Arielle Immortal Struggle (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 7) Read online

  The realization that they may have to take more than one hostage created a major dilemma.

  After leaving Arielle’s residence the night before, Vitorio decided to call Jorrit. He took his mobile out of his pocket and pressed his number on the keypad. Jorrit picked up on the first ring.

  “Jorrit,” he said briskly.

  “Jorrit, it’s Vitorio,” he said hesitantly.

  “Yeah, how are things in Brighton?” Jorrit asked blandly.

  “Well, things are moving along, but I think we’re going to need some help.”

  “Why is that?” Jorrit asked.

  “It seems that the girl’s routine has changed in the past two days and she’s never alone,” Vitorio stated firmly.

  “So what’s the problem?” Jorrit asked impassively. Vitorio rolled his eyes in exasperation. He knew that Jorrit was being the typical arrogant ass that he always was and cursed inwardly.

  “The problem is,” he mocked him, “that we may have to take more than one hostage.”

  “I still don’t understand the issue,” Jorrit continued, haughty once again.

  Vitorio frowned at Jorrit’s arrogance, but he pretended to be unruffled.

  “Jorrit, we’re going to need assistance. If we have to deal with more than one or two hostages, we would need extra help, wouldn’t you think?” he asked flatly, trying to rein in his anger.

  Silence stretched as Vitorio decided to say nothing more. Jorrit was the epitome of arrogance, but he was the boss and a son of a bitch at that. Mauritsio leaned slightly forward, staring at Vitorio intently, wanting to know what in the hell was going on. Vitorio put his index finger on his lips, motioning him to remain silent, while waiting for Jorrit to speak.

  “All right, Vitorio,” Jorrit finally barked into the phone. “Let me call Vasily in Belarus and ask him if he can send his boys now. They were coming down next week, so maybe they wouldn’t mind leaving a couple of days earlier. I’ll let you know when I have the details,” he said and ended the conversation. Vitorio shut the phone and put it back in his pant pocket, letting out a loud oath.

  “What did he say?” Mauritsio asked curiously.

  “That son of a bitch couldn’t care less as to what happens to us and how we complete this job. His arrogance make me want to hurt him, but I know better,” Vitorio said. “He would have me killed,” he furthered, and lowering the power window, he spit out in pure rage.

  “He didn’t want to send help?” Mauritsio asked, clearly shocked.

  “I’m not sure that sending help was the issue. I think being bothered was the issue. Sometimes I just hate him,” Vitorio said menacingly.

  “So is he going to ask for help?” Mauritsio asked again.

  “He’s going to talk to Vasily in Belarus and let us know,” he replied, ending the discussion.

  “Well, if we are given the chance to find her alone tomorrow, we have Jorrit’s approval to take her. Who knows, tomorrow might be our lucky day,” Mauritsio said and snorted.

  Sebastian and Troy rode the elevator to the first floor in complete silence. Crossing the huge lobby, Troy noticed Sebastian’s inexplicable mood and struggled to find an easy way to say the right thing, but he chose against it and remained silent. Stepping outside the revolving glass doors, he heard Sebastian taking a sharp breath and turned toward him. He wanted to help in any way he could, so he decided to break the silence.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked with great concern.

  “I’m worried about Arielle, Troy. I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t know if I can keep it from her. I don’t want her to worry. I am going to talk with her tonight.” His jaw clenched and he shoved his hands into his jean pockets.

  “We need to go back right away.” Increasing his walking pace, he didn’t make another comment. Suddenly, his phone buzzed, and pulling it out of his jean pocket, he glanced at the screen. He flipped it open swiftly and answered. “Eva, what up?”

  “Sebastian!” she screamed through the phone line. Sebastian came to an abrupt halt, and his muscled tensed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Arielle.”

  “Is she hurt?” Sebastian flushed a glance at Troy, who was standing next to him listening to the phone conversation.

  “No, she isn’t hurt; she’s missing.”

  “Missing?” he shouted, feeling the blood draining from his face.

  “Yes, she’s missing!”

  Sebastian was horrified. “But how? When?” His voice was breaking.

