“And I want you to, but I’m thinking about Aurora, okay?”
He sighed. “And I’m thinking about Felix and whatever hand he had in this. At least let me get Chef to make you some sandwiches. Take a shower. Make it fast. They’ll be ready in two minutes.”
I watched him for a moment, possibly seeing him for the first time. “Why are you so great?”
“I have been telling you this for weeks.”
I snorted. “Oh my God. You’re so impossible, you know that?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. But go on. Shower. I’ll get you some food, and I’ll order the helicopter, but I might be in the car with you.”
“No, Owen, I got this, okay? If she’s sprawled naked on a bed somewhere, she won’t thank me for bringing some random Hellfire boy to play hero. Let me and Sera help our friend alone.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “You can search for your friend on your own, but I’m coming with you to the city to talk to Felix, at least. Am I understood?”
I laughed. “Okay, yes, Dad.”
He reached out and swatted me on the ass. “I’m certainly not your father.”
“No, you’re not.” I kissed him. And then I kissed him again. I couldn’t help myself and gave him one last kiss before scooting on to the bathroom, but he still managed to get another swat in. I wanted to sit in this feeling. This outright giddiness. But I’d do that later. Right now, my friend needed me.
Chapter 15
Tanith
It was easier said than done to actually find Aurora.
Once I had taken the Montgomery family helicopter into the city, with Owen by my side, the car from the heliport dropped me off at Sera’s house. I didn’t even make it up the front stairs before Sera was barreling down. “Oh, good, you’re back.” She gave Owen a nod and sort of glanced between the two of us but didn’t say anything more about it. “My car’s already waiting. Let’s go.”
Owen took my hand. “All right, call me if you need anything.”
I nodded. “I’ll see you later.”
He didn’t kiss me, just gave my hand two quick squeezes. It felt odd. Awkward. All I wanted him to do was wrap his arms around me and hold me close, but this had been my idea. To keep things low profile. Besides, this wasn’t about me right now. This was about Aurora.
Once I was in the car with Sera, I turned to her. “What’s the plan?”
“Well, the plan is there’s a list of bars in Soho. I managed to talk to Felix, but—douchenozzle that he is—he can’t remember who they were all with and which bars they went to.”
I growled. “How many are there?”
“You don’t want to know.” She handed me her phone and there was quite the extensive list.
“I checked off the ones that are too swanky, so that leaves these ones. The Montgomery driver remembers dropping him somewhere in this area.” She slid her finger over her phone, pointing to a map, tapping her finger on different blocks as she spoke. “So we’ll start there and fan out. I sent all this to her security team, too, so they’re starting here. Eventually, we’ll meet in the middle.”
“Has anyone told her mom?”
The look she gave me said oh, you poor dear.
I knew with these trust fund kids, calling their parents was a last-minute resort. But she was missing and had been for over twelve hours.
“This seems serious. Something could have happened to her. She’s a princess for crying out loud.”
“Yes, but nobody wants the wrath of her grandmother,” Sera explained. Aurora’s grandmother was the Princess of Liechtenstein and famously ferocious. “The security team won’t involve the police until they’re certain they can’t find her on her own terms, and even if they do involve them, it might involve having to bribe people off to keep it out of the news. If we can figure out what the hell happened to her, who she was with other than Felix, we’ll be in a better position. This is not the first time one of us has had a crisis. I know how to handle it.”
I stared at Sera. “Wow. One day, I am going to be scared of you.”
“That day should be today.”
“Come on.”
Three hours later, we had been to no fewer than ten bars, at least seven of them not open yet, which meant pounding down the door until a disgruntled opening employee let us in. Only one of the bartenders had remembered seeing Aurora. But we did learn she’d been with Felix and Chad.
Chad had been with them. And they’d all left. Together. But Felix was back at Owen’s.
Which meant she might still be with Chad. Alone.
Fuck.
We were at a dead end with no chips left to play. “Maybe we call Owen and make him press Felix for more answers? If Felix can remember?”
Serafina chewed on her fingernail. “Shit. Shit, shit.”
I understood the response and reaction. Owen was the good boy. There was no way Felix was opening up to him. He’d clam up on principle . . . if he could even remember the night through his hangover.
“We have to try everything,” I added.
“I know. Let me think.”
Finally, when we went back to the limo. She frowned down at her phone and then pulled up a contact, crossing herself as she dialed, a resigned look on her face.
I wondered who the hell she was calling that she needed the protection of God first, but then the deep baritone that answered was more than a little familiar.
Holy hell, she’d called the devil himself.
“Listen, I don’t have time for your bullshit,” Sera said quickly. “But I’m out of ideas. I need someone who knows the seedy underbelly of Soho. If you were Chad, where the fuck would you have taken Aurora?”
There was a beat of silence. “Ah, my love, Serafina van Doren. Gracing the phone with that voice of yours, just this side of shrill. It’s a treat, I have to tell you.”
“Fuck you.”
“I
