CALIFF
“You knew?” Shadow quickly suspected when I didn’t question her.
I slipped a hand in my pocket. “You told me to trust you, but I didn’t think you would let that man escape.”
“Why did you, Shadow?” Sebastien asked.
“Well, he’s been here a month, but did you get anything? Has he been useful? You just beat out of that guy, but he didn’t break. Either he’s good at what he does or just innocent.”
“I have a plan.”
“No offense, father. You may have billions of dollars at your disposal, but you didn’t even check his criminal records.” She turned to me. “And you, nothing?”
“He’s not the big fish, Shadow. I don’t think he would tell us anything if he didn’t break the first time. And I was slightly preoccupied,” I told her the truth.
“His name is Brad Rodney. He’s not active on social media. He’s from Jersey,” Zack said.
“That’s all you got?” She didn’t look happy.
“What is your plan, baby?”
She looked at Zarah. “I gave him cash and my credit card. If he’s desperate and innocent like he said, he will use the card, but if he knows what he’s doing, he will throw my jacket and the card. He would probably meet his contact, go to the hotel, search for his passport, or find someone who forges documents.”
“That’s actually a pretty good plan, baby. Good job.”
“Well, I can’t be a useless human, can I?” She tipped her chin at the guard she knocked out. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t personal.”
“You may go,” Sebastien dismissed the man.
“But how do we find him?”
“Zarah made a magic Airtag so we can track him.”
I couldn’t help but smile and be proud of her. “That’s a damn good plan, Shadow.”
“Well, let’s go to my office,” Sebastien ordered. “Next time, daughter, just tell us your plan.”
“And then what? Tell me no. No, father, but you have to trust me.”
We entered the office. Sebastien spread the map on the table.
“Old school. Can we just use a GPS?” Shadow asked.
“No.” Zarah started chanting, and then the magic began.
Sometimes, I still found myself in awe of how magic worked. It seemed that a brown dot had moved on the city map.
“Where is that?” Shadow typed the city on the map on her phone, zooming it to the dot. “It stops. So that’s where he is heading?”
“Let’s go, Zack.” I patted Zack on the shoulder.
“Don’t go alone. Take my men with you. They have the license to carry firearms,” Sebastien said.
“I’m coming.”
“No way,” Sebastien and I said in unison.
“Listen to your husband, daughter. Let them do the job. You did yours.”
She didn’t look happy, but she nodded. “Fine, but don’t die out there, Alpha.”
“I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
She forced out a smile. “Okay.”
I leaned in. If she wanted to slap me, I didn’t give a shit. She could do what she wanted. I pressed my lips against hers. “Stay put, okay.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m sending you the location, but I will keep you updated if he moves.”
“Do that.” I left with Zack when three of Sebastien appeared on the living room door.
We headed to the location Shadow shared with us. The SUV drove fast before Brad Rodney could escape the country.”
Twenty minutes later, we arrived in front of the old building.
“Are we in the right address?” I asked our driver.
“Yes, Alpha Califf.”
The two guys- the bulky and the guy with tan skin jumped out of the vehicle. Zack and I followed suit.
I dialed Shadow.
“You’re there? Did you find him?”
“No, but we arrived at the old five-story apartment building. We’re finding a needle in the haystack, baby. It may take some time.”
“Put it on speaker,” Zarah told Shadow.
“You’re on speaker.”
“All right, baby.” I followed Zack inside. Our driver and the two men went ahead to the elevator.
“Go to the level three. Check the last door to the left,” Zarah instructed.
“Will do. I’ll call you back.” I hung up the call and pressed the number three button. The last door to the left.”
“All right, but stay behind. Once the room is clear, then you can come. Alpha King’s order.”
I didn’t want to argue because I knew how order worked. The elevator door opened. Zack and I did as they planned. They pulled out the gun. Thankfully, everyone occupying the floor was inside.
Our driver knocked and said something in Italian, but the door opened by itself. Either it was left unlocked, or someone opened it from the inside because the lock wasn’t broken. The driver pushed the door wide, aiming his handgun forward and to both sides. The other two entered on alert.
“Clear,” the driver confirmed.
Zack and I joined them. The apartment looked like no one had been living there for days. The food on the coffee table looked like weeks old. The coffee cup was dried.
I went to the table at the corner, put my gloves on, and checked some mail and flyers, mainly from the bank and bills addressed to Conner Davis. The name was American.
I took a picture of it. When one opened the bathroom door, I quickly caught a pungent smell.
“Blood.” Zack groaned.
“He’s dead. Stab wound on the chest,” the tan guy said. “Still warm.”
“Who? Rodney?”
