Chapter 118

Chapter 118A greater priceA knock on Miss Grace's suite door made her tired eyes snap open and forced her
topush the comforter off her, getting out of bed.
A moment later, when she got to the door and opened it, sheimmediately had this awful gut feeling that
something was wrong, seeing Ryan, Rookie, and Matt standing there with Dice.
What's wrong, Matt?Miss Grace asked, hugging her arms around herself for comfort.“We will be gone
for a while, but Dice here will be your guard until we get back,Matt said, forcing a smile, even though
he, Ryan, and Rookie had been nothing but freakout since they found out that Peach got
kidnapped.Okay...
But where are you guys going at such an hour?“Work stuff...”Confused by his reply, Miss Grace was
speechless for a moment, and the guys turned to leave hurriedly before she came up with another
question, but she suddenly blurted out, making them halt, “Is Elijah alright?Slowly, Ryan turned around
with a smile, masking his sadness behind a grin that looked genuine.He is doing great,"
He replied with a nod, looking down for a moment, thinking about how miserable his boss is right now.
“Don't worry..As he was about to turn around, Miss Grace felt a dull ache in her chest as the thought
crossed her mind, and she let it out, “Is my daughter okay?Yes.
Peach is fine and safe."
Ryan immediately said, knowing that if he hesitated for even a second, her motherly instinct would kick
in.re you sure?“Yes! Elijah just needs us over because of Elmer's case..."
I know him getting Peach the company is a good thing...
but I fear for both their safety...The Hayes are not very forgiving to those who cross them...Elijah knows that.
Don't worry...
Your daughter means a lot to all of us...
And for Elijah, she is extremely important to him...
Her safety is our number one priority.
We won't fail our promise.A weak smile appeared across Miss Grace's face before she quickly nodded,
and yet, her motherly instinct had her heart feeling heavy still and she couldn't help but feel worried
about her little girl.All the suite lights were turned off as Elijah sat in the living room, in the dark,
hispalms covering his face.For a while, he didn't feel the effect of the minutes shifting into hours as he
just sat there, not moving a muscle until a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, making him raise
his head from his hands.It took a few seconds before Elijah got up and slowly walked toward the door,
unlockingit.A look of concern crossed Matt, Ryan, and Rookie's faces as they stared at their boss,
seeing the brokenness in his eyes.I fuck up badly,"
Elijah blurted out, his voice hoarse.Not holding back, Ryan pulled him into a hug, and patted him three
times on the back before releasing him, not caring that his paycheck was coming from Elijah as he
said, No more blaming yourself, okay? You didn't do anything wrong, so let's stay focused."
How did it happen?Rookie added, his eyes filled with worry.Without saying a word, Elijah pushed the
door open wider and led the guys inside before locking the door again and sitting on the sofa, not
wanting to waste any time.
“Peach got kidnapped in the parking lot."
Elijah started, his hand rubbing his forehead and eyes shut tightly, “...And got grabbed by some random dude and dragged into a van that has no plate.”Mask...
the dude that grabbed her...
did he have a mask on?"
Rookie asked, a frown on his lips as he leaned against the wall.“No.
He didn't.“Hotel security cameras...”Understanding what his man was getting at, Elijah realized that
Rookie was onto somethingWith all the emotions he was drowning in, and the things that had
happened, his mind was finally waking up from the devastation and being able to think straight.
Immediately, Elijah awakened from the sofa, gave his men a stare, and said, “Let's take a stroll.”The
sound of a loud snore echoed from the guard's mouth throughout the room as his head lolled to the left,
completely passed out in the security room, leaving the monitors unattended and his gun lying on the
desk beside him.After a while, his snore sound got mixed up with the echo of a knock and the guard
immediately jumped awake, realizing he was sleeping at his post.He quickly straightened his uniform
and put the gun away in the holster before opening the door.His jaw dropped when he saw another
guard with Elijah, Matt, Ryan, and Rookie, andsince Elijah and Peach had been staying at the suite for
a couple of weeks now, he knew him well and immediately greeted him, Hello, Mr.
Darius...
novelbinHow can I help you?«Did you watch anything suspicious happen in the parking lot around six this
evening, Bob?Elijah asked as he looked at him, his eyebrows knitted together.Uhm...
