The American Goddess

Chapter 20

Immanuel wasn't expecting to return to an empty room. He had lingered at the party to give Winona time away from him, but when he saw the room clear of her suitcase and any traces that she had ever been there, he completely unraveled. He pulled the covers off the bed and threw the pillows into the air. The tourist brochures on the desk scattered across the floor as he pushed everything off the surface. His intent was to destroy the room, but when he heard the bell of incoming notifications, he paused.

He searched the room for his phone and found it underneath the bed. There were multiple text notifications from Winona—all of them reading "Current Location." When he opened the link to her location, a map appeared with directions to a residential neighborhood. She was traveling through the intersection of Lagoona Avenue and 7th Street.

The road sounded familiar. He had heard it recently enough to still have a fresh memory of it in his head. Nasha was building a house for Winona at that exact intersection. He had pulled Immanuel aside earlier that night to ask for his input and planned to surprise Winona with the idea the following day.

She had no way of knowing about these plans, so Immanuel immediately knew she was in danger and looked through his contacts for Nasha's number. He didn't have the means to get to her, but he would soak up all the resources Nasha had to find her. After three rings, the line connected, and Nasha warmly greeted him.

"Immanuel, my man," Nasha said into the receiver. "Do you miss the party already?"

"I need a car," he told Nasha. His voice was so cold that Nasha immediately changed his tone.

"This must be urgent. What's going on?"

"Winona left with Jared awhile ago. It looks like she's at the house. I don't know if she's in trouble, but I'm worried."

Nasha was silent for a long moment. It was concerning to Immanuel, but when he heard the engine start in the background, he assumed Nasha was in the car.

"Listen to me," Nasha said. His voice was muffled and a little less clear. Immanuel had to assume Nasha was speaking to him through the car stereo. "Do not call Winona. I'm assuming Jared hasn't realized she has her phone, so you can't do anything to compromise that. I'm a few minutes from the resort. Meet me outside. We don't have a single second to spare."

Immanuel moved quickly. There wasn't enough time to change out of his tux, and he wouldn't try searching for something more comfortable. He was still on the line with Nasha when he sprinted out into the hall and took the stairs down to the lobby.

"Are you saying Jared has something to do with this?" Immanuel asked. When Nasha responded with "Yes," Immanuel grunted in frustration. "I let her leave with him. Shit. This is my fault."

"Don't blame yourself. You both assumed he was safe. I should have known he was up to something sneaky. Can't even trust family."

Once Immanuel had made it downstairs, he sprinted across the lobby and rushed outside. On cue, Nasha pulled up beside him and pushed the passenger door open.

"We gotta go," Nasha told him.

Immanuel climbed into the passenger seat. He didn't even have time to close the door before springing back against the seat as Nasha took off from the drop off zone.

"What do you mean by family?" Immanuel asked. "Are you related to Jared somehow?"

Nasha nodded his head. Although his attention was on the road ahead of him, he still managed to catch a glimpse of Immanuel's surprised expression. "Not by blood. His parents were killed during an invasion in my village. He was just a baby when I brought him here and raised him as my son. He's always been... off."