Chapter 2

Auden’s POV.

I walked briskly down the hallway towards the elevator and impatiently tapped on the buttons repeatedly when the fucking car felt like it wouldn’t get to the 45th floor which was the highest floor in the company. After a few more minutes, the elevator door swished open and I shuffled in and stood at the very edge of the space as it began its journey down to the first floor. The people I met in the elevator greeted me respectfully but I wasn’t even listening to what they were saying, I was there but wasn’t physically there - my whole mind was on her and I was scared for her - for myself.

I strode into the parking lot and slid into the opened seat of my Mercedes and the car drove out of my company towards the hospital. I had texted the address and the time to my driver immediately I ended the call with Tristan, my younger brother.

The car speed was on the highest but it still wasn’t enough, I wanted to be at the hospital already, fuck the rules about not to over speed, I fucking need the speed more than even now.

“Lucas, can you move this car any faster? I need to be at the hospital already.”

“I’m sorry boss but this is the fastest I can go on these streets and since some officers are always situated around here, we just can’t break the over speeding law if not we’d waste more time once we get caught.” Lucas answered smoothly, his speed never breaking and his eyes never losing focus.

“Damnit!” I cursed under my breath as my head fell back against the head rest of the car seat, this is going to take ages before we get to our destination, fuck!

The car finally pulled to a stop at the parking lot of one of the biggest hospitals of Chicago. I alighted the car briskly without waiting on Lucas to get the door for me like he normally does. An average height man dressed in a gateman uniform pulled open the main door leading into the hospital and I slid in without sparing a glance his way.

 Tristan, my immediate younger brother who was already waiting for me on the fifth floor, got to his feet the moment he sighted me and walked towards me immediately. We met halfway and I had to force myself from giving into the restless urge to punch him in the guts.

“Where is she?” I demanded of him immediately, not wanting to exchange unnecessary words with him.

“She’s undergoing an emergency surgery. Auden, look...” Tristan was about to say something but I cut him off again.

“What exactly happened?”

“Well, I didn’t even know something was happening until I heard a scream from one of the rooms upstairs. I raced up the stairs immediately only to find Nicole unconscious in a pool of blood. I picked her up and raced to my car, and then I called you once the doctors carted her away for an emergency surgery.” He paused then continued, “I couldn’t call 911 because I couldn’t involve the police too.”

“Fuck.” I ran my left fingers through my black curls and cursed again before turning my attention back to a pale faced Tristan. “Who do you think shot her?”

“I honestly don’t know, the person obviously used a silencer since I didn’t hear a gunshot sound. Also there was no trace of anybody in the room when I got there. Not like I waited to check the place like I was supposed to, I was too worried about Nicole to even check around.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I cursed on and on, my mind racing over miles in just a second. Who the fuck came up with this stupid plan to shoot my baby sister just to get back at me? Who the fuck is this cursed person?

So help me lord if when I lay my hand on this particular person that gave out this order, I’m going to torture the person for a week at least - I’m going to draw his death on and on until. He’d be begging me to pull the fucking trigger and end it all.

“Auden?” Tristan called out tentatively. “What?” I barked out harshly.

“Hey, hey. I get that you’re angry, because I am too. But don’t fucking pour your anger on me, man. I could have gotten shot too, you know?” Tristan snapped the words at me, his blank face marred with a little anger. I took in a deep breath and forced myself to calm the fuck down.

It isn’t even his fault that our baby sister got shot in our home and I shouldn’t even be snapping at him. I should at least start planning our next move with him. Fuck!

“I’m sorry, okay?” I mumbled quietly, my hands were fisted by my side. The urge to punch something just kept getting stronger and stronger.

“It’s fine. I’ll have a word with the security team tonight, they have a lot of explaining to do.” 

“You do that. Where’s Nicolas?”

Nicolas was Nicole's twin. They were both sixteen years old and already had a clear idea of what the family business involved. Nicolas already knows how to perfectly shoot a gun which was why he always accompanied Nicole who just started handling a gun some months ago.

“He had a gym class today which was supposed to end this evening, so he’s definitely with the guys practicing... unless...” He trailed off and widened his eyes while the color that was already returning back into his cheeks faded into thin air. It clicked in my head immediately and I whipped my phone out from my pocket and dialed the phone of Nicolas guard.

Of course, Nicolas had no idea Tristan and I arranged for him to have a bodyguard the moment he started getting involved in the family business if not he would have declined the suggestion since he already believed he was old enough to fend for himself in a fight but Tristan and I knew better than him, so his bodyguard of almost a year still disguise as his trainee, on our orders.

“He isn’t answering his phone,” Tristan started when the phone rang for more than three times without any answer. My blood ran cold, colder than it was when I heard the new of my baby sister getting shot in her own bedroom - somewhere that’s supposed to be her save haven, fuck!

I’m going to have a word with her two bodyguards myself, those incompetent fools.

“Try his number?” I suggested and Tristan did that immediately. I turned away from him and pulled on my hair again, frustration eating the whole of my insides.

“It isn’t going through, Auden. Something has happened to Nicolas!” Tristan rushed out, panic finding its way into his voice.

As if I didn’t figure that out already. Who the guck are these people and what do they want that they had to use my siblings as bait?

Lord, I want to hit something so bad and possibly pound the crap out of it until it’s broken into debris before me.

I’ll go to the gym, you stay here and handle things with the doctor. Yeah?” I proposed, hoping to God that nothing bad had happened to Nicholas.

“Auden...” Tristan started quietly, his eyes holding so many words his mouth was unable to say. Tristan wasn’t one to show weakness on a normal basis so instead of waiting on him to say whatever it was that he was about to say, I grasped his shoulder strongly with my right hand and looked straight into his eyes before saying. “He’s going to be alright, yeah? And I’m going to go get him.”

Tristan closed his eyes and shook his head a little as if he was fighting the obvious emotions away from his eyes before nodding his head along with me and muttering a quiet “Yeah.”

I pulled away from him and in the next second, I was back to my emotionless state. I turned away from him without saying a word and exited the building.