That gives me hope that Rose is alive and untouched. It gives me hope that Maxwell and Corbin won’t hurt my children either. Corbin may be the oldest and in charge, but Phoenix is the one they follow. She’s the one who matters.
I walk down the rest of the stairs and over to where she is still in Langston’s arms.
“Where is Rose?” I ask gently.
“My family owns three clubs; each of them is hiding one of your kids. The only way to get in is to play a game. Win the game to get into X, and you’ll get Rose back. Pay with your sins and your treasure. Pay with everything you have.”
“And if we lose?”
“Then I keep her forever.”
7
Langston
Our kids are being held at three different clubs.
Jesus.
I remember the last “club”—the fucked up yacht masquerade weekend. I don’t want to go through that again to get our kids back, let alone three more times. But I’ll do anything to get them back, including playing some twisted game meant to torture us.
I feel for Phoenix, maybe because she pretended to be my wife. Maybe because I watched her with Rose and Atlas, and she was a good mother to them. You can’t fake that. She cared about them, even if she only did it to hurt Liesel and me.
Maybe it was the story she told, the pain she felt, that has me feeling weak. But whatever the reason, I carry Phoenix upstairs to one of the bedrooms. She fell asleep in my arms, exhausted from telling me her story and from the injuries Enzo inflicted before we got here.
I lay her down on a white comforter with pink flowers on it. I grab a throw blanket draped over a chair in the corner and cover her before I close the door quietly behind me and head back downstairs.
All eyes are on me when I enter the small kitchen.
“Bring Phoenix some food and keep her comfortable,” I say.
Enzo’s eyebrows shoot up. “Why?”
“She’s not a monster. She’s just in pain,” Liesel answers, giving me the smallest of smiles, letting me know she approves of my actions.
“Did you find out where Rose is?” Kai asks.
“The Brown family owns three clubs. The one on the yacht that we all went to and two others. The children are split between the clubs. We have to win the game at each club in order to get the kid being held there back.”
“Well, they owe us one kid already then, since you won before,” Enzo says with a growl.
“I need to call Siren,” I say.
“I’ll call Beckett,” Liesel says.
I nod.
Neither of us thinks that any of them would hurt the children, not after Phoenix’s story. It doesn’t mean we are willing to stop searching and trying to get the kids back as quickly as possible.
I dial Siren’s number.
“Hello,” Siren answers out of breath.
“Phoenix told me where the kids are and how to get them back.”
“Thank god,” Siren exhales sharply. We’ve always been close; she’s as torn up as I am about the kids being taken.
“The Browns own three clubs. One is here in Germany. The second is the yacht we were all on.”
“Maxwell boarded the yacht this afternoon. We’ve been chasing him this whole time.”
“Then, the third must be where Corbin is holding Declan. We are going to the club here to get Rose back tonight, and then we can come to the yacht.”
“Why these games?”
“Liesel’s father caused the deaths of Phoenix’s fiancé and unborn babies. This is payback to make us suffer as much as possible. I don’t think they will hurt them, though, thank god. But we need to get them back as quickly as possible, obviously.”
There’s a pause.
“We’ll win the yacht game while you get into the club there,” she says.
“Siren, you played the game last time. You know what it involves. There is no chance you’ll win.”
“I owe you. And those kids—” her voice cracks, and I can hear the pain in it.
“Siren?”
“Zeke and I will get Atlas back while you and Liesel get Rose. Has Beckett found Declan yet?”
“No, but Liesel is talking to Beckett now and letting him know to search for a club. That should help them narrow down their search.”
“Good.”
“Siren, are you sure? Liesel and I can come after we finish here.”
“I’m sure. My heart isn’t whole until yours is. I don’t care who I have to fuck or my husband fucks or kills—we are going to get Atlas back tonight.”
“Thank you,” I exhale, able to breathe a little easier now that there’s hope that two of our kids are going to be safe tonight.
I end the call at the same time Liesel does. Her face is so drained, her eyes heavy, her body frail. She needs sleep, rest, food, but all of that will have to wait until we get the kids back.
“Siren and Zeke are going to enter the yacht club by winning the sex game. They are going to get Atlas back tonight while we get Rose.”
Liesel nods her head, tears watering her eyes with a tiny glint of relief.
I pull her into my chest, wishing I could do more to comfort her.
“Beckett said he would find the club. He said if he finds it, he’ll enter it too. He’ll do whatever it takes to get Declan back.”
With Liesel in my arms, it’s almost like I can breathe again. Almost.
“We are going to get them back,” I say. I’m not sure why I ever doubted my friends. They are all going beyond what I would ever ask them to do to save my children. I automatically forgive them for anything they’ve done.
“We are going to get them back so they can be with their father,” Liesel mumbles into my chest.
I grab her cheeks and force her to look up at me. “We are going to get them back so they can be with their father and mother.”
A tear rolls down Liesel’s cheek. There is so much pain in that single tear, so much heartbreak.
Heartbreak I won’t let her go through alone.
Liesel doesn’t think she’s deserving of being a mother. She doesn’t think she belongs in our kids’ lives. She’s wrong, and this time I’m not giving her a choice. When we get our children back, she’s going to meet them. Then she’ll realize just how much they need her in their lives.
8
Liesel
Beckett found the third club, so we’re all going to try to rescue them at the same time. We have some really good friends willing to go this far to get our kids back.
I paint my lips with red lipstick as I finish getting ready in the bathroom. My dress is silver and sparkly as it clings to my curves and down to the floor, revealing plenty of cleavage as well. We don’t know exactly what we are facing, but we have an idea after the yacht game we played.
It will be difficult and test our limits. Luckily we have none when it comes to getting the kids back.
I don’t know if Beckett, Siren, or Zeke will succeed, but I’m beyond grateful that they are willing to try.
There’s a light knock on the bathroom door. My stomach rumbles as I stand and open the door.