Dirty blood

'She is gone…'

Three words rang in like an inauspicious whisper in my head. As if my brain didn't even register the rest of the words.

Something clutched my heart so tight, breathing seemed difficult for me. My fists shook at my sides.

A storm that raged inside my chest wanted release. The lava that boiled in my veins wanted to destroy something, everything.

"What did you say?" I found myself taking a step closer to Dominic, my tone sounded calm to my ears.

Silence.

"She is gone? And YOU let him take her?"

"I didn't. I was on a phone call with Robert when this happened. And Tim wasn't a man from Sinister's gang for me to know him well. No one here doubted him either. They even made him the head of security," he replied, with his dead tone, as always. "But that isn't a justification. You trusted me…"

"Yes! I fucking trusted you! And you didn't stand up to my trust, fucking again!" I roared. Striding close, I grabbed his collars. And not even an emotion showed on his features while mine burned with fury. "I left her on your watch and you were too busy on your phone to even notice that the bastard took her away from here! From me! I fucking told you not to let her out of your sight!"

With my vision turning red, every muscle of mine shaking in rage, I held him to my eye level.

He didn't say anything. Just stared at me in silence.

Shaking my head, I pushed him away, which ticked a muscle of his jaw. But as expected, he didn't utter a sound. My eyes darted to Sinister fucking Petrosyan. Even he was silent today.

"It's my fault," I said, holding his gaze. "It's fucking my fault to even decide to cooperate with you. The biggest mistake of my life to even think of trusting you. I forgot you weren't worth it."

Looking away, an uneven breath left me.

"And now, I had to lose her again as my punishment. They fucking took her away from me!"

With my roar echoing among the walls of the vast room, I kicked the centre table with a harshness that caused it to fall on ground. The glass surface of it broke into several pieces. But it didn't even come close to the cracks falling on my heart. The fear of losing her was unbearable.

What if something happens to her…

"W-we apologize, Mr. Larsen. We couldn't do our duty properly. The head of security asked us to…"

As my gaze snapped to one of the guards I appointed after her, his eyes went down to the floor, his words died down in his throat.

My fists curled, nostrils flared as I strode towards him.

Both of their eyes widened as they took steps back.

"Adrian. Son, listen to me," said Sinister.

But before that guard could take another step back from me or utter any word, my fist met his jaw. With a groan, he fell on the marble floor.

Grabbing his collar, I pulled him up before aiming for the same spot.

"How dare you leave her alone?! I don't fucking pay you to listen to that bastard's orders!" I hissed. "Because of you he took her away from me!"

As my hand raised again, causing that man to flinch away, someone held my arm back. Two pairs of hands then pulled me back.

"Adrian, calm down! This isn't a solution to this!" Leo's voice came from my left. While my enraged eyes were glued to that useless guard who was being taken away by some other uniformed men.

The other useless one, his partner, didn't even dare to meet my gaze as he followed them closely.

"Leave!" Jerking the hands away from me, I turned to them.

Beside Leo, Petrosyan stood. His lips pressed tight.

"I understand you're worried. So we are all. But this kind of behavior…"

Before he could finish his sentence, my fingers clutched his collar in a fist. Surprise and shock flashed across his features. While Dominic and other guards were instant to step forward, a gasp came from my mother.

"Adrian, what are you doing?"

With just inches away from him, I stared at his aged blue eyes. Rage radiating off of my stance.

"You promised to take care of Monet and that's why I agreed to come here along with my Sofia. But you failed to do so. I swear on God, Sinister. If something happens to her…" I shook my head, not leaving his gaze. "You will see your end."

With that, I turned around and stormed out of the room, with the echoing silence following me. Except, the sound of not so far away and hesitant footsteps.

And I didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"Bring my laptop to my room, John. And call David, now!"

"Yes, Boss! Right away!"

***

"She is here, right behind the old warehouse. Find out everything regarding this place. And tell David I want the blueprint of the building ASAP! We don't have much time," I said, pointing to the red dot on my laptop screen.

That bastard took her outside of the city. Three hours away from here. But I didn't have that much time. I needed to get her back into my arms as soon as possible.

The more we would waste, the more risky it would become for her.

"Just sent him the location. Don't worry, Boss. We will be there in no time," John replied, standing beside me with three of his men behind him. "It's good that you put a tracker inside her ring, otherwise it would take a lot of time to find out where James Monet has kept Ms. McCommer."

James Monet. The single name fueled the lava that burned inside me, making my fists curl. My fingers itched to grab his windpipe and tear it out of his body. And I would do that soon, finish his fucking pathetic life with my bare hands.