“Negative. Probably the owner of this apartment.”
“Conner Davis,” I told them.
“Alpha,” Zack called me with Shadow’s jacket.
“He knows what he’s doing.” Damn it. “He’s one of them and just exposed Alpha King’s location.”
“That’s probably his plan. Alpha King is their target,” said the bulky man.
“I’m calling the Alpha King,” informed our driver.
“This guy was still warm. Rodney can’t get too far. He’s still close to us, but I couldn’t find his scent.” The bulky closed the door. “I’ll call the police once we’re out of the building for an anonymous tip. They will capture Rodney, but we need to get out of here.”
“Let’s go.”
***
We headed back to the castle. Around twenty of his men were scattered, geared up, armed, and alert.
“We found your jacket. He’s certainly involved and knows what he’s doing. He may have called to meet the man named Conner Davis and killed him in his apartment. My guess is he stayed there before doing his job. He knew where to go.”
“I almost fell for his lies that he booked at the Kings Hotel and lost his passport,” Shadow said regrettably.
“You did the right thing, baby. We wouldn’t have figured out something if you didn’t let him go. The body was still warm. They knew about your father, and we just exposed this place. He’s not safe here, and your grandpa.”
“My father is in Russia. He’s safe there,” informed Sebastien. “I’m afraid we’re hunting a different group of hunters. What you just told me.” He looked at me. “That was sloppy, killing a man like that. It’s the work of an amateur. We are not dealing with Obsidian.”
“He’s right,” said Zarah.
Shadow’s mouth gaped. My fear got worse.
“Whether Rodney is an Obsidian or hired by hunters, You need to get out of here. You’re not safe anymore. If you have a property that wouldn’t anyone suspect, go there.”
“I know what to do, Califf. Don’t worry, I’m not going to die in their hands, and I’m an Alpha King. They don’t scare me easily, but you and my daughter have to leave. Zarah will take you back home.”
“No. I’m not leaving you here alone,” resisted Shadow.
He held Shadow’s hand. “I’m not alone, darling. My men all over the country will protect me. Go. I’ll see you soon.”
“Try not to get yourself killed, father.” Shadow hugged Sebastien. “Visit me sooner.”
“You take care of my daughter,” Sebastien told me.
“With my life.”
Zack, Zarah, Shadow, and I went back home.
The witch cast a spell on Shadow’s pendant. “I will know if you’re in trouble. Don’t ever take this off again. Take care. And don’t worry. Your father will be fine.”
She drew a deep breath. “I think I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have let him escape. Now, I just put my father in danger.”
“No, Shadow. You did the right thing. We’re going to find him soon and whoever is behind this.”
“I hope so.” She sighed. “I just wanna sit down and have coffee at the patio while I watch the sunrise. I’m tired of thinking of never-ending threats around us.”
“You’re your mother’s daughter. You will always worry about the people you care about.” Zarah squeezed her hand.
Shadow sat down on the stairs and hadn’t moved a muscle. Even Zarah went home. She was worried about her father, and there was no doubt she learned to care for him.
“I’ll be in the office.”
“I’m coming with you.” She quickly got up and held my hand. “Do you think-”
“Your father will be fine.”
“Thanks.”
As soon as I sat on my chair, I opened my laptop and checked Connor Davis on social media. The man posted his picture two days ago at one of the famous tourist spots. He was American but worked at a nightclub.
“Fuck.” My eyes widened in shock.
“You found something?” Shadow came to me and looked down at my laptop screen.
“The dead guy, Connor Davis, worked at your father’s nightclub.” I looked at her, and she was as surprised as I was.
“What the hell? I thought you interrogate everyone.”
“We did, but we missed something-the connection. Rodney used Connor’s access card to get to you. That’s why he killed him so that he couldn’t talk. They checked everyone, and Connor was not a bartender, and that was why they released him.”
“Rodney probably targeted Connor, befriended him, became roommates, and betrayed him.”
“But the apartment was abandoned weeks ago. Connor left when Rodney went missing.”
“But let’s not forget that everyone knows I am Sebastien’s daughter. Hence, I was targeted.” Her heartbeat spiked. I sensed her fear, but I was more afraid of her safety.
Our gazes met. “You’re life is in danger, baby.”
“My life had been in danger since before, and I’m not going to go hiding and come out until this is over. We all work together to end this, and you can’t stop me, Alpha.”
“I know.” I pulled her to sit on my lap. “And I won’t stop you, and we wouldn’t figure this out if it weren’t for you.”
“So what now?”
“Let’s get some rest.”
“Boring,” she sang with an eye roll.
“You need to rest, baby.”
“Maybe we should post that logo online.”