"What the Fuck do you mean she's not here?" Vincent snapped at Jasmine who cowered under his harsh tone.

"We all fell asleep and when we woke up she was gone"

"I gave you guys simple instructions. Don't leave her alone and what did you do?"

"Vincent-"

"Dammit!" he cursed and she took a step back. "Where do you think she could have gone?"

"I don't kno-"

"Exactly! You don't know. What if she went to look for Alexis God knows where? What if the kidnappers contacted her and she went alone Jasmine?"

"I'm. sorry" Jasmine said on the verge of tears.

"Yeah well I'm sorry I trusted you"

"Don't take it out on her. It wasn't her fault" JR said pushing her behind him. Vincent Lachlan was known for his calm collective attitude even when under pressure. What people didn't know was behind that cool facade was a volatile temper that tended to get out of control.

"And where were you when she left?"

"I was in the study talking to my dad. If I knew she was going to sneak out I wouldn't have let her out of my sight."

"Yeah well me and you both. I should have known she'd pull something like this." Vincent said threading his fingers through his hair and pulling on the strands. This was so like Hayley to just leave without saying anything. Why didn't she call him? Why had he taken her gun? He should have handcuffed her to his hand when he had the chance.

"Instead of standing here and arguing, why don't we go out and look for her" JR suggested. Which only seemed to annoy Vincent more.

"And where do you suggest we start? Better yet should we stop looking for Alexis and start looking for Hayley?" he yelled swiping his hand angrily across the table and knocking down the vase that was sitting on it. The glass shattered on the floor deafening silence preceding. Shree and Jim stood a few feet behind the three watching on. After some minutes JR spoke up.

"I'm taking my car to drive around. Feel free to go the opposite direction and ask if anyone saw her leave." taking his keys he dropped a kiss on Jasmine's forehead and left. Vince followed him out pulling his phone from his pocket.

"Call me if something comes up"

JR stopped beside his car "Vincent" he waited until he had his full attention then continued. "You will apologize to Jasmine for the way you treated her or so help me God I will take all my frustrations out on you" opening the door he got in not waiting for an answer.

They both went on opposite directions each driving aimlessly. JR felt helpless. He couldn't protect Alexis and now Hayley was gone too. Deep down he knew that even if they found them, things wouldn't be as they were. Hayley wasn't going to marry him let alone go back to their house. He'd seen the scars and he knew Jeffrey had hurt her more than Jim was letting on. Suddenly everything made sense. Her reluctance to marry him, the way she snapped at him for buying her that restaurant. He should have asked her straight up what had happened but he believed they would be okay so long as he loved her. And he did love her. So much but he wasn't as stupid as to think their relationship would survive this. Now all he wanted was to find the two people who had become so important to him safe and sound. The rest he would leave it to fate or destiny or whatever being there was out there.

Vince punched his steering wheel in frustration. A few cops were on the look out in case they heard something or people talking. Kidnapping a heiress wasn't something small and word was bound to get out. Someone must have found out who Alexis was for them to kidnap her. He wasn't sure what he would have done had he known this would happen. Oh how he hated feeling useless. Both Hayley and Alexis were the two people he cherished most apart from his family. They had become so important to him and it was up to him to protect them both but now he'd failed them. Terribly. A horn blared from behind him making him look around. He was in traffic now and although light, it was a pain in the ass because everyone was rushing to their jobs.

Sighing he moved forward not really having a destination in mind while praying for a lead. Just something small that would give him a clue as to who the kidnapper was. This was the part he hated in a case. The waiting for some lead to show up. Other cops were questioning the guests and he had been told to not interfere since he was too close to the case. Cops were like doctors when it came to cases. If it was a relative or a friend then that meant your judgement will be impaired so you weren't allowed to work it. His phone rang and for a moment he considered ignoring it. But what if someone had found something on Alexis's case? 

"Lachlan" he answered without looking at the caller ID.

"My boy. How are you?" his father who wouldn't leave him alone. For the past few months Sylvester Lachlan had been trying to convince him to take over Lachtech but Vince wasn't interested.

"I can't do this with you right now dad."

"Vin..." he hung up. His father was a manipulative son of a bitch who didn't know the difference between work and family. To him everyone was his employee or just a puppet to manipulate. That's why he had left in the first place.

The phone rang again and Vincent lost it. "What didn't you understand....."

"Vince?" that wasn't his old man's voice.

"Sorry. Who's this?" he asked running a hand through his hair.

"Officer Duncan from 44th precinct. I think I found the people you were looking for"

Vince held his breath "Are you sure?"

"Well I don't know their identities. The kid is too shocked to speak and the mother was unconscious with a gunshot wound but they fit the description you put out. The ambulance just left a couple of seconds ago"

"Text me the hospital address. I'll meet them there" he said breaking too abruptly. The drivers behind him blared their horns at him cursing furiously but stopped when he turned on his lights and sirens. Some even pulled their windows closed hiding their faces. Vince couldn't bring himself to care especially at that moment. A murder could have been taking place in front of him and he couldn't have cared less. All he saw was Alexis and Hayley. Please let it be them. Please. He prayed while driving like a madman. He was going to lose it if it turned out those people weren't them. He couldn't go back to not knowing anything.