  “Sebastian, you need to come here right now!” she stressed.

  “Where are you?”

  “We are in front of the Physics building.” Eva’s voice was laced with panic.

  Using their immortal ability, they left the car at Dylan’s office and joined their friends before Eva had a chance to end the conversation. Paul, Gabrielle, and Allworth blinked in shock when they saw Troy and Sebastian appear before them instantaneously.

  “What happened?” Sebastian shouted, glancing among his friends.

  “Sebastian, we all watched Arielle walk into the auditorium before we went to our classes,” Gabrielle shrieked hysterically, falling into Troy’s arms and sobbing hard. Sebastian seemed lost. His eyes roamed from face to face, asking for some guidance.

  “She’s just gone,” Paul whispered. The pain in his voice startled Sebastian. Turning his gaze to him, he saw Paul standing unmoved, staring at him with a blank expression, his breathe heaving. Sebastian knew that Paul truly loved Arielle. He reached over and patted him on the back warmly.

  “We’ll find her, Paul. We’ll find her…” his voice trailed. He was powerlessly frustrated.

  They all stood frozen in place, watching each other while stillness and anxiety stretched out among them.

  “How could she be missing?” Sebastian murmured, utterly puzzled.

  “She came to class for a very short moment. She seemed to be searching for something in her pockets, in her purse, and couldn’t find it. She then suddenly turned around and ran out of the auditorium. I did wonder what happened to her,” Allworth stated with a voice filled with apprehension as he ran his hand through his hair. Sebastian turned toward the voice and saw the professor standing there eyes wide open and a facial expression conveying immeasurable awareness. He wanted to help.

  “Where did you all search for her?”

  “I went to the parking lot to ensure that she hadn’t decided to leave for some strange reason. I thought maybe she received a call from her parents or something like that,” Ian said and swallowed hard. “Your car is still in the parking lot, unlocked. I found her books, her mobile phone, and the car keys shoved underneath the car, concealed from anyone’s view,” he continued.

  “We went all over campus, but she was nowhere to be found,” Loren added.

  “I also found this,” Ian said, and reaching out, he handed Sebastian Arielle’s amulet. Sebastian’s eyes shot up in shock and the blood drained from his face. Taking the amulet from Ian, a surge of despair enveloped him. He felt the ground moving underneath his feet, as if the density and the friction of his emotions set all the earth’s tectonic plates into a shifting motion. His eyes lit with fire and a loud oath escaped his lips. He pressed the hills of his palms against his temples and forced his eyes shot.

  “Those bastards, they took her,” Sebastian spat out. “I’ll tear their hearts out.” He enunciated each work, voice lined with pure venom.

  “Whom are we talking about?” Eva asked.

  “It’s a long story, Eva, but in short, it has to do with a group in Brussels that works for the Russian Mafia. They were planning to use Arielle as hostage to force me to surrender some critical products and designs to them,” Sebastian said rigidly. “They were sending a warning note to my office, but Dylan--the head of Interpol--intercepted the delivery and had it taken to his office. That is the reason he contacted me. I didn’t realize that these bastards would be acting on their threat this soon.”

 
“Will you contact Interpol about Arielle missing?” Allworth asked.

  “No, they tried to help last year, and you can see where we are today. They made a mess of the situation by letting the goons get away. This time, we’re going to handle the situation the immortal way.”

  “Who’s the top guy? Do you know?” Christian asked, holding Isabella tightly against his side.

  “I’m sure the top guy is the Prime Minister himself.”

  “You must be joking,” Eva scoffed.

  “No, Eva, I’m not joking. That’s why Troy, Nathan, and I were in Brussels for the past two days. Interpol had set surveillance across the street from their building, and we watched the goons at work. We saw their activities and we identified several of their members. We followed a couple of the killers, hoping to receive more detail information, but as it worked out, we were the last people they saw before they met their maker.” He paused for a long moment, and his eyes narrowed. “One thing is for sure. They have a lot of people involved in this attempt to extort the secret designs from my company. They are willing to hurt, and I mean really hurt, those that I love by forcing me to submit to their threats and relinquish all that they demand without any reluctance or objections.”

