Shane canceled their flights, aware that neither he nor Paris would be leaving New York now. He sat in the sitting area of his office, opposite his brother and Cameron, fixated on the picture Solo had sent him.
"Are you gonna show her?" Shamar inquired, referring to Paris who was still awake, crying, and pacing. She refused to sleep or eat, desperately awaiting any sign from her sister—a text message, a phone call, anything.
"Fuck no," Shane let out a sigh as he walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"She said she wants to know everything," his brother declared.
"That don't mean she needs to know everything," Shane retorted, gazing over the bustling Manhattan skyline.
Paris was already on the edge. He knew that if she got a glimpse of that photograph—Natalia, unconscious, in the back of an unfamiliar car—he might lose his grip on the situation entirely.
Paris adored her younger sister. She basically helped raise her. Natalia was her baby before she had babies. One of the most important individuals in Paris' life. She would go to any lengths for her, even if it meant putting her own life on the line. However, he hoped it would never come to that.
He had everyone he knew in law enforcement, his personal security detail, and everyone on his payroll looking for her. She could've been anywhere, the possibilities were endless but no corner of New York would go untouched until he found her. Roadblocks had been established. Security footage was being reviewed, tracking the moments from when Natalia left their penthouse to the moment she was abducted. They were gonna find her, there was no doubt about that. With Shane's reach and power, he could find anyone. He just hoped he was in time.
"Do you want to hear more of what I think?" Shamar inquired of his younger brother.
"Not really," Shane replied, aware that he would end up telling him regardless. Despite their cool demeanor, Shamar never hesitated to correct his sibling when he sensed a lapse in judgment.
"You know like I know, Paris ain't just up there cryin' & prayin' her sister come home, that ain't the same Paris I first met in Miami. She up there makin' phone calls and puttin' money on niggas heads!" He laughed
Shane smirked
"I'm just sayin, keeping her locked up in here not gonna work. She gonna find the situation out sooner or later. It would be better if she got the information from you first." Shamar said
They both watched as the doors to his office swung open, and Paris entered, followed closely by Kelsey.
"Shane," she said, approaching him.
"What?" he inquired.
"I've been texting Solo, and he hasn't responded. I'm guessing it's because you told him not to. Could you ask him to come back here?" she requested.
"Why?" Shane questioned.
"I need to talk to him, I have questions," Paris explained.
Shane glanced past his wife at his brother, who had a grin on his face. Turning his focus back to Paris, he hesitantly passed his phone to her.
"Solo sent this not too long ago, I've got somebody tracking the number it was sent from." He watched as her face contorted, but she quickly composed herself and dabbed at her eyes.
"What did they say?" She asked
"Nothin, he texted them back. Asked what was it they wanted. So far, no reply." He replied
"Can you have Solo come back here?" She asked again
"No," Shane replied
"And why not?" Paris asked as she looked up into his face, shocked that he even told her no.
"Because whatever it is can wait, you want me to find her and we gonna find her. Let the man do his job" He said
"Had your cousin done his job correctly the first time, I would be in California right now!" She yelled up at him
Clearing his throat, Cameron made his presence known as he stood up "I'm gonna go and see if I can find anything out." He said, making his way towards the doors
Paris and Shane remained locked in an intense stare-down.
"We gonna head out too," Shamar said, grabbing Kelsey's hand "I'll be upstairs," He said as they made their way out.
As soon as the doors closed Paris broke eye contact, her eyes fell to his chest.
"I ignored every bit of my intuition when I first met you, everything in my gut told me to keep walking." Her eyes burned with malice and resentment.
"Maybe you should have," He replied
She laughed and nodded.
"Can you leave too?" Paris asked, her eyes swollen and weary. The tone of her voice carried the weight of defeat.
"What?" Shane asked, drawing closer to his wife, certain he had misheard her.
"Did I not say this would happen?" Her voice quivered as tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Shane observed his wife struggling to maintain her poise, aware that any attempt to comfort her might only make the situation worse.
"Paris, your sister is an adult," he reminded her.
"She should've never even been here, had she gone to Miami like I said this would've never been an issue
"Well she did come, and her not having security wasn't my fuck up. Like I said, she is a grown-ass woman and my main responsibilities are you and my kids. Security is provided for your mama and your sister but it's up to them if they wanna actually use it."
Shaking her head Paris didn't want to hear anything he was saying, wiping her eyes she walked away from him and into the living area. "No, fuck all of that. I expressed my concerns and you could've done more. I don't have a say-so in whether I walk around with security or not so why does she? She's my sister!"
"That's old enough to make her own damn decisions. I can't tell her what to do and neither can you." He replied
"Can you leave?" Paris asked again, she knew he was right but she couldn't shake the guilt building in her gut. She felt responsible. "I need some space." She said
"I understand you need somebody to blame but I'm not goin no damn where I'll sleep in the bedroom down the hall," Shane replied nonchalantly as he made his way out of his office.
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