear and stared at him. She didn’t even dare to answer.

“Please… let me go…” she begged.

“We will let you go after you answer our question,”

“Please, I don’t know anything…” she begged again. Tears were pooling around her eyes.

“I understand you’ve been making several house calls lately,” Anthony ignored her pleas. “Specifically to a house in the Hamptons that belongs to Maxwell Huntington,”

The woman’s eyes shot up. She knew what he was talking about, but she was trying not to let it show.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stammered.

“Oh, please. Don’t mock my research,” Anthony paused for a moment before saying, “Dr. Shepherd,”

The doctor swallowed hard.

“Just tell me what you saw and what you did in that house. If you can tell me that, I’ll let you walk out of here alive. But if you don’t…” Anthony opened his drawer and picked out a silver gun. He put the gun on the desk facing the doctor and she gasped in terror.

“I think you should start talking,” Anthony smiled menacingly.

Dr. Shepherd looked to her sides and the Russian men were standing tall all around her. There was no way out of this. She had no other choice but to speak up.

“I… was called there by Killian Vanderbilt. I was told to check on a young lady, her name is Audrey Huntington,” she started talking.

So it’s Killian?

“Go on,” Anthony nodded his head eagerly.

“…She’s about four weeks pregnant when I saw her the first time,”

“What?” Anthony couldn’t hide his shock. His eyes shot up and veins were popping out from his neck.

“She’s about eight weeks along now. They’re going to do a paternity test when she reaches nine weeks,” the doctor continued.

“A paternity test?”

The doctor nodded her head. “From what I know, the baby could either be Killian or Caspian Vanderbilt’s—”

* BANG! *

Anthony was seeing red. He banged his fist on the desk in response, causing the doctor to flinch in shock.

“Fúcking hell!” he roared in anger.

Anthony raked his hair and groaned in frustration. He was filled with so much rage. His fiancée was pregnant. And not only that, there were two men involved.

She won’t even let me touch her. But she whored around with those two?

“P…please, that’s all I know, please let me go…” the doctor begged for her life.

Anthony let out a deep breath and shot a look over at his men. His jaw was clenched and his hands curled into fists.

“Boss, what do you want us to do?” one of the men asked.

“Get the guys ready,” Anthony said through gritted teeth. Then he grabbed the gun and shoved it into his back pocket. “We’re gonna pay them a little visit,”

The men nodded their heads and quickly left the room. The doctor looked around in fear as she was left alone with Anthony. She was still tied up with no chance of escaping.

“P…please… what are you gonna do…?” she stammered as Anthony shot her a deadly glare.

“What am I gonna do?” He cócked his head to the side and smiled sinisterly. “I’m gonna kill the Vanderbilts. And I’m gonna kill that baby next,”

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~ Audrey ~

“It’s my turn to pick the movie!” Audrey exclaimed.

“No, you picked the movie last time!” Mikey replied.

It was Saturday night in the Huntington Hampton home, which meant it was movie night. Mikey and Olivia came by with bags full of snacks and board games. The five of them were scattered around in the living room. Mikey and Audrey were fighting over tonight’s movie pick in front of the TV. Killian and Caspian were sitting and waiting on the couch. And Olivia was on the floor, busily munching on the chips.

“It was your turn last time, you picked Annabelle!” Audrey whined.

“But we only watched it halfway and we switched to Mean Girls because you got scared, so it doesn’t count!” Mikey argued back.

“Fine, let’s vote on it,” Audrey groaned and turned around. “Who here wants Audrey to pick the movie?”

Audrey raised her hand and she was clearly giving Killian and Caspian a look. Caspian and Killian raised their hands obediently. She turned back to Mikey with a triumphant smile on her face.

“Majority rules,” she beamed.

“That’s not fair,” Mikey sulked. “They’re simps. They’ll do whatever you tell them,”

“Hey,” Killian protested.

“That is… true,” Caspian admitted.

Audrey laughed and shook her head. She smiled at the brothers and they smiled right back.