No sir...
the thing is...
I had to go use the bathroom at that time and wasn't watching the monitor ...so I didn't see anything.Bob responded, scratching the back of his head.Good...
Can you let my buddy here take a look at the video clip from the time frame?Umm...You get a solid 2k,
and I can also make my mind forget that you were sleeping on thejob...That was a win-win deal and
Bob didn't hesitate to eye Klein, and when he didn't show any sign of disapproval or anger towards him,
Bob knew Elijah had his partner too.
Sure."
Bob agreed after taking a deep breath.
Thanks.
You two can step out now."
Elijah said with a slight smile.A moment later, after the men had left the room, Rookie got behind the
computers, feeling excited as he worked his way through the footage for a couple of minutes, stopping
at a particular video of Elijah's car driving into the parking lot.Then he sat back, watching the entire
event of this evening replayed before his eyes, and Ryan along with Matt just stood there, not blinking
as their face screwed into a frown at Melina acting.Suddenly Elijah's brows snapped together as he let
out, “Stop!...
There.Slowly, he walked over to the monitor, pointing at the face of the guy getting out of the van from
a few distances behind Peach, with blonde hair and multiple pieces on his ears.There's the bastard,"
Elijah said, trying to calm himself down from the anger that boiled within him.
Taking out his phone, Elijah snapped his image from the screen, and then Rookie took out a hard drive
from his pocket and downloaded the video onto it before deleting it from the hotel security system.We
got a face...What do we do with it now?Ryan asked, looking over at Elijah.This is not a place for such
discussion,Elijah said, putting his phone back into his pocket.Even though that question was still
playing on Ryan's mind, he knew his boss was right, so he waited patiently until they were back inside
the suite with the hard drive.However, before he could allow the question to roll off his tongue again,
Elijah had taken off his phone, focusing on the screen, and after a moment, he put it to his ear.It was
quiet for a while, and then Elijah's voice echoed, breaking the silence, “Did you see the picture that I
sent you?Yes, boss.Dice mumbled, looking at Miss Grace as he studied her standing on the third-floor
balcony as she watched the sky, knowing that he couldn't tell her that it was not safe out here for her
because that meant risking breaking the news that Peach got kidnapped.“Do you recognize his
face?“No boss, but I will pass the word on with the phot...When Miss Grace heard Dice say the word,
Bossfor the second time, she knew exactly who it was, and then turned immediately to face him,
saying, “Is that Elijah...? Peach is not answering her phone, can I...Immediately, Dice ended the call,
and Elijah stood still as his hand dropped to his side, trying to snap out of the despair that was taking
over him.Then his ringtone suddenly startled him out of his feelings, and when he saw on his screen
Scorpio's name as the caller ID, he immediately answered.Hey, boss...
The old lady is becoming restless.
She called me today, offering me one million dollars for your death...Scorpio's voice came through the
phone.“I know...
My wife just got kidnapped a couple of hours ago...Elijah admitted, his voice cracking a bit.The line
went quiet for a minute, then Scorpio spoke again, My men and I are available.
What do you need?”“I have a picture of one of the kidnappers.”“Send it to me.Not wasting any time,
Elijah messaged him the copy of the photo, which he had sent Dice, and then he waited, even though
every passing second felt like an hour to him, and the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with
a knife.“That old witch!"Scorpio suddenly spat, “I knew that something was off the moment she showed up at my place to hire
me, lying that her driver recommended me to her."
What is it?Elijah inquired, trying not to be distracted.
“She is dining with that crooked ass, Jacob! He's the reason I went to jail! That's one of his men,
Scotty! He's a dirtbag and a man whose morals are rotten and buried in a ten feet grave...
Leaving him as nothing but a despicable nutjob."
.
“Jacob...
Jacob Williams?When silence settled in after his remark, Elijah felt his heart drop, dread slowly starting
to set in his chest, not knowing what to expect next.No...
Jacob Hartford...
A man filled with a lot of shit and sins...
He's a piece of dishonest trash."
Scorpio continued, sounding disgusted and angry.
Whatever he wants for your wife's return...
she is going to get hurt and you are going to pay a price greater than that.
Whatever game he wants you to play, scatter the board, and start over...
that's the only chance of you winning.