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Methodically snatching enemies off the streets, interrogating them, and eliminating them while acting like this is a normal fucking Tuesday.
I reach the top of the staircase with a huff, glaring at the fifty steps I just ran up.
Nova smirks. “Maybe you should add cardio to your workouts, yeah?”
And it’s like I’ve forgotten
Anger bubbles out of me like an over-carbonated soda. “Something to say, little brother?”
He sneers at the moniker. “Little brother, really?”
I plant my hands on my hips and glower at him. “Yeah, yeah. Trust me, no one fucking cares you’ve got two inches on me. Big fucking deal.”
Nova sucks his teeth and smiles, but it feels all wrong. It’s sharp and almost cruel. “I don’t know, man, I can think of at least one person who rather enjoys my extra two inches.”
“Don’t,” I warn, my voice low. “Don’t act like this is normal. You’ve dropped more bodies in the last two days than you have in the previous five years. Evangeline isn’t going to even recognize you?—”
He’s in my face in an instant, fist curling into the fabric of my tee. His green eyes are muted, washed out with torment. “You don’t get to talk about her.”
I step into him, anger rolling off of me in waves. “You think you’re the only one worried about her? Get in fucking line, brother.”
“Brother, hm? So fucking curious you use such a term for me.” He jostles me as he lets go of my shirt, taking a large step back.
My brows crash low over my forehead. “What the fuck does that mean?”
He turns around and starts walking around the cabin at the top of the hill. “It means get your ass in the car. Jagger called. Bane went to get our girl.”
18
BANE
I take it as my personal mission to beat the time that the maps app predicts. And thank fuck there’s a more direct route that cuts through the corner of one state, even if it costs me more money in tolls. I’ll pay it a hundred times over if it gets me to her quicker.
I find the rest stop by the mile marker that Coraline told me easily enough. I’ve spent enough time in this car to come up with a million different scenarios, and some of them were far-fetched and ridiculous.
Coraline’s phone remained blissfully silent, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
My fingers tremble slightly as I ease the SUV into the parking lot. Anxiety tightens her rope around my throat, and I swallow hard, trying to ignore it.
I slam on the brakes hard enough to send gravel flying as I swing into a parking spot. There are no other cars here, which trips a few internal wires. Methodically, I turn the car off, snag the keys, and get out. The air carries a thick scent of incoming rain, but the ground is dry and the sun’s still out. Birds chirp from one of the few trees next to the parking lot, and I glance around once more.
My unease grows when I don’t see any movement, and I remind myself that’s a good thing. I didn’t really expect to see Evangeline just sitting outside on the wheel stop of a random parking space.
I don’t have that overwhelming feeling of eyes on my back, but I can’t rely on my senses alone today. My instincts feel frayed and fucked. So over-preparedness is what we’re going with today.
I grab my gun from the back of my jeans and shake my muscles out as I jog toward the little lobby inside this rest stop. Floor-to-ceiling window walls make up nearly two sides of the building, giving me an unobstructed view of the empty lobby.
A knot formed inside my gut since the moment I realized this whole fucking thing with the Savages was a setup, and it’s only grown with every hour she’s been gone. It feels like an ulcer, a painful burning spot that reminds me of her absence every time I move. And now, she’s within my grasp and that sore spot pulses, like the quiet hope I’ve been harboring is splashing acid against its tender edges.
I’m a fucking mess without her.
I exhale and note the thicket of woods to the right, slightly behind the building. If she’s not inside the building, it’s possible she’s hiding in there.
There’s also a chance that this is entirely unrelated. Or it’s some bullshit trap. It’s one of the reasons that I didn’t tell Silas or Nova before I left. If this is another trap, then at least only one of us goes down instead of all three of us. Learning from our mistakes and all that.
The back of my neck prickles with perspiration, and I make a quick plan to clear the lobby first, then the bathrooms. I pause just outside the double doors, peering inside the glass. Forcing myself to wait those fifteen seconds feels a little bit like torture when my blood is thumping a staccato rhythm.
I pull open the door and pause just inside the threshold, tilting my head to the side to listen. The low hum of electricity greets me. It’s coming from the vending machines in the little alcove in the middle of the wall, next to a wire stand of pamphlets full of things to do in the area. Looks like random nature excursions and summer attractions.