At the hospital, he parked just as an ambulance cruised in. Vince got out of his car running towards the emergency door. The person being unloaded was a man so he headed inside to the nurse's station. "Excuse me" he spoke calmly. This was his calm before the storm. He somehow managed to calm himself down when shit hit the fan on the field while everyone else was freaking out. Then after it was over his control would snap and he always ended up doing questionable things. His friends and colleagues knew that and they tended to distance themselves from him at those moments.

"Yes how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a woman who was just brought in with a gunshot wound together with a little girl"

"Are you  a relative?"

"Yes. They are my family" if that didn't work he was going to use his badge and if that failed his name wouldn't. He was among New York's eligible bachelors who had money and power behind them. It never hurt to use them once in a while. For good causes of course.

"The woman was rushed to the OR and nurse Leila took the child to the downstairs cafe to calm her down."

"Thank you" Vince said heading downstairs. He knew if that woman was Hayley then he couldn't do anything except wait. But he had to find Alexis.

The cafe was full of hospital staff and a few civilians. Vince stopped at the door looking around until he spotted her. He'd know Alexis anywhere if the dress she wore wasn't a give away. Her head was bent towards a bowl of cereal with a glass of juice beside it. The nurse beside her was talking to her but not even once did she look up. Vince allowed himself a few minutes to calm himself down. He couldn't let his anger surface at that moment. Later when everything was fine he would hunt down those perpetrators and take his anger out on them. Right now Alexis needed him to be calm. Walking towards their table he sat next to them and ignored the look the nurse gave him. Taking Alexis's chin between his fingers he lifted her face. "Hey princess" she blinked as if she didn't believe it then launched herself at him winding her tiny arms around his neck. 

Vince could have cried tears of joy. "Are you okay?" she didn't answer but from the way her body was shaking he knew she was still in shock. He turned to the nurse "Is she okay physically?"

"Yes. Except for some bind marks on her wrists she's fine. Emotionally am not so sure."

"Thank you. I'll take it from here" the nurse nodded then left them. Vince held her knowing she needed to feel safe again. He couldn't imagine what she had gone through. There was blood on her dress and he felt his anger rising again. When things had calmed down, he was going to hunt those bastards down and put them behind bars. Let's see how they liked being behind bars. "You're okay sweetheart. You're fine"

She cried harder "But mom isn't. There was so much blood Vince"

"Don't worry sweetie. Your mom is a fighter and she'll pull through this. You have to believe that" they both had to believe that. He knew Hayley was strong but she wasn't immortal. Her spirit might have been unbreakable but her body was made of flesh and blood. He only hoped it wasn't that bad.

"You promise?"

"Yes. I promise you your mom will be fine. And when she wakes up you have to take care of her. You can't do that if you're sick yourself" he pulled back looking at her face. She was tired but okay. "Eat then we'll have the doctor look at you"

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hands she said "I'm not hungry"

"Okay. But drink the juice then we'll go"

She drank half of it and Vince figured that was all he could get from her. Picking her up, he went in search of a doctor. After everything checked out alright, they sat in the waiting room waiting for news. Vince knew that he should call JR and tell him he'd found them but he wanted the man to suffer a little while longer. Hayley wouldn't have been in the hospital if she hadn't met the Rutherfords. They had put her through a lot and opened old wounds that were on the verge of healing. When he'd found out about her relationship with JR his hope had flared knowing she was almost ready to open herself up to someone else. Vince also knew JR was going to screw up sooner or later sending Hayley back to his arms. And he had promised himself not to ever let her go.

So this was his chance. To be there for her and protect her from any more harm. When she was okay to go home, he was going to take her back to his house then things would go back to the way they were. His phone vibrated in his pocket. Taking it out he looked at the caller ID. JR. He turned it off, put it back in his pocket then adjusted Alexis who had fallen asleep in his arms. Brushing her hair aside he remembered the day she was born. Even as a first time mother, Hayley had been calm trying to hide her pain because she didn't want him to worry. But he had seen through her and had provoked her into yelling until doctors threatened to make him leave. The staff had been torn between laughing and telling them to shut up. That's when he'd fallen in love with her. Seeing her give birth to Alexis had washed away everything else expelling demons he had been running from.

With the both of them, he had found a new purpose in life. Red faced and yelling at the top of her lungs, Alexis had had him in the palm of her hands in the five minutes after she'd been born. She was the most divine thing he'd ever seen and he had vowed to protect her with his life. Now staring down at her he realized he should have insisted Hayley stay with him. Letting her leave so she'd feel independent was the biggest mistake he had ever made and he wasn't about to do it again. Damn the Rutherfords. He was as powerful as they were if not more so they weren't going to intimidate him. He was going to fight for Hayley and keep her away from those people. Even if they were Alexis's family.

**************************************************

Is Vincent right for not letting the Rutherford's know he had found Hayley and Alexis? 

It's going to be a battle of billionaire bachelors. May the best one win. #Vince or #JR.

A vote for JR and a comment for Vince. Hit me guys.