The Marvelous Elijah’s Return

A greater priceA knock on Miss Grace's suite door made her tired eyes snap open and forced her topush the comforter off her, getting out of bed.

A moment later, when she got to the door and opened it, sheimmediately had this awful gut feeling that something was wrong, seeing Ryan, Rookie, and Matt standing there with Dice.

What's wrong, Matt?Miss Grace asked, hugging her arms around herself for comfort.“We will be gone for a while, but Dice here will be your guard until we get back,Matt said, forcing a smile, even though he, Ryan, and Rookie had been nothing but freakout since they found out that Peach got kidnapped.Okay...

But where are you guys going at such an hour?“Work stuff...”Confused by his reply, Miss Grace was speechless for a moment, and the guys turned to leave hurriedly before she came up with another question, but she suddenly blurted out, making them halt, “Is Elijah alright?Slowly, Ryan turned around with a smile, masking his sadness behind a grin that looked genuine.He is doing great,"

He replied with a nod, looking down for a moment, thinking about how miserable his boss is right now.

“Don't worry..As he was about to turn around, Miss Grace felt a dull ache in her chest as the thought crossed her mind, and she let it out, “Is my daughter okay?Yes.

Peach is fine and safe."

Ryan immediately said, knowing that if he hesitated for even a second, her motherly instinct would kick in.re you sure?“Yes! Elijah just needs us over because of Elmer's case..."

I know him getting Peach the company is a good thing...

but I fear for both their safety...

The Hayes are not very forgiving to those who cross them...Elijah knows that.

Don't worry...

Your daughter means a lot to all of us...

And for Elijah, she is extremely important to him...

Her safety is our number one priority.

We won't fail our promise.A weak smile appeared across Miss Grace's face before she quickly nodded, and yet, her motherly instinct had her heart feeling heavy still and she couldn't help but feel worried about her little girl.All the suite lights were turned off as Elijah sat in the living room, in the dark, hispalms covering his face.For a while, he didn't feel the effect of the minutes shifting into hours as he just sat there, not moving a muscle until a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, making him raise his head from his hands.It took a few seconds before Elijah got up and slowly walked toward the door, unlockingit.A look of concern crossed Matt, Ryan, and Rookie's faces as they stared at their boss, seeing the brokenness in his eyes.I fuck up badly,"

on the back before releasing him, not caring that his

the door open wider and led the guys

kidnapped in the

started, his hand rubbing his forehead and

some random dude and dragged

that grabbed

have a

a frown on his lips as

was onto somethingWith all the emotions he was drowning in, and the

a loud snore echoed from the guard's mouth throughout the room as his head lolled to the left, completely passed out in the security room, leaving the monitors unattended and his gun lying on the desk beside him.After a while, his snore sound got mixed up with the echo of a knock and the guard immediately jumped awake, realizing he was sleeping at his post.He quickly straightened his uniform and put the gun away in the holster before opening the

Darius...

you?«Did you watch anything suspicious happen in the parking lot around six this evening, Bob?Elijah asked as he looked at him, his eyebrows knitted

No sir...

the thing is...

to go use the bathroom at that

didn't see anything.Bob responded, scratching the

video clip from the time frame?Umm...You get a solid 2k, and I can also make my mind forget that you were sleeping on thejob...That was a win-win deal and Bob didn't hesitate

Sure."

agreed after taking

Thanks.

two can

worked his way through the footage for a couple of minutes, stopping at a particular video of Elijah's car driving into the parking lot.Then he sat back, watching the entire event of this evening replayed before his eyes, and Ryan along with Matt just stood

the guy getting out of the van from a few distances behind Peach, with blonde hair and multiple pieces

calm himself down from the

then Rookie took out a hard drive from his pocket and downloaded the video onto it before deleting it from the hotel security system.We

drive.However, before he could allow the question to roll off his tongue again, Elijah had taken off his phone, focusing on the screen, and after a moment, he put it to his ear.It was quiet for a while, and then Elijah's voice echoed, breaking the silence, “Did you see the picture that I sent you?Yes, boss.Dice mumbled, looking at Miss Grace as he studied her standing on the third-floor balcony as she watched the sky, knowing that he couldn't tell her that it was not safe out here for her because that meant risking breaking the news that Peach got kidnapped.“Do you recognize his face?“No boss, but I will pass the word on with the phot...When Miss Grace heard Dice say the word, Bossfor the second time, she knew exactly who it was, and then turned immediately to face him, saying, “Is that Elijah...? Peach is not answering her phone, can I...Immediately, Dice ended the call, and Elijah stood still as his hand dropped to his side, trying to snap out of the despair that was taking over him.Then his ringtone suddenly startled him out of his feelings, and when he

old lady