Page 11 of Avenging Azalea

“Fine, but we’ll talk about it again…soon.”

I waited until he stepped into the elevator before answering the phone.

“Naji?”

“Boss, we have an issue.” A million and one possible problems flashed through my mind. Was the house burning down? Were they attacked? Was one of the dogs ill? I hadn’t expected what he said next. “Fawn is missing.”

Fear and worry trickled down my spine. “What do you mean missing?”

“It looks like she ran away. A guard was passing by Fawn’s room and heard Daisy and Bella whining. He opened the door to make sure everything was okay, and they bounded out and down the stairs. She wasn’t in the room, and we can’t find her in the house.”

Why would she run? Was she that unhappy living with me, and I hadn’t noticed?

“Hang on,” I said, pulling up the tracking app on my phone. Fawn was at the bus terminal. “I know where she is. I’ll go get her.”

“You don’t want us to come with you?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll take care of this.”

“I’m sorry, boss. We never heard or saw anything. It won’t happen again.”

Shadow and Sheba followed me out of the office, and I quickly locked the door.

“I’ll keep you updated.”

Hanging up, I headed for the elevator, my girls following like perfect stalkers as I dialed Nathaniel’s number.

“Hey,” he answered on the first ring.

“Are you busy?”

“Always, but I can make time for you. What’s wrong,” Nathaniel asked, picking up on my tension. We’d always been close.

“I’m scheduled for three pickups tonight, but something important came up. Can you take care of it?”

“Is everything okay?”

“I think so, but I need to handle this on my own,” I said, not adding anymore.

I trusted Nathaniel, but I didn’t want him or any of my family involved with Fawn. The further she stayed away from my life, the better it was for her. She had a chance at a future that didn’t involve crime, murder, and always looking over her shoulder. That was what I wished for her and what I thought she understood.

“Okay, consider it done.”

“Thank you,” I said and hung up.

Did Fawn still think that I would toss her in a trafficking ring? Fucking Cesare had filled her head with lies. Her leaving was something I didn’t want to consider. Even though she wasn’t my prisoner, I didn’t think I could let her go.

So, did that make her my prisoner?

If anyone had told me three weeks ago that I would be upset over a teen runaway, I would’ve said they were full of shit. But now…Fawn was a part of my home.

Those feelings were better left unanalyzed because I wouldn’t like the answer or what it implied about me.

Chapter

Four

FAWN