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Fortunately, Eric walks through the door and calls my name.

“Let’s go, Count.”

“Tell us what you need, and we’ll be there,” Darren says as Mason nods in agreement.

I march out the door after Eric and climb into his truck. The sun is beginning to set, sinking lower on the horizon. A reflection of the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“The group is meeting us at Cordelya’s.”

I give a curt nod and try to rein in my fear and desperation.

Eric hits the emergency lights and blares his truck horn as we speed to the apartment. When we arrive, I spot my friends standing in front of the main office. Dale emerges, followed by Office Burrows. Without a word, we all follow him to Cordelya’s door. Using the master key, he opens the door and steps aside just in time to avoid being run over by me.

I spot Minna’s body, unmoving on the floor, and rush to her side.

“Minna?” I call to her as I rub her side.

I exhale when I feel the rise and fall of her chest. But why the fuck is she unresponsive?

Then the floor drops out from under me.

I smell blood. Not just any blood. Cordelya’s blood.

Crawling around Minna, I find the droplets on the floor.

A snarl rips from my chest, primal and furious.

“Something smells wrong,” Logan says roughly behind me.

“Wrong how?” I demand as I start searching for Buster, Cleo, Jesse, and Toby.

“Chemical. Not a cleaner, something else.”

“He was here,” I seeth, “Chad. I can smell him.”

Officer Burrows grabs his radio and calls in for any available officers who can track. He also instructs the officer on the line to start pulling camera footage near the apartment.

I find Buster, also knocked out but breathing, in the hallway and gather him in my arms. Cleo and Jesse are in the bedroom. I place Buster on the bed and do the same for the cats before heading back to the living room to move Minna there as well.

I’m practically panting from the effort and start looking under furniture for the tortoise, only to discover that, thank the universe, Toby is safe in his terrarium and unharmed. By the time I’m finished, Officer Burrows phone rings.

“We were able to pull some camera footage.”

He turns the phone for me to see the screen. I watch as a small sports car zips out of the apartment complex. There are two people in the car. One has to be Chad. The other is Cordelya. And, by the way her body practically crashes into the passenger door as Chad takes the turn at a ridiculously fast speed, she’s unconscious.

“Motherfucker!”

I’m going to rip him limb from limb.

“We’re tracking the vehicle through cameras. It’s been confirmed this is the vehicle that hit the truck and caused the accident on Main. They’ve left town and passed through at least two others.”

“Which way?” I demand.

“Augustus,” Officer Burrows says.

“He has Cordelya,” I grate out as my fangs descend. “Which. Fucking. Way?”

Officer Burrows seems to weigh his options before coming to a decision.