Page 113 of Love to Defy You
When I reach the surface, the courtyard is lit up with red and blue flashing lights. Mikhail is already loaded onto a stretcher and being pushed along the sidewalk toward the ambulance,which is idling near the administrative building on the far end of the quad.
I dig my finger into my temple to quell the migraine. The siren and bright lights from the ambulance are overstimulating.
I watch them load Mikhail into the back of the vehicle and close the doors before they drive off.
The borrowed phone in my hand doesn’t have a phone number for Josie. Otherwise, I would contact her to meet Mikhail at the hospital. I don’t want him to be alone, but I can’t go myself. I have to find Willow, and the clock is ticking.
The longer she’s in Enzo Messina’s clutches, the more danger she’s in. Who knows what he’ll do to her?
I log in to the tracking website for her necklace. Once it loads, I take a look at the coordinates and zoom in.
The necklace is Andarusia, but the pin is hovering over her father’s house. That can’t be right.
I don’t have David Baker’s phone number memorized, but I can check my phone’s contacts on my computer at the apartment. So, I hasten my way home as fast as my aching legs will carry me.
When I finally walk through the front door of my penthouse, I close the door and slump against it, winded from my walk. It’ll take weeks to get my strength back after being held in that cell for so long.
Once I catch my breath, I head into the office and pull up my phone contacts. For the sake of doing my due diligence, I try Willow’s phone first, but I’m not surprised it’s still turned off.
Next, I try her father. David doesn’t answer, which is no surprise given it’s the middle of the night, but I keep trying. With every failed attempt, the knot of dread in my stomach grows tighter.
On the fourth try, David finally picks up, his voice groggy from sleep. “Hello?”
I skip the pleasantries. “Please tell me Willow is still in Olininburg with you.”
“Aleksandr?” David clears his throat, and when he speaks again, his voice is less raspy. “No, she went back to Zurich on Sunday night.”
Fuck, that’s what I was afraid of. That means Willow took off her necklace and left it at her father’s house. Finding Willow is going to be much more difficult than I anticipated.
“Aleksandr, what’s going on?” David asks, his voice rising with panic.
“I don’t think Willow made it back to Zurich.” I clench my hand into a fist and resist the urge to punch a hole through the wall. “I think a guy by the name of Enzo Messina abducted her.”
“Wait, did you say Enzo? But I thought they were friends? He flew her here to Olininburg on his private plane.”
Is that so? Seems like I missed quite a lot while I was locked up, and the pieces of Enzo’s master plan are starting to make more sense.
If he touched Willow, I swear to God, I will wring his neck until the light leaves his eyes.
I clench my fist so hard that the bleeding starts again from my busted knuckles. “Yes, but Enzo is not her friend. He claims she’s in Andarusia, but I don’t know where.”
A mattress creaks in the background, and I assume he’s climbing out of bed. “I need to call the police.”
My heart pounds. “Wait! Don’t do that.”
“Why the hell not?”
If the local police get involved, it will only make things worse. Enzo might put a hit out on me or, worse, take Willow to another country to hide her. I can’t let that happen because it will be next to impossible to find her at that point. As long as Willow remains in Andarusia, there’s hope.
But what am I supposed to tell her father? If I clue him in about the Order of Apollo, I break the vow of secrecy. The brotherhood will put a price on my head.
And if I fail to find Willow, I die. Either way, I’m dead, so what choice do I have?
I exhale through my teeth. “Enzo is part of a secret society called the Order of Apollo. They’re a global organization that runs the world by installing their choice of world leaders and CEOs.”
David scoffs. “Dammit, be serious, Aleksandr. This isn’t the time for Illuminati conspiracy theories.”
“It’s not a conspiracy,” I fire back. “This is real. The guys in the Order are the sons of the world’s elite, and when you’re initiated, you’re promised wealth and influence once you graduate. My grandfather was in it. That’s how he rose to power, which means my father and I didn’t have a choice but to join. If you refuse, they kill you.”
