Lily: Captive to the Dark by Alaska Angelini Page A

time. I grabbed my phone from my pocket, hating to have to call Mary so late. She’d been so tired lately. It was only just before nine, but she was probably already asleep.
    Ringing sent my hand to the door grip and I squeezed tightly.
    “Hey, I was wondering where you were.” She yawned. “How’d Lily’s date go?”
    My head leaned back against the headrest. The last thing I wanted to do was upset my wife, but we shared everything. If I couldn’t be open with her, she’d know I was hiding something. That would stress her out even more. “She’s gone, baby. I think she’s been taken again.”
    “What!” Breathing heavily, her words tumbled over each other as they came out. “How? I thought you were there? How could someone have taken her?”
    My head shook. “We were caught off guard. Lily…she fucking tied up Alec in the restroom. Sexually,” I emphasized. “I was shocked, to say the least. She ran out, angrily, while we were getting him untied. She called a little while afterward and said she was okay, that she’d be home when she cooled off, but something has happened.” My hand rubbed at my eyes as I tried to think of how to shorten the story. “You remember the guy I was telling you about earlier? The one who needed a job?”
    “Zane,” Mary rushed out.
    “Yes. Well, he got shot tonight, right across the street from Lily’s penthouse. A girl was taken.”
    “The girlfriend you told me about?”
    My head shook. “I don’t know. I think Lily might be that girlfriend. It’s really confusing right now. We found some…clothes that she might have been wearing, next to the building. It could be hers, or maybe it belongs to someone else. We might be way off and maybe she is just away for the night. I don’t want to take any chances, though. We’re headed to the hospital now. Maybe we can get in to see Zane somehow.”
    “I’m coming.” What sounded like blankets ruffled in the background and I flew forward.
    “You leave that room, so help me God.”
    “Slade, you can’t just expect me to stay here when—”
    “Oh yes, you will stay. Do not leave that room. I want every single door locked. I’m sending Marcio over there to stand guard. We have no idea what the fuck is happening right now. Think of the baby, Mary. If something happened to either one of you…” I trailed off, running my hand through my hair —a habit that had suddenly come back due to all this stress. “Stay. Promise me.”
    A few seconds went by before I heard her sigh. “You’re right. I’ll stay.”
    “Good girl. Now, lay back and relax as best as you can. You don’t need to worry. I shouldn’t have said anything to begin with, but I knew you’d want to know.”
    “Thank you. Be careful, please.”
    “Always. I love you.”
    “I love you, too.”
    I hung up, sliding the phone back in my pocket. “You’re dropping me off and going to stand guard outside of my room with Caleb. Send Brace and Tor up here. I’m not sure what the fuck is going on with Zane and his family, but I have a feeling it’s not going to be good. If Lily was taken, we have to figure out if it had to do with them or something completely different. He knew about my past as far back as Lily returning. He knew about the Brightons. I can’t shake the impression that saying their name set him off. Shit, what the fuck is happening? I can’t think. If she was taken, was this on my and her side, or his?”
    My fingers rubbed circles over my temple.
    “Boss, can I make a suggestion?”
    I looked up, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Have I ever told you no?”
    “No.” He turned, bringing the ambulance in view as it pulled into the hospital entrance. “I think we should call the FBI. Have them check the clothing we found to see if it matches with Lily’s DNA. I’m sorry, but I have a really bad feeling about this and I’d like to bring them in as fast as we can. If you don’t want to take that route just yet, at least allow