  Eva gasped. “So what now?” she asked.

  “We’re going to destroy each and every one of them, and send the Prime Minister a strong message that he needs to stay clear of IIRL.” Sebastian took a deep breath, and continued. “They gave me five hours to gather the documents, but the five hours have passed. I never saw the envelope since Dylan intercepted the delivery to my office.” His jaw clenched, and he pressed his mouth into a thin line. “I’m also sure that as long as they think they can make me surrender the documents, Arielle will not be harmed. They are planning on using her as the pawn in their sick game.” Sebastian took a deep breath and pulverized his teeth in sheer anger.

  “Sebastian, I don’t want to speculate as to what your next step would be, but we need to check out all our options,” Troy said firmly.

  “Troy, the brutal reality is that we have no idea which way they went or where they are holding her captive. We need some type of mediation,” he said thoughtfully, pinching the tip of his nose. Immediately, all heads swiveled toward Eva.

  “What?” she asked, blowing her hair out of her face.

  “Eva,” Gabrielle whispered. Her eyes narrowed as she regarded her. “You’re the only one with the ability to connect with Arielle’s thoughts. I have witnessed the connection between the two of you. It is at a very deep level and quite amazing, if I must say. Eva, this is as serious as anything can get.” Her voice was coated with profound concern. “Please try and bridge your minds,” Gabrielle furthered. Eva’s eyes shot up, filled with anxiety.

  “Can you do that, Miss Winters?” Professor Allworth asked, eyes wide open.

  Eva nodded, but didn’t say anything. She needed a little time for the earth to stop tilting about her. Her gaze moved to Sebastian’s face and her muscles tensed. If she could only feel half of the pain he was feeling, she would be able to explain the dismal expression that painted his beautiful face. The more she thought about what Sebastian said, the angrier she got. She finally turned to face Professor Allworth. “Yes, Arielle and I use streams of energy to telepathically convey our thoughts. We have successfully bridged our thoughts in the past and I’m sure going to try this again,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “How can that possibly work?” Allworth was dumbfounded.

  “Arielle has to be conscious. She must be aware that she dropped her amulet and our way of communicating is the only hope she has to let us know where she is.”

  “That is absolutely amazing,” Allworth said, utterly surprised.

  Christian, Isabella, Loren, and Paul exchanged shocked glances, but remained pokerfaced and didn’t say a word.

  “How long has she been gone?” Sebastian asked again. Pain coated his voice.

  “About an hour,” said Gabrielle.

  “If she was gagged and drugged, she will be most likely unconscious for the next hour or so,” Sebastian said and gritted his teeth. He knew that he had to grab control of the situation. He must regain his unbreakable immortal composure and bring Arielle home safely. At this point, nothing was more important, nothing more urgent than having the love of his life back in his arms.

  “Eva, can you please try?” Sebastian pleaded, watching her closely.

  “Yes,” Eva replied. She paused fractionally. “I’m already working on it. I’ll keep at it until I connect with her thoughts.”

  “I think y…” Sebastian’s phone rang, and he didn’t finish his sentence. Flipping it open, he answered quickly without looking at the screen.

  “Gaulle.”

  “Sebastian!” Dylan’s voice boomed from the other end. “I have both bad news and some great news!”

  “What is it, Dylan? I don’t think I need any more bad news right now.”

  “You sound terrible,” he said.

  “What’s up?” Sebastian said, ignoring his statement.

  “My agents in Brussels just called. They intercepted a conversation between Jorrit and the two goons that he sent to Brighton. Unfortunately, they already have Arielle.” His voice was anxious, but quite cheery.

  What is he so happy about? Sebastian thought to himself. “Yes, we know,” Sebastian replied flatly. “Arielle has been missing for over an hour now,” he continued glumly.

  “Listen to me. I know that you’re upset, but I have some great news!” he exclaimed.

  “I don’t understand,” Sebastian muttered.

  “Jorrit told his goons here that two assassins are flying in from Belarus to take over the situation. He asked Vitorio to pick them up at the airport,” he paused and took a deep breath.

