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I'm so sorry, everyone. I got sent on a work conference last minute and couldn't update on Friday like I should have. Don't hate me!

Kol is coming back! Are you guys as excited about that as I am? Because I am super pumped! I absolutely adore Allie's twin brother, and I know that some of you really liked him, too. I hope that you enjoy having him back.

Thank you so much to all of you that have read, reviewed, favorited, or followed (or even all of the above!). And thank you to all of you that have sent me private messages to talk about the story. I appreciate each and every show of support for the story and me.

Happy Reading!

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Chapter Twenty-Nine: Nothing Lasts Forever

Allie

I had been planning to give Steve his present before he went to pick Kol up from the airport. Had been excited about it all day, in fact. But when you're a part of an elite government task force, things don't always go according to plan. Almost as soon as I'd walked into the office, we'd gotten a call about a brutal murder downtown – guy beat to death in an alley. We'd ended up spending the entire day working the case, and only managed to take down the murderer at a little after seven.

"I'd better get going," Steve told me as he took off his bulletproof vest. "Kol's flight will be landing soon."

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked him, but my last word ended in a yawn. It had been a very long day and Steve and I hadn't exactly slept much the night before.

He smiled tenderly at me and gave me a quick kiss. "No. Why don't you go home and get some rest? This wedding planning is wearing you out."

"Sounds like a plan." I fought against another yawn. "The good news is that I have it narrowed down to two locations."

"Don't forget to take breaks," he reminded me. "It won't kill us to get married in two months."

"I've got it," I said. "Don't worry. You just go make sure my brother makes it here safely. The guest room is all ready for him. And wake me up when you two get home, okay?"

"Copy that." He leaned in and kissed me again, and then got into his truck and drove away, headed for the airport.

I only stuck around for a few more minutes before I also drove away, headed home.

There was a black limo parked on the curb when I arrived, and I recognized the license plate number as the one from Nicolas Medici's rented limo.

"I'm too tired to deal with this," I groaned to myself, but pasted a smile on my face as I got out of my car and walked towards the limo.

Nicolas got out of the car with his bodyguard and came towards me, greeting me with a kiss on each cheek. "I was hoping that I would catch you before I have to fly out."

Ah. He was going to be leaving and wanted to say goodbye before he left. That explained it; it was just his manners. "I'm glad you found me. I was working a case all day. When do you leave?"

"My private plane is fueling up as we speak," he said. "But I have maybe an hour to kill." Of course he would only fly in his own private plane. He leaned around me to look. "Where is your fiancé?"

"He had to go and pick a friend up from the airport." For some reason, something inside of me told me not to tell him that it was Kol. "Did you want to come in for a few minutes?"

"That sounds lovely," he agreed and motioned for his bodyguard to accompany him.

Once inside, I disarmed the security system and let Gideon – who didn't seem too fond of Nicolas or his bodyguard – outside and then returned to the living room. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink? I don't have any vintage wines here, but there's a pretty good white in the fridge."

"No, thank you," he smiled as he sat down on the loveseat. "Please, sit with me. There is a matter that I wanted to discuss with you."

Damn it. I had really hoped that he would just forget about asking me to steal the music box, but of course, he hadn't. "Sure." I sat. "What is it?"

"It's about the music box." He must have seen the look on my face, because he smiled, amused. "I know what you're thinking. You already told me no. Now, normally, I would respect that. You're not the one that stole it, after all, and it's not your responsibility to get it back. Unfortunately, my efforts to track down your mother have been… unfruitful, to say the least."

I shook my head. "I can't help you find her. I haven't spoken to her in years."

"Oh, I know," he said with a sigh. "She's likely as far off the grid as it's possible to get by now. But that music box… I need it."

Something clicked in my head. "It's more than just a fancy box that plays music, isn't it?"

He smiled and nodded. "You've always been a very smart girl, Isabelle."

I flinched as if the name was a punch to my face. "Please don't call me that. I haven't been Isabelle Rinaldi in a very long time."

"My apologies," he said, though he didn't sound all that sorry. "Yes, the music box is more than just a piece of art or entertainment. Inside, there is a code. I need that code to access an account that my great grandfather set up."

"An account?"

"An account worth billions."

"Don't you already have billions?" I reminded him. "You're Italy's richest man."

"Yes, but I don't have the lands that this would offer me. The secrets. The money is really just a bonus."

I nodded slowly. "That may be so, but… I don't steal things anymore. I got out of that life when I turned eighteen and I haven't looked back."

"Don't you miss it?" he asked me, leaning forward slightly, his look intense. "The thrill of it all? You were the best, and everyone knew it. You could have done anything that you wanted. Instead, you decided to work for the CIA."

I shook my head. "There wasn't anything for me in that life anymore."

"Of course there was!" he argued. "People would have paid you so well to steal things for them. You were a rising star! And then you just… disappeared."

"I didn't disappear." I had to be careful to keep the anger out of my voice. "I left that lifestyle because I was good. Because I didn't want to end up like my mother, willing to abandon my family to go off and con people. I never wanted to end up like her."

"You never will," he assured me. "You hold family above all else, and I respect that. Unfortunately, I must also use that to my advantage, if I am to gain what's rightfully mine."

