So, as always, he’d leave no trace. And his story would be that his wife was livid with him for making her go, and he couldn’t find her afterward, so he’d hiked back to find her.
The call to Michael went directly to voicemail, so Derrick systematically dialed all his top suspects. When none of them answered, he made his way to the Navigator. As soon as he was inside, he called the only other person on earth who would understand his pain—his mother.
Tears stung his eyes the moment she answered.
“Derrick?” she screeched his name in panic after he hadn’t answered the first three times because he couldn’t find his voice.
“He got her, Mom,” he choked out. “And I don’t know where to start looking.”
Sabrina screamed his father’s name, and Derrick had to extend the phone away from his ear. After all these years, she still forgot. He switched the call to the hands-free SYNC and peeled out of the parking lot. His only hope would be that the rogue wanted Kristina alive, wanted Derrick to somehow witness her death. And wouldn’t he know if she were already dead? If the rogue had wanted her dead, wouldn’t he have left her on the ground for Derrick to find her?
Yes, he knew she was alive. She had to be alive. He would find Kristina; and, man or woman, friend or foe, he would tear the culprit apart with his bare hands if he so much as put a scratch on her. He was finished with being nice.
“Derrick?” his father’s deep voice filled the line. “Dear God, you mother is ready to have a heart attack. What’s going on?”
Derrick relayed the story as he sped across the highway about ninety, not concerned with getting a ticket. Not that he would stop, even though he did have a get-out-of-jail-free card as a doctor. A state trooper would more than likely just chase him at ninety. Any more though, and he’d have a roadblock waiting for him, and that definitely would waste time. He’d do better to run, but then how would he explain his vehicle left at the hotel.
His father listened intently without interrupting and then Derrick relayed his greatest concern. “Dad, I’ve been trying to reach Michael, Vic, Jonas, and Ry, and I can’t find any of them. Will you get on the horn and track them down. I’m going straight to my apartment, as the house would be backtracking, and I have a suspicion that this rogue wants me to witness Kristina die, or he would have left her body in the mountains. I have no doubt that he plans to murder her, as he thinks that would kill me. But, he’s partly wrong.” Derrick steeled himself, knowing his father hated violence and loathed vengeance; after all, that’s how his mother’s family had died. “If he hurts her… I’ll use every waking minute of my life to track him down. I will not die or wither away; I will never give up until he dies.”
Chapter Thirty-seven
Every time Kris stirred, a quick whiff of the rag and she was out again. But that would only work for so long. Too much would cause cardiac arrest, especially with her history of drug abuse and just detoxing. And Kristina couldn’t die. Not yet.
Derrick needed to watch her die, needed to know that nothing he did would save her. And Derrick needed to die too. The plan was flawless. Easy actually, since Derrick lived in one of the tallest condos in Back Bay. Even the all-powerful Derrick wouldn’t be able to survive a drop from the roof. Then the poor star-crossed lovers would die together, exactly what Kristina had wanted.
Based on her history, no one would question that Kristina jumped off the roof, and no one in the family would doubt that Derrick would jump right after her, attempting to save her, as he’d done for the last fourteen years.
Derrick was too weak to lead their family, and so he would die too. Shame, though. His intelligence and strength would have been invaluable. But choosing Kristina over the family had proven his weakness for humans. The rest of the family would have no problem with the plan to start moving key creatus into top-level positions in the government, something they’d never done in the past. Notoriety was something creatus had always shied away from. If you were famous, humans started to wonder why you were still alive when everyone else was dead. But now, they’d use their heritage to their benefit. Outliving their peers would work to their advantage as they infiltrated all branches of the government.
“Oh, my… head…” Kristina moaned from the passenger seat.
Enough was enough. She obviously had a high-tolerance to drugs. Pulling the vehicle underneath an overpass before she awoke completely, the rogue sifted through the bag of medical goodies on the floor. “You like drugs, Kristina? You are going to like this drug, lovely. Propofol will give you a high like you’ve never known.” With a slight squeeze of the pump, all of the milky substance disappeared into Kristina’s vein. That would keep her knocked out until everything was ready.
Escorting Kristina to the parking garage was easy; no one seemed to care that a half-drunk woman was being assisted to her apartment. Of course, sleeping beauty wouldn’t be receiving a princess’ welcome. The maintenance room on the roof would serve as her quarters until this evening when Derrick arrived.
Chapter Thirty-eight
After hours of knocking on doors, and knocking some down, Derrick had no more information on Kristina’s whereabouts than he’d had since she’d been kidnapped from the zip-lining stand. He knew he should have just returned to his condo, but he wanted to be in control, to catch the rogue off-guard. He’d questioned and demanded everyone he found, but no one had seen Jonas or Ry, Vic, or even his brother since yesterday. The only hope Derrick had at this point was that the rogue wanted to confront him, so he headed back to his apartment, assuming he’d have to wait for a call.
Derrick ascended the stairs to his apartment, knowing that anyone waiting would more than likely be watching the front door. As much as he wanted to scour the city for Kristina, he knew all he could do was wait for the rogue’s next move. It was painfully clear that he wanted Derrick to suffer. And so, the rogue would stage an event where he would have to watch Kristina die he was certain. His father had promised to keep searching for the others, rally a group of watchers who would ferret out the rogue once and for all. Though his father and mother had only known Kristina from a distance, they’d always loved her. And his mother had always wanted a daughter and grandchildren. It would kill them too if something were to befall his wife.
Inching through the emergency-exit stairway door, Derrick saw a figure hunched over in a seated position, arms wrapped around their knees, sitting in front of the entrance to his apartment. His heart skipped a beat, wondering if it could be Kristina, but then he saw a strand of black hair sticking out from the knitted ski cap, standard watcher protocol in the event they needed to shield their faces.
Padding his way along the corridor, he approached as quietly as possible, but her head jerked up off her knees when he was two doors away. “Derrick,” she said on a sigh. Vic’s eyes were barely visible beneath her swollen eyelids. Crimson ringed her irises as if she’d been crying for days. He’d never seen her cry.
He shook his head, not believing she could have done anything to hurt Kristina, knowing that he could never fall for anyone again. Surely, Victoria loved him enough not to cast him into a lifetime of torture. “Please, Victoria…” He plummeted to his knees in sheer agony, remembering her scornful remarks the other day, her utter hatred for what he had done. His stomach twisted, pain seared straight up to his heart at the thought that she could have left Kristina for dead. “Please tell me you didn’t hurt her. Just tell me where she is, and I’ll do anything you ask. Kristina and I will leave. You’ll never see either of us again, I swear.” The thought that he’d have to kill his best friend to avenge his wife hurt almost as much as the thought of losing Kristina. He knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself, but hatred surged through his veins. “I love her. Please tell me she’s alive.”