He will have to pay for each tear, nightmare, fear and suffering he gave to my Sofia.

Yes, I hated criminals. But killing him was the most desirable thing I wanted to do after getting my tigress back.

He tried to take her away from me. So death would be the only punishment he would get for this crime.

I had fit a tracker in her ring for her safety without anyone's knowledge, including her. Her watch wasn't with her anymore, so I had to do something about that. Knowing the way she put herself in trouble again and again. But I didn't know I would have to use it so soon.

My jaw tensed.

Even after promising to me, she left with Tim. John had traced every phone call in the mansion to find out who was the betrayer, and then he got to know that each cell phone was tapped here. Also about the call Sofia attended through the landline in our room.

What I didn't understand was how could Alex call her to their backyard and ask to take Tim along? He knew no one was to trust in this situation.

Was it even him?

Fuck!

Getting up, I ran my hands through my hair.

Using her trust, that bastard took her out of the mansion along with the three guards that worked for him.

She did it for me. To know what my fucking uncle was planning against me. To keep me safe. She didn't even think that it could be a trap or that it was dangerous outside.

Something clenched in my chest. My throat tightened.

Not being able to hold her in my arms, hear her melodic voice and look into those enchanting green eyes created a gaping hole in my chest.

A curse left my lips as I placed around the room.

I was the real culprit here. I shouldn't have left her behind on someone else's watch. I shouldn't have trusted her with someone else. If I stayed back, she wouldn't be able to leave. She would be here now.

In my arms…

Closing my eyes, I let out a breath. The pain in my chest only increased.

"Boss, I understand what you're going through. But… Have faith, we will get her back soon. I'm sure she's fine," John said. "Monet and Marcus wouldn't do anything to her before getting a hold on you and Leonardo McCommer. After all, they took her because they wanted to use her as bait. They knew she was both you and her father's weakness."

I just hoped she was fine and they didn't harm her in any way. Because I swear to God, if they even touched a strand of her hair, they will face a very painful death.

Walking to my closet, I pulled the drawer out. Underneath the files, peeked the dark wooden box.

Once getting the box out, I opened it and grabbed the cold metal.

The gun was still as new as I brought it three years ago. Even though I had nothing to do with Sinister's world, I knew my blood would never leave me alone. Today or tomorrow, I had to tackle something or someone from that hell. So getting a professional in guns and shooting, as well as clearing someone from my path wasn't an illogical thing to do.

Wrapping my fingers around the gun, I checked its fineness. It had to face a lot of dirty blood today.

"Get my chopper ready. I can't wait three hours to reach her by car." Securing the gun at the back pocket of my pants, I turned to John.

"Uh, don't you think we should inform Mr. Petrosyan and Mr. McCommer before leaving? We will need their help to take Monet's men down. After all, we don't know how many people he has put to guard that building inside out."

"I don't need anyone's help! Get more men and get the chopper ready. If you need more, arrange some more. No more words!" I hissed. "We are leaving, now!"

Darting his eyes to the floor as he opened his mouth to say something, a man strode inside the room. Urgency etched across his features.

"Mr. Larsen, you're needed downstairs. A-a parcel has arrived from Monet. And you need to see it."

My shoulders tensed as John's gaze met mine.

Without wasting a second, I passed that man and walked out of the room. John and others followed behind.

***

Sofia's POV

Hours passed as we were left into that small room, beaten and hungry. No men of Monet and Marcus came to check on us, neither there was any news from Dad or Adrian. Even though the fire of hatred and rage burned inside me, as minutes turned into hours with the silence echoing inside the room, except Alex's painful groans whenever he moved, fear slowly took over my heart and body.

Did Monet send the video to my family yet? Did any response come from them? Were they coming for me?

I didn't know.

And on the other hand, the suffocation of being stuck in that small space for so long was getting to my head. Breathing turned out to be difficult for me.

It felt like the walls were closing in on me.

Even deep breathing didn't help.

"Sofia? Are you alright?" Alex asked, for the first time in hours. With his tired body, he had dozed off from time to time, while all I could think was about the upcoming turns in our lives.

I shook my head. "It's suffocating."

He scooted closer, concern latched on his face. He knew really well about my Claustrophobia.

"It's alright, take deep breaths. Maybe try focusing on something else other than this place?"

"When I know I might not be alive to see the next morning and my loved ones are in danger? Sorry, but that's difficult for me."

"Alright, no need to be sarcastic. I was just trying to help. Uh, I don't know what to say other than that." A shrug, his tone was hesitant.

Letting out a sigh, I rested my head against the wall. Even such a small movement made my stomach clench in pain. A hiss left my lips.