An awful feeling settled in my chest. "What are you talking about?"

He gestured to his bodyguard, who handed him a tablet of some kind. After pressing a few things, Nicolas handed it to me and my whole body froze.

It was a live video feed. In it, a man paced a small room that looked very similar to a prison cell. His hair was a little longer than it had been the last time I'd seen him, but I would have recognized my brother anywhere.

"Trent."

"It became clear to me that you wouldn't help me unless you had a good reason to," Nicolas said. "Now, normally I wouldn't force you to clean up someone else's mess, but I fear you're the only one that can do this job. I'll give you whatever you need, of course, and I promise that no harm will come to your brother if you can pull this off."

My head was spinning and my hands shook as I handed him the tablet. "Where is he?"

"Safe at one of my estates. You may see him in person, of course, before you begin this job. I'm not a malicious man, passerotta. You know this. But I do have to do things sometimes in order to get the job done."

"I would need a team," I said softly as a plan began to hatch. "My other brothers-"

"No." He cut me off. "I'm afraid that I must insist that they be kept out of this. You must not have communication with them or with any of your other friends. I can provide as many people as you need for the job, as well as unlimited resources."

This can't be happening. "I have to… I have to explain…"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid that I can't allow that. Now, what time will Steve McGarrett be returning here?"

"Probably at about 8:45."

He glanced at his watch. "Then that leaves you twenty minutes to pack what you need. Lorenzo will watch you, just to make sure there's no funny business. You understand."

"They'll wonder where I am."

"I know," he said. "But by the time they're able to find you, you'll have hopefully recovered the music box and you'll be able to tell them whatever you want. May I have your phone, please?" Using his best manners, even when I really had no choice.

I handed it over as I stood, legs a little shaky.

"My driver will be waiting by the door to load everything for you. The dog will need to stay here, I'm afraid. I can't have him attacking any of my men. I'm sure your fiancé will take care of him for you."

Without another word to him, I headed for the stairs, Lorenzo following closely behind. My head was still spinning and I tried desperately to clear it, knowing that I just needed to focus on packing. Nicolas wasn't likely to hurt me and he wouldn't hurt Trent, either… unless I couldn't get the music box.

It had been years since I'd pulled that kind of job… what if I couldn't do it anymore?

Pushing the thoughts away, I grabbed a large suitcase out of my closet and began to pack clothes and shoes into it. As I did, I was trying to think of a way to signal Kol and explain. But Lorenzo was watching me so closely and Nicolas had already taken my phone so that it couldn't be traced.

I finished with that large suitcase and filled a small duffel bag with all of the toiletries from my bathroom that I thought I might need. That's when inspiration struck and I carefully lifted the corner of the rug, drawing in lipstick with one hand while I continued to pack with the other. Once I was satisfied, I put the rug back into place and zipped up the duffel bag.

"You have ten minutes," Lorenzo informed me in Italian, and I nodded my understanding. I had one more, medium-sized, duffel bag left, and I began to fill it up with some of the more sentimental things. They would all be checked for tracking devices, so I knew that I couldn't take the watch that Kol had given me.

Once I was finished there, I said, "I just need to empty the safe."

Lorenzo nodded and carried the bags down the stairs for me, following me into the dining room, where my wall safe hid behind a painting. I entered the code and then grabbed everything that I would need, leaving only the present for Steve and the cash, as Nicolas would provide all of the money that I needed. He could spare it.

"That's it," I concluded, and Lorenzo led the way back into the living room, alerting Nicolas that we were packed and ready to go.

"Excellent," he said with a smile and gestured for me to precede him out the door.

Once in his limo, driving away, I knew that there was one more thing that Nicolas needed to know. He was a man with a strict code, and at the top of that code was one rule he would never break.

"There's something you should know," I told him.

He looked at me and nodded. "And what might that be?"

With a heavy heart and tears in my eyes, I spilled my biggest secret.

Steve

Kol and I kept an easy conversation going on the way home from the airport. Towards the end of the ride, he asked me if I'd heard anything else about Nicolas Medici.

"No," I said. "He hasn't come around again. Maybe I was wrong and there's nothing going on."

He shrugged. "Entirely possible. Either way, it's good to be here. I needed a vacation and I'm excited that I get to help with the wedding. I never thought she'd get married."

"Why's that?"

Again, he shrugged. "She always said that she didn't want to get married and she didn't want kids. I guess things change when you actually fall in love with someone. I'm glad that she found you. You two are good for each other."

"I think so, too. I'm excited to be married. Which is not something I would have said a year ago, believe me."

He laughed. "Love does crazy things. So, why didn't she join you to come pick me up? She's not excited to see me? Or is she just making my favorite pastry?"

"Neither," I laughed. "It was a long day for all of us. I told her to go home and get some rest. The wedding planning is kind of wearing her down."

"It's a lot to take on," he agreed. "But that's why I'm here. While you guys are working, I can make all the calls, set up all of the appointments… it'll be perfect. I'm a good point man, trust me."

"And if we need a getaway driver, we're all set," I teased him.

"Exactly. I'm a man of many talents."

