Rhett walks me to my seat, and the district attorney watches the entire time with a smug grin on his face. He’s a little too happy for me to feel good about what I’m walking into.
I look for Emery again, but she’s still not here. Neither is Tanner.
Something’s not right. My intuition is kicking into full gear. The doors swing open, and Steel walks through with a murderous expression that has the universe tilting. He shoves his way through the group crowding the aisle, and since the judge has yet to arrive, I turn in my seat.
Steel sits in the front row, the district attorney watching us. We shouldn’t be talking. If anything, this just adds to the case, but something is wrong.
“We have a problem,” Steel says, raking his hair back.
“Does it have something to do with Tanner not being here?”
He nods. “His car was hit by a truck on his way to the courthouse.”
“Is he alive?”
“Barely. And one of our new prospects is dead.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, but then it hits me. “Where was Emery?”
“She was in the car with Tanner.”
My blood runs cold. “Is she okay?”
His teeth grind, and I hate that he has to take a moment to think it over. “We believe so.”
“What the fuck does that mean? How do you not know?” My fingers clench so tightly my nails dig into my palms.
“Havoc and I were in the car behind them, but we got separated in traffic. By the time we pulled up to the scene, it was a mess, and—” Shouting from the hallway cuts Steel off.
We turn, hearing Chaos yelling something from behind the closed doors. Something crashes, and I know inmy bones something terrible happened. Willa was also coming today, and she was supposed to be with Emery.
“Where is Emery?” I turn back to Steel, needing answers.
“Gone.”
It takes me a moment to process what he says. The word is suddenly foreign because I refuse to accept it.
“What the fuck do you mean she’s gone?”
“Someone took her. We think they staged the accident to get access.”
“Zane?” I guess.
Steel shakes his head. “We thought that, too, until he showed up just as confused.”
The door to the courtroom swings open again, and Steel glances back as Zane strides through, his eyes lethal.
“He’s not behind this, Soul,” Steel says, and I turn back to him. “This was Eli. Zane owes him a debt, and he’s done waiting.”
36
Emery
I don’t know whyI expect to be brought to a warehouse. Eli is more pretentious than my uncle, so of course, he wouldn’t bother with anything less than the most lavish penthouse in Vegas. Especially when he won’t have to worry about anyone hearing me scream. He controls at least three floors beneath us, if not more.
The zip tie digs into my skin as I’m dragged through the penthouse by one of Eli’s men. He leads me into a bedroom at the back, and I freeze when I spot the ropes dangling from the bedposts.
“Please don’t.” I wiggle against the binding at my wrist, but they dig in more, slicking my wrists with blood.
