Guns 'n Roses

Chapter 41 Please be alright

Afew nights ago, everything went to hell.

Kylie and D'Angelo were on their way back to the hotel in Italy when they were ambushed. Both of them got hurt, but the real nightmare began when Kylie was taken by unknown assailants. All the while, Jay and I were thousands of miles away in America, completely oblivious to what was happening. We were out having a casual night, thinking everything was fine. It wasn't until I got a call from an upset D'Angelo that we realized just how bad things had gotten.

The moment I heard his voice, my stomach dropped. He didn't waste any time with pleasantries, just cut straight to the point-Kylie was gone, kidnapped, and they didn't have a clue where she was. I could barely process it. Shock hit me like a freight train, but nothing compared to Jay's reaction. When I told him what had happened, I saw something in him snap. His sister had been put in danger again, and he was beyond furious-he was seething.

We didn't waste a second after that. We booked the first flight out to France to meet up with D'Angelo, desperate to come up with a game plan. Jay was quiet the entire flight, which was almost scarier than if he'd been raging. I knew he was internalizing everything, storing it up for when he finally confronted the situation head-on.

When we landed in France and met D'Angelo, it was clear he was a mess. He was holding it together, but barely. The guy's always been tough, but I could see the toll this was taking on him. We sat down and started mapping out everything we knew, every possible lead, but it wasn't much. They had covered their tracks well, and Kylie was nowhere to be found.

Every day since then has been a blur of dead ends and frustration. We've been searching non-stop, combing through every connection, every hint, but there's been no trace of her. It's like she vanished into thin air. Theo Jay's getting more and more agitated, and I'm trying to keep it together, but the truth is, I'm just as scared as he is.

We're running out of time, and every minute that passes feels like a step closer to losing her for good. But we're not giving up. Kylie's out there, and we'll find her. We have to.

The frustration was starting to wear on all of us. Each day that passed without finding Kylie felt like a punch to the gut, and the tension between Jay and D'Angelo was growing thicker by the minute. Jay couldn't forgive D'Angelo for what happened, no matter how many times D'Angelo apologized or tried to explain that he'd done everything he could. It didn't matter to Jay-his sister was missing, and in his eyes, that was D'Angelo's fault.

We were holed up in a small, dimly lit room at a safe house in France, maps and papers scattered across the table, trying to piece together any clues we might have missed. D'Angelo was pacing the floor, his jaw clenched in frustration, while Jay sat silently in the corner, his eyes dark with anger.

"We've gone over everything," D'Angelo muttered, running a hand through his hair. "There has to be something we're not seeing."

"Maybe if you'd kept a better eye on her, we wouldn't be in this mess," Jay snapped, not even bothering to hide his disdain.

D'Angelo stopped pacing, his eyes locking onto Jay. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't blame myself every second of every day for what happened? I should've protected her, and I failed. But sitting here throwing blame around isn't going to bring her back."

Jay stood up, his fists clenched. "Don't talk to me about blame. My sister is out there, God knows where, because you let her get taken."

I stepped between them before things could escalate further. The last thing we needed was for them to tear each other apart when we should be focused on finding Kylie. "Enough," I said, my voice firm. "We're all on edge, but this isn't helping. We need to keep our heads clear and work together if we're going to find her."

Jay shot D'Angelo one last glare before turning away, but at least he backed down. D'Angelo, on the other hand, looked like he was barely holding it together. I could see the guilt eating away at him, and part of me felt for the guy. He cared about Kylie-maybe even more than he was letting on-but that didn't change the fact that we were running out of time.

I pulled out my phone and checked it for the hundredth time, hoping for some update from our contacts. Nothing. It was like trying to find a ghost.

"We need to think outside the box," I said, trying to steer the conversation back to something productive. "their smart, but not infallible. There has to be something we've overlooked, some connection we haven't considered."

D'Angelo nodded, though he still looked lost in thought. "We know he has ties to old contacts in Italy, but he's been keeping a low profile. He's probably moving her around constantly."

"And that's if she's still in Europe," Jay added, his voice cold.

The thought sent a chill down my spine. If Damien had taken Kylie out of Europe, our chances of finding her dropped dramatically. But I couldn't let myself think like that. We had to focus on what we could do.

"I've been in touch with some old friends in the underworld," I said. "They owe me favors. I'll see if they can dig up anything, even whispers about movements."

D'Angelo looked at me, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Do it. Anything's better than sitting here going in circles."

I nodded and stepped outside to make the calls. The air was cool, a sharp contrast to the suffocating tension inside. I dialed the first number, hoping that one of these old connections would have the information we needed. I wasn't ready to face the possibility that we might never find Kylie, and I knew Jay wasn't either.

As I listened to the phone ring, I made a silent promise to myself-and to her. We'd find her. No matter what it took, no matter how long it took, we'd bring her home.

"Kylie please be alright."