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I heard footsteps, or I thought I did. Maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe I was hallucinating. Wait. Voices. Someone was out there.
I banged on the door. “Help! I need help! I’m trapped!”
When my voice gave out, I listened again but heard nothing. Maybe I’d imagined someone there, but the voices had sounded so real. I hadn’t been able to make out any of the words, but the low rumble had to have been someone talking.
I called out again as loud as I could even though my throat was raw, but there was no response. No movement. No voices. I didn’t regret trying. The man who’d kidnapped me was wrong. I’d much rather die with a sore throat than die without making an effort to save myself.
37
Lancelot
I climbed the stairs to my condo, and everyone else trailed behind me. I felt numb, and my head was spinning. I had to find a way to think. Time was ticking, and I had to find Julian.
I heard something as I ascended the last few steps. It sounded like… No, it couldn’t be.
But there he was. Tony. Running toward me. That bastard had lied to me. He’d never had Tony. My little guy must’ve escaped from the library.
I scooped Tony up, and he wrapped his little arms around my neck, chattering happily.
“Oh, thank God.” Corbin came to stand beside me. “Is he okay?”
I nodded, too choked up for words.
“Tony’s all right?” Remington sounded truly happy.
I turned so I could see my brothers. “He’s fine.
“Thank God. Carlotti is still going to suffer for lying to you. How long I’ll drag it out depends on the state Julian is in when we find him.”
“If we find him.”
Remington held up a hand. “We will.”
“I’m messaging with Blackjack right now to see what we can come up with,” Dax said. I looked around and noticed his twin wasn’t there. “Where’s Ambrose?”
Dax shrugged. “Already out looking, I guess.”
I’d never known anyone who could disappear as easily as Ambrose. Of course he hadn’t waited around for us to make a plan. He no doubt had ideas of his own. If anyone had a chance of finding Julian without any leads, it was him.
When I took a step toward the door, Tony scrambled to the ground and began jumping up and down and pointing.
“I know he’s excited,” Remington said, “but we need to go inside and coordinate our efforts.”
“Wait. I think he’s trying to tell me something.”
Remy shook his head. “Lance, I know you’re happy to see him, and I know you care deeply about him, but he can’t really talk to you.”
I growled at my brother. “Don’t treat me like I’m a fucking idiot.”
Corbin rubbed my back. “You’ve been through a lot today.”
I pulled away from him when Tony ran toward the stairs. The monkey waved me toward him. I didn’t move, wanting to see what he would do next. He ran back to me, jumped up and down, and made movements like he was playing charades.
“Lance, we need to—”
“Pay attention,” I growled. “He’s really trying to tell us something.”
Everyone turned to Tony. He held his hand out like he was asking for a treat. He picked up a live oak leaf from the ground, started to bring it to his mouth, then ripped it away with his other hand and made angry sounds.
I studied him, trying to think what he could mean. He repeated the gesture, and suddenly I got it. He was mimicking Julian taking a treat from him. “You know where Julian is?”
He hopped up and down excitedly and turned back toward the stairs. This time I followed him.
“Lance. Wait,” Remington called. “Do you actually think—”
“Julian was taking care of Tony for me. He would’ve been there. He would’ve seen what happened. He disappeared at the same time Julian did.”
Everyone followed as Tony went down the stairs and headed for the building next door. He ran around to the back and started knocking on the door while hopping up and down screeching as loud as he could.
“Julian is in there?”
Tony continued to dance around by the door.
“Carlotti said he was closer than you’d think,” Corbin said.
Dax pushed his way in front of me. “Stand back.”
He had the door unlocked in seconds. When we entered the building, Tony ran ahead of me. I began calling out. “Julian! Are you in here? Julian!”
38
Julian
I blinked awake with the sense that something important was happening. I’d cried myself to sleep on the dirty floor, but now someone was calling my name.
It might be another hallucination, but I wasn’t going to ignore it. I heard it again. “Lance? Is that you?”
“Julian, where are you?”
I rose to my feet, stumbled toward the door, and started banging on it. “In here, Lance. I’m in here.”
I heard footsteps, more than one set. Now there were several voices, all calling to me. I heard the scrape of metal and a second later, the door swung open. I was in Lance’s arms before I even had a chance to look at him.