  Sebastian’s mind was working double time trying to figure out the best way to bring Arielle home. “How is that great news?” he asked absentmindedly.

  “Sebastian! He gave Vitorio a detailed description of the two men, their flight number, and the airline. They are due to land in two and half hours at Gatwick.”

  Sebastian’s eyes shot up. “Hey, Dylan, that’s fantastic!” Sebastian couldn’t hide his joy. “Can I have those details?”

  “Sure, do you have a pen and paper?”

  “I don’t need to write it down. I’m ready; go ahead.”

  “They are flying in on Belarusian Airlines flight 234. The assassins are both tall and stocky with blond hair and blue eyes. They will be dressed in jeans and white shirts. Each one will be holding a brown briefcase and carrying a brown duffle bag. I know that Vitorio is tall, black hair, and green eyes, so you can keep that in mind. All those details should make them pretty easy to identify.”

  “Dylan, you have no idea how grateful I am.”

  “Sebastian, I know how eager you are to bring Arielle home. I can’t keep you from going to the airport, but please be careful, and let my men do their job. They know how to tail cars inconspicuously and they will follow them to where they are holding Arielle. I promise you that Arielle will be home today.”

  Sebastian couldn’t contain his cheerfulness. “Thank you, Dylan. I’ll be careful. I will stay out of your men’s way.” His beautiful face lit up with exhilaration. When he was off the phone, he took a deep breath and laughed joyfully.

  Everyone around him, but for Paul and Gabrielle seemed jubilant. They had all heard the conversation between Dylan and Sebastian using their immortal ability.

  “What is going on?” Gabrielle asked, glancing around, completely lost. “Why are you all so happy? Did they find Arielle?”

  “No, Gabby,” said Eva, “but Arielle is going to be home shortly.”

  “What?” She stared at Eva, with eyes wide open.

  Eva rehashed the details of the phone call.

  Sebastian turned his attention to Troy, Ian, and Christian. He was determined to bring all the horrid events to an end. “I would appreciate if you go with me to the airport. Everyone
else, please go home, and we will keep you informed.”

  “But, Sebastian, I want to help,” Loren whined.

  Sebastian’s lips quirked up at his sister’s eagerness. “No, Loren, you need to go home with Paul. If I need you or Eva or Isabella, I will contact you. Keep your mobiles close.”

  Gabrielle glanced at Sebastian mulishly. “I want to help,” she said vehemently.

  “Gabrielle, please go home, baby,” Troy said, taking Gabrielle in his arms and kissing her softly.

  She made a face and held back the urge to roll her eyes, but didn’t argue. “Can I have the keys please?” she asked.

  “Oh, bloody hell!” Troy cried out and made a ghastly face. “We left the car at Dylan’s office.”

  “Take my car,” Sebastian said. He pulled the keys that Ian gave him out of his jean pocket and handed them to her. “We can’t use my car anyway. It is too small.”

  “We can use mine,” Ian jumped in.

  “Isabella, can you please take Eva home?” Ian asked, and bending down, he pressed a soft kiss on Eva’s forehead.

  Finally, Sebastian turned fractionally and gazed at Professor Allworth. “Professor, thank you for waiting here and for your concern. I’ll ring you when Arielle is home safe,” Sebastian said and, reaching out, he shook his hand appreciatively.

  “I’ll be anxious to hear from you,” he said softly. “I’m very fond of Arielle. She is quite a remarkable girl.”

  “Thank you, Professor,” Sebastian beamed at him. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  Once everyone dispersed, the guys piled into Ian’s BMW and headed for Sebastian’s home.

  “What are we going to do about Dylan’s men?” Ian asked.

  “I wouldn’t worry about them. We’ll outsmart them as we did last year. When we arrive at the place they are holding Arielle, we’ll enter using our immortal speed, and we’ll become invisible to the human eye. We’ll be in and out of there in no time at all.” A strong bothersome feeling in the pit of his stomach made him swallow hard, and he scowled.

  “What is it?” Ian asked, watching the expressions that lapped across Sebastian’s face in rapid pace.