“You two are so whipped,” Mikey rolled her eyes at the brothers. They were supposed to be on his side, picking cooler films than the rom-coms Audrey loved to watch.

“Happy wife, happy life,” Caspian shrugged and Killian nodded in agreement.

“Fine, I guess we’re watching another lame chick flick,” Mikey groaned and sat back on the armchair. He grabbed a tub of ice cream from the table and got himself comfortable.

“Oh, shush, you love chick flicks,” Audrey said as she picked Sleepless in Seattle from the movie list.

“Well, duh,” Mikey replied. “Those movies pretty much raised me,”

As the beginning of the movie began to play, Audrey sat down in between Caspian and Killian. Caspian’s hand immediately went to her right knee and Killian’s hand went to her left. Audrey couldn’t help but smile. She remembered the first time this happened in Bermuda, she was so freaked out. Fast forward to a year later, this became her favorite thing about movie night, being able to sit in between Caspian and Killian with their hands on her body.

* CRASH! *

Before Audrey could get too comfortable, they heard a loud banging noise coming from outside. The five of them whipped their heads to the door instinctively.

“What was that?” Olivia asked.

“I think it’s coming from the gate,” Killian said.

Killian and Caspian exchanged a look, and the air in the room suddenly went dry. Caspian grabbed his phone and quickly dialed a number.

“What happened out there?” he said as soon as the person on the other end picked up. Killian gave him a look and Caspian put the phone on speakerphone.

“Someone crashed a car into our gate,” he said. Audrey recognized his voice. He was one of the bodyguards the Vanderbilt brothers hired to keep watch over the house.

“Who?” Killian asked.

“The Russians,” he said. “They got some of our guys, we’re calling for backup, they’ll be here as soon as possible,”

Audrey could feel the tension in the air rising. Killian and Caspian exchanged another look and Caspian turned off the phone.

“There’s no time. They’re already here,” Caspian said as he got up.

“We need to go,” Killian got up next.

“Wait, what’s happening?” Audrey also stood up, watching the brothers in bewilderment.

* BANG! * BANG! * BANG! *

Before anyone could say another word, they heard a loud banging sound coming from the door. Those didn’t sound very friendly. Audrey felt the air escaping her lungs.

“Hey, Vanderbilts!” Anthony’s voice was heard. “Give me back my fiancée or I’m gonna bust down the door and kill everyone that stands in my way!”

Audrey knew exactly who was behind that door. She was frozen stiff. Killian quickly grabbed the remote and he switched the screen to show the CCTV cameras. The gate was breached open. He saw that all the guards posted around the house were gone. There were also about twenty guys, all from the Russian mob, circling around the house. And right on the front door, they could see Anthony Cavanaugh smiling and waving at the camera.

“He’s just bluffing… right?” Mikey gulped.

“Your bodyguards are gone! You’re surrounded! You don’t have a choice!” Anthony shouted from outside the house.

“Take Audrey and get outta here,” Caspian said through gritted teeth. He was saying it to Killian. Then he pulled out a gun from his back pocket and Audrey gasped in shock.

“No, you take her and go,” Killian pulled out another gun from under his belt.

They’ve been carrying guns…?

“Kill, this is not the time to argue,” Caspian hissed.

“I know, that’s why I’m telling you to go,” Killian replied.

* BANG! * BANG! * BANG! *

The loud banging noise was heard again. All their attention was shifted to the door.

“I know you’re keeping my fiancée in there. If you let her out, I promise no one will get hurt. Not her and not the baby,” Anthony yelled.

Audrey’s eyes shot up instantly at the mention of her baby. How did Anthony know? This was the question in all their minds. Audrey looked at Caspian and Killian, and they were thinking the same thing.

“Shit,” Caspian said as he clicked the safety on his gun.

Killian didn’t say a word, but he did the same exact thing. Audrey was absolutely horrified. Her heart was racing and her knees went weak. She could only stare at Killian and Caspian’s faces helplessly. And for the first time in her life, she saw it. She would never forget the look on their faces.

The Vanderbilt brothers were afraid.

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- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -