callan
After I left Sakura’s present on her bed, I had sped to Escape because Vaughn had sent me a picture of Sakura at the bar with her friend again. After I fucking told her to stay away. I didn’t know why she insisted on putting herself in danger.
But what pissed me off even more … Vaughn was now antagonizing me.
He didn’t believe the barefaced lies I’d fed him, that I didn’t care about her. He fucking knew that I did, that I wanted her more than I’d wanted anyone in my entire life. I didn’t know why the fuck I had thought he’d be so foolish.
Skirting up to the back, I leaped out of my car and walked to the entrance, desperately trying not to seem suspicious. I wanted to keep a low profile here so nobody noticed me, so nobody talked to me.
I needed information for Blaise at some point, but first, I needed to get Sakura to safety.
Once I opened the door, I readjusted my jacket and stepped into the room. And while I expected at least someone to come up to me, everyone seemed to stay away tonight, which made me uneasy.
Since I had left school earlier, Redwood had felt off. Mobsters were becoming antsy, the way they did right before something huge went down. And when I walked into Escape, even The Family seemed off tonight.
“Where the fuck is she?” I whispered, scanning the room.
After looping around the restaurant and bar twice, I grabbed a shot from the bar to seem inconspicuous and leaned against it, crossing my arms and shaking my head.
According to Vaughn’s text, she had been here thirty minutes ago.
I pulled out my phone.
Sakura: Callan?! What the hell is this???
Sakura: What the fuck is wrong with you???
Sakura: Callan, please answer me.
Sakura: I don’t know what to do.
Sakura: Please.
I glanced further down at my notifications.
Missed call from Sakura.
Missed call from Sakura.
Missed call from Sakura.
Notifications for my security camera were posted underneath that. I opened one up to see Sakura squealing out of my driveway in a rush, then scrolled further in the past to see—
Fuck! What the hell is Georgina doing home already?!
When I tapped on Sakura’s contact to call her back, to make sure that nobody had caught her, the bright white screen turned black, and my phone turned off, the empty battery popping up on the screen for a brief moment. I cursed to myself and stormed out of the exit, swinging around the corner and bumping into Vaughn.
“Ah, you’re here,” he hummed. “Finally.”
“Where is she?” I asked through gritted teeth.
He smirked and rocked back on his heels. “What are you talking about?”
“Where is Sakura?”
“I thought you didn’t care about her.”
Tired of his bullshit, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up against the building. “Where the fuck is she, Vaughn? I’m not fucking playing with you anymore. You’re lucky I don’t kill your ass right here.”
But if I pulled out a gun here, every single mobster would point theirs at me.
“Sakura left a while ago,” he said. “You’re a little too late.”
“Where’d she go?”
“Back home.”
I gritted my teeth. How the fuck does he know that? Has he been following her? Maybe he was the cause of all her quick, terrified messages and all those missed calls. She had been addressing me in the text, but all I had done was give her a present. If he had done something—
I tightened my hands around his collar.
Fuck it. I don’t care anymore.
When I released him and he began straightening himself out, I slammed my fist into his face. Once. Then twice. Then, two Family members grabbed both my arms and pulled me off that sick son of a bitch.
“Let me go,” I growled. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Enough,” Yui said, walking out of the building and toward us. “Vaughn, your job here is done for tonight. Bye.”
“But—” Vaughn started.
“Bye,” Yui said, sticking a gun to his head. “Leave. Don’t come back until tomorrow.”
Once Vaughn hauled his ass out of here, the guards released me. Yui nodded toward a back entrance that led to her office and shut the door behind all of us.
“Sit, Callan,” she said, nodding to one of her chairs. “We have much to talk about … like why you lied to me about Jett Harleen.”