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Lucas cleared his throat.
“And where I go, Lucas goes. Whatever you ask me to do can’t go against the pact you have with the wolves.” Not that I knew what the pact entailed, but I was pretty sure it would cover the worst Gobble could think of. I took a breath. Anything else? I asked Lucas through our bond.
No. That’s about all we have time for.
“Do we have a deal?” I asked Gobble. I held my breath.
Gobble disappeared and I nearly cried out. But then I heard his voice behind my ear. “You’ve got a deal.” It was his deeper voice. He was full-sized again. “Close your eyes, tasty and her wolf.”
I did what I was told. A loud pop sounded in my ears, and then the quiet forest was replaced by the sounds and smells of the city.
I blinked open my eyes, and looked up at the sign on the building.
In big red letters. Hotel Jesus de la Luz.
We were here. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thanked Gobble. I would’ve offered him anything he wanted. Because I was here.
I just hoped I was in time.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Let’s go.” I raced inside the hotel. Adrian’s text said they were in room 304. I wasn’t paying attention to the gaudy gold, hot pink, and black decor. I didn’t answer the lady at the front desk as she called out to me. All I wanted was my brother.
I saw a sign that pointed to the stairs and started running. Lucas kept pace beside me as I took the steps two at a time.
When we hit the third landing, I raced into the hallway.
Lucas grabbed my arm. “This way.”
We sprinted down the hall in the other direction.
I pounded on the door with a gold plate that read 304.
Adrian gaped. “How in the hell did you get here so fast?”
I pushed past him, not answering. There were four doors. It was a suite. “Which way? Where is he?”
“Here.” Adrian led the way, hurrying through the room.
I froze in the doorway.
What was on the bed wasn’t my brother.
His rattling breath had gotten much louder. And the smell. I covered my nose. “Raphael?”
He cackled. “Hey little sis. Come on over here. Give your big brother a kiss.”
My stomach rolled. His voice… What he said… That wasn’t him. That wasn’t my brother.
A tear rolled down my cheek, and I swept it away. I couldn’t let myself think that I was too late, but the closer I got, the worse the smell was.
“We’ve tried everything,” Shane said. I turned to see him standing in the corner across the room. He crossed his tattooed arms as he looked away from Raphael. “The healing chant helped for a little bit, but…”
“I knew it wouldn’t last forever.” I walked to the bed. Adrian hadn’t been lying. Raphael’s skin was gray, and a few patches looked gangrenous. What caught me off guard were his eyes. They were solid black. Not even a speck of white was visible.
But he was still breathing. Which meant I wasn’t too late. I had to hang on to that, because looking at my twin right now made me want to sob.
I reached into my purse, for what felt like the millionth time in the last few hours, and placed everything on the bedside table.
