Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6) (21 page)

“Sebastian, what’s going on in there?” Nathan asked pointing toward his head. Sebastian eyes held his for a moment. Pushing back his chair, he rose from the desk and walked around it to stand in front of his two friends.

“I’m thinking that after we meet with Dylan and find out the
details, we should move in and see what that group is doing. I’m sure Dylan has a few guys monitoring their activities remotely, but I think we
could do more damage if we handle this issue on our own,”
Sebastian said, his face set in determination.

“How so?” Nathan pressed on.

Sebastian blinked. He clasped his hands behind his back and started pacing in front of his desk. Shaking his head, he stopped pacing and started to say something, but he was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. All three men turned together, their gazes fixed at the door.

“Come in,” said Sebastian. Madeline, his secretary, walked in with a soft smile on her face. She handed Sebastian a brown envelope.

“What’s this?” Sebastian asked, glancing down at her.

“I don’t know, sir,” she said, her voice a bit shaken. It didn’t escape Sebastian, but he remained silent waiting for her to speak. “A gentleman delivered it, and he told me to make sure that I give it to you in person.”

Sebastian reached out and took the envelope. His fingers
brushed
hers, and her heart skipped a beat while her breathing suspended.
All
three immortals noticed the disarray of her emotions. They knew
how she felt about Sebastian.

“Thank you,” Sebastian said softly. “You may go.”

She blinked, smiled, and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Even from the other side of the door, Sebastian could read her mind. He knew that she stood there for a short moment, leaning against the massive door trying to slow down her heartbeat.
She had
been working for Sebastian for more than a year, and she just couldn’t help the way she felt. She had lusted for him from the
moment she had set eyes on him. Getting to the office every day in
the hope of seeing Sebastian and spending time with him had
become her whole world.

Sebastian listened in as she recalled the first time she had met
Nathan and Troy. Her jaw had dropped, and she had been unable to find her voice for a long moment. She remembered Troy and Nathan
looking at each other and trying to suppress laughter. She had
recovered quickly, but she was sure that they were not your normal, everyday
men. They were beyond beautiful; they were fascinating and the
epitome of gentlemen. She was anxious every time one of them spoke to her, especially Sebastian. There was something extraordinary about the
three of them, but it was nothing she could put her finger on.
However, she was sure that she was the luckiest girl on earth to get to deal with them on a daily basis.

Sebastian was aware of Madeline’s feelings, but he had never given her any reason to think that he might be in the least interested in her—not in that way.

The guys stared at the closed door for a few moments and then finally turned around chuckling.

“She’s the best secretary I have ever had,” Sebastian said. “I
would
hate to lose her. She understands the business and is highly
educated. It would be pretty hard to replace her.”

Troy and Nathan nodded in agreement. They seemed to have the same issues with their own secretaries.

Sebastian walked behind his enormous desk and stood in front of his chair. He stared at the envelope for a few moments. He flipped it around in his hands a couple of times looking for a return address, but the envelope was simply addressed to Sebastian Gaulle. No return address. His eyes narrowed. He felt hesitant about opening it but eventually pulled it open. He reached inside and pulled out a handful of 8x10 photos.

Sebastian stiffened, and his jaw dropped. Shock wiped the
expression from his face. He stood unmoving for a very long time, too troubled to speak. He simply stared. Nathan and Troy moved away from the window and strolled across the room to stand in front of Sebastian’s desk. Nathan frowned with clear concern. Troy looked like he was thinking hard.

He drew a deep breath and asked alertly, “Are you all right, Sebastian?”

Sebastian’s hands were shaking slightly. He was clenching the photos tightly, and his eyes were fixed on the top photo. He barely heard Troy’s question and didn't give any indication that he was listening. Suddenly, he grimaced painfully, and his body fell limp
into his chair. His limbs went numb. The photos released from his hand and trickled downward. Some spread across the top of his
desk; others scattered across the floor. Both Nathan and Troy ran to his side.

“Sebastian, what in bloody hell is going on?” Nathan asked.
Sebastian raised his gaze and looked at them with an inaccessible expression. Nathan and Troy exchanged troubled glances.

