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Chapter Forty Three
Bray
Ihold her, unwilling to let go, as Cyrus makes some calls, trying to find everything out. I’ve never heard him so worried, so fucking angry. His eyes cut back to Blair as she cries and whispers in fear. He loves her, and he feels helpless. We all want her to be wrong, but she’s so sure, and her logic makes sense. Fuck, I’ve never seen her like this either, shaking with terror and so fucking scared.
Asher grabs his gun, and she yells after him, but he storms off, determined to check the house and our apartment before securing it.
“Phone,” she croaks.
“What, baby?” I ask, pulling away to see her tear-stained face.
“I need a phone; I have to know it’s him.”
I hand her my iPhone with a frown, watching as she takes it in her shaking hand. She punches in a number by heart and waits as it rings. Cyrus stops his calls, waiting and watching.
“We’re clear and locked down,” Asher announces as he stops before us. She pulls the phone away and puts it on speaker for us as we listen to it ring, each one making her jump as we become angrier. Fuck, hurry up!
The line finally connects, and after a moment, a deep, confused voice echoes down the phone. “Hello, who is this?”
“Detective Elba?” Blair asks in a wobbly voice before she closes her eyes and licks her lips. “It’s me, Blair Cre—Willows.”
There’s a moment of silence, and then his voice comes, sounding softer, more caring. “Blair, are you okay? I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“My number, I changed it.” She quivers. “It’s true then.”
“Blair—”
“He escaped, hasn’t he?” she demands.
He sighs. “Yes, over a month ago. He managed to bribe some guards, and, well, I won’t bore you with the details, but he killed someone in the process, then stole their car and identity. We tracked him, but he sent us on a wild goose chase. We have been after him ever since. There’s no proof he’s coming for you—”
“Of course he fucking is!” she yells. “He wrote me and called me every single day from behind bars, telling me I was his. I moved to escape it, and now he’s here, I know he is.”
“Blair, tell me your address, I’ll send police—”
“They can’t do anything,” she snaps. “It’s too late, he’s already here. He’s coming for me again. By the time they find him, I’ll be dead.” She hangs up and presses her face into my chest. I meet Cyrus’s eyes. They are cold and deadly.
“Blair,” he murmurs.
“What do I do? I have to run—”
“No more running, baby girl,” he snarls. “He’s here.” She flinches, and he crouches before her, cupping her cheeks so she looks up at him. “The police might be useless, but we aren’t. I meant what I said, we all did. No one will ever hurt you again. You are ours.”
“Cy—”
I cover her lips, turning her to face me. “He’s right. He won’t get near you. Now that we know it’s him, we know what to look for. You are on lockdown.”
“Tonight, we hunt him,” Asher states.
“No! He’ll kill you!”
“Many have tried, baby girl.” Cyrus smirks. “But he’s just another desperate man. That makes him weak and sloppy, and now that we know why and who, there will be no stopping us. We will find him, and we will end this like they should have back then. He will never get to you again. You’ll be free. Trust us to do this, trust us to protect you.”
“What if he hurts you?” she asks worriedly. She’s more concerned about us than herself.
“I’m sorry, baby girl, but we aren’t them.” She winces, knowing he means her old friends and boyfriend. “We can look after ourselves. He’s nothing but an obsessed teacher. We grew up on these streets, fighting for our name, our reputation, and family. We deal with gangbangers, criminals, and drug dealers on the daily. Everything here is ours, and he won’t stand a chance. We’ll circle a net around the city, have every eye watching, and chase him from the gutters to the streets and shoot him like the fucking rat he is.”
“But…” She shakes her head. “I can’t lose anyone else,” she finally confesses. “I just can’t. I lost everyone, so I stopped letting people in. I’ve just found you; I can’t lose you all.” She meets each of our gazes, and I see determination entering her eyes. “I’m tired of being afraid of him, but I’ve never been so scared as I am at the idea of you being gone. I’ve been in love before, I’ve cared for people, but never like this. You aren’t just boyfriends or friends. You’re my family, my everything.” She closes her eyes for a moment, and when they open, the old Blair is back, and she’s strong and angry. “I refuse to let him take that away from me, to take you away from me.”
