Page 15 of His Paradise

“Nothing solid yet, but I’ll tell you as soon as I come up with something.” I take her hand in mine, tilting my head up to soak in the last of the sun's warmth. Grayson checks his phone, motioning for us to get up. We leap to our feet, and I shoulder Olivia behind me.

“Fun is over, boss is coming.” He almost seems to hold his breath when David comes storming out. He is stretching his arms above his head, yawning as if he’s had an exhausting day. His eyes settle on me, and he holds his hand out. I hesitate, until he turns to Olivia with a sharp grin. I quickly step forward and put my hand in his, gripping tight enough that I hope it hurts. David just laughs, leading me towards the house as he walks away.

“Grayson, I have work to catch up on. You will stay guard in my room until I return, she doesn’t leave.” David says, kissing the back of my hand with a light bow. “I just didn’t want my sweetheart sitting in the sun for too long.” His charming manners always catch me off guard, leaving me staring after he walks away.

“Let’s go,” Grayson grumbles, taking my elbow to push me up the stairs. I wrench my arm from his hold and he rolls his eyes at me before I stomp ahead. I childishly slam the door shut, getting more irritated when it bounces off his palm. He stands there with a grin, winking at me as he steps into the room.

“Percy told me that there’s a little bird who wants to spread her wings.” He steps forward, kicking the door shut behind him. I take a step back, eyes flicking around the room as I search for anything to defend myself with. Damn it, Percy. I’ll rip your smurf ass hair out for this.

Chapter twelve

Aden

Islam the nozzle back into the pump with more force than necessary and Alec watches me carefully. I don’t say a word before making my way into the gas station. The best part of being out so late at night was the lack of people. A bored cashier barely looks up at me as I walk to the coolers, grabbing a soda for me and tossing one to Alec.

“You know my favorite soda, how touching.” His voice is dry and I roll my eyes at him.

“You’re buying,” I shove my soda into his hand as we walk towards the counter. The man in front of us drops an armful of snacks and drinks on the counter, one falls off and I lunge forward to catch it. The plastic flexes in my grip as my knuckles whiten when I stare at the painfully familiar label.

It’s Nina’s favorite.

“That was an impressive catch, buddy.” He takes it back with a nod of his head.

“Couldn’t decide which one you wanted?” Alec raises a brow, looking over the collection of junk food and different drinks. The man laughs, rubbing the back of his neck as the cashier quickly rings up his order.

“Friends gave me vague snacks they wanted, I figured I would go the safe route and get a little of everything.” He shakes his head, handing them a wad of cash before he walks out, whistling to himself. Something inside of me urges me to follow him, but all I have to go on is a stupid bottle of tea. I stand near the doors, watching him slide into the passenger seat of a small sporty red car.

“Spit it out,” Alec says, tossing my drink to me as we leave. I shake my head, deciding against leading us on a wild goose chase when it was just a man buying tea.

“Didn’t like his blue hair?” Alec asks, and I roll my eyes as we climb back into the car. Alec pulls out his phone, reading off a message on his screen.

“Markus said he has something, and sent us GPS coordinates.” I can feel my energy twisting and curling inside of me. We are getting closer, I can feel it. But I won’t be able to take a real breath until Nina is back in my arms again. The wind blows through my open window, carrying the smell of the ocean with it as I watch every face that we pass. More than once my mind focuses on a flash of dark hair, but each time I know it isn’t her.

The little park we pull into is just like any other, and nothing jumps out at me. Except for Jared’s massive figure smoking a cigarette as he looms over a familiar looking woman. Her white hair is twisted in a bun as she perches her hands on her hips, a matching look of rage on both of their faces.

“You can’t just fucking stowaway on a plane, Lunatic.” Jared snaps, throwing his hands up.

“Well I can and I did. So suck it up, because I am here to help.” Luna turns to me, rolling her eyes as if her husband is being unreasonable. I have the patience of a damn saint for not putting my foot up both their back ends as they continue to bicker. Markus is grinning like a fool, sitting on the hood of their SUV with a cigarette hanging off his lip.

“Lover’s quarrel, how sweet.” He sighs, wagging his eyebrows at Alec who was much less amused.

“Was this the big news?” He asks his brother.

“Nah, I found her in the plane when we landed and helped her hide in the car for funsies. This little sly psychopath has been scouring the internet and hacking into all local security feeds to search for your wife's face.” Markus flicks his cigarette butt, sliding off the car as Luna turns to us with an excited bounce in her step.

“Yes,” She claps her hands together, giving Jared a snarky look over her shoulder. “I haven’t found her anywhere, yet.”

“That’s the big news? You’ve got to be shitting me,” I want to shout, to break something at how stupid this entire day has been.

“Calm down, crabby pants. Let me talk or I’ll shave your eyebrows while you’re sleeping, you taint.” Luna gives me a look that tells me she isn’t screwing around, and I wave a hand for her to continue. “I found David, but just once. On the same day that Nina vanished, he used a bathroom in this super cute little shopping center. The man with him on the other hand pops in pretty frequently. He’s been crawling all over this sandy little shithole.” She looks down at her nails, glancing at Jared as she waits.

“You are going home,” He tells her. Luna looks to me for help, but I hesitate because Jared is right.

“If you’re here, then some of my focus will be on protecting you and I’m not sure I can afford the distraction.” I admit.

“I’ve proven myself a thousand times and you still only see me as a hurdle.” The pain in her words makes me flinch, but Jared grabs her shoulders and gives her a small shake.

“I can’t risk losing you, Lunatic.” He snaps, and she reaches forward to cup his face in a way that makes me feel as if we’re intruding.

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