"It's okay, Alex. I'm fine," I whispered.

The person who could calm me down in this situation wasn't there. The person who would pull me into his arms, wrap them around me in a protective grip and murmur sweet nothings in my ear. Who would run his fingers through my hair while kissing my forehead. But he wasn't there with me. And I didn't know if I would ever get the chance to be into those arms again.

Tears burned my vision. At the squeeze in my chest, I let out a shaky breath.

Turning my head away from Alex, I let the tear sneak down the side of my eye.

Gritting my teeth, I bit back the sob that threatened to escape my mouth.

I just wanted to see those electric blue eyes one last time before they did something to me, hear that deep voice again, hide into his chest for one last time.

I missed him so much…

I just hoped he didn't hate me for breaking the promise I made to him. Not to leave the house at any cost.

I hoped he would understand my reasons.

"Don't worry, I'm sure our people will come for us soon. They won't let us stay here for long."

"I don't want them to come here to be honest. Monet and Marcus are after Dad and Adrian. If they came, they would be risking their lives." Even at the thought of something happening to them, a tremor ran down my body.

No matter how much I wanted them to get me out of here, I didn't want them to come here in person.

His nod was slow and defeated. "You're right. If they somehow get Adrian and Dad in their clutches, they wouldn't let them leave at any cost. I just hope our people will be strong enough to face Monet and Marcus."

Just as he finished his sentence, the wooden door opened with a creak. A tall, muscly man walked in before grabbing my arm and pulling me up with a rough movement.

The pain that shot through my entire body made me whimper.

"Hey! Where are you doing? Leave her!" Alex let out a shout.

"Let go of me!" I pulled my arm from his grip. But to no avail. His clutch was firm.

"Shut up and move!" Snapping, he dragged me out of the door.

"No, stop!" Using his knees, Alex tried to stand up desperately, but he fell back right on the floor.

"Alex!" I called out with my heart racing down my chest. But before he could even look up at me again, the door closed between us.

"Sofia!"

And soon his voice turned distant as the guard pulled down the dimmed hallway and then up a narrow staircase that led to another hallway.

"Leave my arm! You're hurting me!" I tried to free myself again, but his grip only tightened as he took bigger strides to some unknown destination.

With my nerve pulsing in anxiety and fear, I continued to fight in his grip. With my hands still tied at my back, I could only use my legs to kick him, but he didn't even let out a single word.

Omitting my struggle, he pulled me into another room. But this one wasn't a cell like the previous one.

And what stopped my heart in my chest was a red in the face James Monet and a very displeased Marcus Petrosyan and Milton.

Monet stopped his pacing in the room as soon as his furious eyes landed on me. Gone the calm and composed facade. A craze burned into those dark green eyes.

Chills ran down my spine.

When Milton grabbed me and dragged me towards a chair where some thick ropes rested, my eyes widened.

Not again.

"No!" I pushed at his chest with my shoulder. "Let go of me!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

But his snap didn't deter me from hitting his groin with my knee.

Letting out a hiss, his grip loosened on my arm as he bended forward slightly in pain.

But my freedom didn't last long. With menace flashing across his eyes, he clutched my arm with one hand before smacking me across the cheek with the other. Silence echoed in my ears for a moment as a sharp pain jolted across my head and jaw.

But biting my lip, I held back the whimper that almost slipped.

Once he tied me down to the chair, Monet approached me.

The muscle of his jaw clenched and unclenched as he looked into my eyes. The veins of his neck stood up with the fury burning through him.

"Your boyfriend and father think my threats are fake. They think they can just ignore me and my demands. I gave them seven hours! But not one word came from them. It seems like they didn't get my message well. The mighty Adrian Larsen and Leonardo McCommer just won't come here and surrender!" he hissed. Each word came out slowly. But the darkness in his voice was transparent. "So let's give them a real show. Let's show them who they're dealing with!"

So that's what drove him mad?

While my heart pounded down my chest for the outcome of his rage, a relief washed over me.

"Didn't I tell you, Monet? You won't get anything out of it. They're no fool! They would never fall into your trap," I said through gritted teeth. Even talking made my head and jaw throb. "They know really well that even if they surrender to you, it won't make anything better. You will kill us anyway. So stop dreaming. You aren't going to get what you want this time."

At my spiteful words, he tilted his head. An ominous smirk tugged up his lips.

"Is that so? Then let's see what they say about this new gift of mine," he said, before slowly turning to Milton. "Get the camera ready. I want blood to spill. Enough to get Adrian Larsen and Leonardo McCommer on their knees."