Sebastian pointed to the photos. Nathan and Troy picked them up slowly and stared at them in astonishment. They were all photos
of Arielle. They looked as if they were taken at different times and
different places. Some pictured her walking between classes,
clenching her books in her hands. Others were taken in the school parking lot, showing Arielle getting into her car. Some were of her at the grocery store or pulling her car into the garage at their home. She was clearly being followed.

“What in bloody hell are these?” Troy asked, his voice barely a
murmur. They were trying to understand the meaning of all the
photos when suddenly Nathan noticed a piece of paper on the floor that was stuck between the photos. He bent down and picked it up. He scowled at what he read.

Sebastian was still quiet. He was cloaked in distress, stomach muscles tightened and unable to move. Without reading the note, Sebastian recognized the threat behind the photos.

“Sebastian, come on man,” Nathan said firmly. “We need to find out what this is all about. We can’t do that if you’re in this state of mind.”

Sebastian finally looked up at Nathan and nodded, but he didn’t
move. He just turned and stared out the window with a dark
expression on his face. Nathan set his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder and shook him lightly. “Sebastian,” he urged. “There is something you need to see.” Nathan handed Sebastian the note.

He looked at it.

Cooperate if you want her alive! You’ll be contacted with our demands.

-Vlast’ narodu

Sebastian cursed aloud and came to his feet in fury. He glanced between his two friends, his body shaking in a savage rage. It was an emotion that he couldn’t shackle, and he couldn’t make it vanish. The fear had grabbed a hold of every muscle in his body, and he channeled it into the only useful emotion he could. He dashed to the door and yanked it wide open.

“Madeline, please come here.”

She came in quickly, startled by Sebastian’s stern voice. Her face displayed shock as she noticed Sebastian’s tight jaw and severe expression.

“Yes, sir?” she mumbled.

“What did the man look like?”

“What man?”

“The man that gave you the envelope.”

“Oh, he was average height, blond hair, blue eyes, and had a
very heavy accent.”

“Did you recognize the accent?”

“Yes, sir; he was Russian.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I speak a little Russian. He said ‘
spasibo’
just before he
walked away, which means thank you.”

“Thank you, Madeline. I am quite familiar with the word,” Sebastian said dryly. “That will be all.” He turned and walked back toward his desk. He waited until she had closed the door closed
behind her before pinching the tip of his nose. Anguish shattered his face.

He slammed his fist on the top of the desk and cursed again with
such fury that Nathan and Troy became speechless. “Son of a
bitch…I knew it.”

He looked up, revulsion boiling behind his eyes. He pressed his lips together and pinched the tip on his nose again as he started to pace back and forth, mumbling inaudibly. He finally crashed down on the sofa. He closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair over and over again.

“What the devil is going on?” Troy asked restlessly. He had never seen Sebastian this upset. After a few minutes, he finally looked up and glanced between his friends.

When he spoke, his voice was a bit shaky. “Last evening when I got home Arielle was hysterical.” He paused. The words seemed to unsettle him.

“Because?” Nathan prompted him.

Sebastian took a deep breath. “A black Mercedes followed her from school all the way home.”

“Was she sure?”

“Yes, she first noticed the car when she left school, but soon she forgot about it. She made several stops, and while sitting at the red
light close to home, she noticed the same car a few cars back. She was terrified thinking that it was either Annabel or someone
working for
her. She said that the car went straight when she turned onto our
street, but then while in the house, she noticed the same black car parked right across the street from the house. The weird thing is that I actually saw the car when I drove in, but I didn’t think anything of it until she nearly mowed me over as I tried to enter the house. She was completely shaken up.”

“Did she notice the driver or how many people were in the car?”

“No, she didn’t. It had tinted windows, so she couldn’t see the driver or if there was more than one person was inside. By the time I looked outside, the car was gone. I honestly believed that it had something to do with Dylan’s call about the company. I never in my wildest dreams could imagine that they were going to threaten me with Arielle’s life.”