We arrived at Allie's house – soon to be my house as well – and I parked in the driveway. When we walked inside, I went to disarm the alarm and then realized that Allie had disarmed it when she got home and forgot to set it back up.

"See what I mean?" I asked him, indicating the alarm. "She keeps forgetting little things like this. I told her we could wait an extra month, but she insists that she doesn't want to."

He laughed and looked around. "Where's Gideon?"

"Maybe upstairs with her. She said to wake her up when we got here. Give me a few minutes."

"Take your time," he teased me as I began to climb the stairs. "I'll just be down here with my headphones in so that I don't have to listen to the two of you."

"Shut up," I laughed and finished my climb.

But as soon as I entered the bedroom and turned on the lights, I realized that something was very, very wrong. All of her dresser drawers were pulled out, and there were a lot of things missing. The closet door was open, and there were a lot of clothes missing from in there, too. And her suitcases were gone.

I stumbled into the bathroom and began opening drawers, realizing that most of her things were missing. Back in the bedroom, I saw that all of her favorite books and pictures were also gone. She was just… gone.

"Kol!" I called out.

He must have heard the panic in my voice, because he raced up the stairs at a sprint. When he came into the bedroom, he looked around and must have realized the same thing that I had. "She's gone."

"Where would she go?" I asked him desperately, wanting someone to have some answers. "She didn't say anything about going anywhere." I pulled out my phone and scrolled for her name.

"Don't bother," he told me and began to walk around the room, looking at everything closely. "Her cell phone is downstairs on the coffee table. I figured that she just left it there while she came upstairs for a nap."

Cursing, I put my cell phone away and began to follow behind him, also looking. "What are you looking for?"

"Clues." He picked up her watch from the bedside table and cursed. "This is traceable, but she's not wearing it, which tells me that she couldn't."

"Meaning what?" My head was spinning too fast for me to puzzle out what he was saying.

He straightened and set the watch down. "I don't think that she left on her own. I think that she left by force."

"Nicolas Medici," I realized.

"I think so," Kol nodded. "Look for anything else out of the ordinary. We were all trained to leave clues and she knew that I was coming. If anything seems even slightly wrong, tell me."

We looked in silence, but I feared that I wasn't going to be much help. I had known that Nicolas Medici was bad news, and I hadn't kept a close enough eye on her. She'd offered to go to the airport with me and I had sent her home instead. What had happened once she'd gotten here? Had they hurt her?

"Hey," Kol finally said once he'd noticed my preoccupation. "Splash some water on your face. It's going to be okay. Nicolas Medici doesn't hurt women."

"Then why would she go with him?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "That's why we're looking for clues. Just go take a minute to calm down, okay? You need a clear head for this."

I nodded and went into the bathroom, headed for the sink. I splashed some water on my face and was stepping away from the sink when I noticed that something was off. It was subtle, but… the rug was pulled slightly away from the cabinet. It was usually flush against it.

I ripped the rug away and saw something written there in lipstick.

Trent.

"Kol!" I called, and he came running in.

"What?" And then he saw it and knelt down. "Trent? That's one of our brothers." He took out his cell phone. "I'll call him and see if he knows what's going on."

But after he'd tried Trent four times, he cursed and said, "I'm not getting an answer. It keeps going straight to voicemail."

"Could that be it?" I wondered aloud. "Trent is in trouble and she went to help?"

"It would explain a lot," he said with a sigh. "And if this is connected to Medici…"

"I thought you said he was an honorable man."

"Honor can be interpreted in a lot of different ways," he said. "He wouldn't hurt Allie because he doesn't hurt women, but… if he felt like he needed to, he might hurt Trent."

"And Allie wouldn't let that happen," I finished. "But why wouldn't she try to let us know?"

"Probably came as a surprise," he said and started dialing another number on his cell phone. "I'm going to call some other people. We're going to need help on this. Go see if Gideon is still here somewhere."

I nodded as he began to speak to someone, and headed down the stairs. Gideon was whining at the back door, and I let him in. He immediately began to run around, likely looking for Allie.

My heart broke for him.

Shaky, I sat down at the kitchen table. She was gone – had practically been taken – and it was all my fault. I should have just let her come with me to the airport like she'd offered to do. Or I should have made sure that she had made it home safe. Should have called her. Should have had someone tail Nicolas Medici.

Kol came back downstairs a few minutes later and fed Gideon before coming to put a hand on my shoulder. "I have people on the way. We're going to find her."

I nodded weakly.

"It's not your fault," he said, guessing the direction of my thoughts. "I'm going to check the wall safe and see what she took, okay?"

I nodded and watched him take down the painting from the wall. There was a safe embedded there, and he entered a very lengthy code before it clicked and allowed him access.

He opened it and looked around inside. "The only things in here are a present and her emergency cash. Obviously, she's with Medici, doing something for him. He would have offered to fund the whole thing, so she didn't need her cash." He took a wrapped box out of the safe. "And the present is for you."

"Me?" I asked, surprised. "My birthday already passed and Christmas isn't for a while."

He shrugged and handed it to me. "Maybe it's a wedding present or something. Go ahead and open it."

I took a breath and then tore the paper.