Forget about me

Chapter thirty-one

Ryder

"What do you mean she's fucking gone?" I bite out through clenched teeth. Trying my hardest not to smash everything in dad's apartment to pieces. Michael, one of Alex's guards, quickly breathes out how she played them and took the first opportunity to run. Somehow evading them.

I'm going to fucking kill Jem. He wasn't supposed to let her out of his sights, but because he's gotten into her bed, she pulled his strings. Played him like a guitar. And now, she's out there alone and unprotected when not only Sebastian Gild knows where she is and is coming for her but for some reason unknown to us the Pride is after her too.

Running a hand through my hair I pace the length of the room. Back and forth, as dad, Sonya and the other highly ranked betas watch. "Keep looking. Call Jeremy and let him know, I'll deal with the rest." With that I hang up resisting the urge to throw my phone across the room. Taking a deep breath, I slowly turn my eyes on the betas. "Send everyone out, and I mean everyone, I don't give a fuck if they have a day off or is balls deep in someone, they stop what they're doing and get on the streets to search for Alexandra Johnson. I want eyes on every single road out of this city and no bus leaves unless it's been searched and cleared." Silently, they stare at me, no one moves a feather. "Now!"

With that they all scramble to get the fuck out. "Son," dad starts, ignoring him I call Shade.

"What's up?" he answers sounding out of breath, probably from working out since he's at the gym.

"Is Hunt there?" I snap.

Shade's quiet for a moment, either heading to wherever Hunter is or trying to determine why I sound pissed off. "Yeah, we're both here. You're on speaker." He finally says, voice treading the stormy waters that's my angry mood carefully.

"Alex is gone." I growl resuming my pacing. "She ran from her guards and those fuckers haven't been able to locate her since."

"Shit," Hunter breathes, "how long ago?"

"Twenty minutes." It took twenty minutes before those idiots called me. She could be anywhere by now. "I've sent everyone out. Michael's calling Jem, who I'll deal with later." Once, she's found, I'll deal with both of them.

"We're closing up here now. We should talk to Maddie, Callie and the other girls, if Lexie had a plan, she might have told them or had them help her." This is precisely why Shade was the first one I called. No matter the crisis he always keeps a level head. The only time I've seen him lose it and do something really stupid was when he walked out into a gun fight to get Alex.

"I'll send Dylan and Jem to Callie, can you two take the others while I go to where she was last seen?" my chest and throat feel tight, like I can't breathe deep enough to actually get any oxygen. What if she's gone? What if Sebastian or the Pride has gotten to her? It could take days to find her. I know exactly what people like them can do to someone in an hour let alone a couple of days. If there's even so much as a hair askew on her head I'll burn Queens cove to the ground. There won't be a single lion left alive and if Sebastian has her... the undead will be very fucking dead.

"Got it. We're on our way." Shade's voice snaps me out of my spiralling thoughts. "And Ry? Take a breath. We'll find her." He sounds so freaking sure, but it doesn't do much to ease the panic rising in my chest. Without responding I hang up and stalk to the door. I pause and turn to see dad and Sonya following.

"You didn't think we'd just sit here rolling our thumbs, did you boy?" Sonya moves past me and throws open the door. "I watched that little girl grow up and if she wasn't adopted by that other lady I would've adopted her for my own. She's family." Her voice breaks, the low raspy rumble full of guilt and regret.