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“Another professor in the department—one I was out with last night—just told me he never made it home last night, and hasn’t come in today or called anyone. Apparently, no one can get in touch with him.”
“Yeah, but what makes you think the eyes belong to him? Why would Mel target him instead of one of the others you were with last night?”
Guilt gnaws on my bones as I confess, “He waited with me after everyone else left. He… he hugged me goodnight.” My head hangs as remorse sickens me. I thought nothing of it at the time, yet now I can’t stop replaying that moment over in my head, viewing it the way Mel would have from whatever secret spot she was hiding in.
How she must have misinterpreted the two of us talking alone; how she overanalyzed that brief hug. Just like she did with all of my interactions with her, she misread those few moments alone with Louis, built them into something more, then took all her sociopathic rage out on him—over absolutely fucking nothing!
“Okay,” Kai says calmly and confidently, his unruffled demeanor somewhat consoling me. “I’ll see what I can find out about Louis’ whereabouts.”
I can hear what he’s not saying—that he believes, just as I do, that he’s not going to find him anywhere. He’s not trapped in a car at the side of the road. He’s not lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Hell, he’s not even a dead John Doe in the morgue. He’ll have vanished off the face of the earth, fallen into Mel’s clutches. All because he hugged me.
It’s a cold reminder of just how callous and twisted she is.
“This is not your fault, Em,” Kai says softly, somehow knowing exactly where my thoughts were. “Leave it with me. I’ll look into it and get back to you.”
“Kai, one of the professors here is calling the police.”
“Don’t worry,” he reassures. “They won’t do anything for twenty-four hours.”
I’m not sure if that assures or sickens me, but I feel better knowing Kai is looking into it—even if I already know it won’t change anything.
The rest of the day passes in anxious turmoil where I check my phone constantly, frequently opening the chat with Kai and debating on asking for an update. I only refrain because I have back-to-back classes. Although, if I’m being honest, I know any update will only confirm what I know deep down—that Louis is dead.
Chapter12
HAWK
“This is getting out of hand,” Emilia exclaims as she continues pacing back and forth across the cinema room. She’s been on edge since she got home—not that I can blame her. Kai's confirmation of the death of her colleague has freaked her out. Guilt shines in her eyes, regardless of how many times we try to tell her that none of this is her fault. “It’s only a matter of time until she comes after one of you.”
“We’ve all done far more than hug Emilia, so why hasn’t she come after us?” Wilder asks. He chose a seat as far away from Emilia as possible when he walked in, but his gaze has been following her all night as she paces a hole in the floor.
I no longer have any idea what’s going on between them. I saw the way he watched her that night in the bathtub. A bomb could have gone off, and he still wouldn’t have been able to tear his gaze away from our girl as she came. Not to mention the fact that he implanted a tracker in her without her consent. You don’t do that unless you care about someone on some level.
Yet he’s been avoiding her ever since, mostly staying at the frat house and only showing up for house meetings.
I know we’re all meant to be acting like we can’t stand the sight of one another, but I’d been hoping he might have gotten over his hurt feelings when he found out Em was missing. It looked like he might have…
Damn idiot needs to wake up and realize Em isn’t the root of all his problems. The opposite, in fact—she was the one who kept him sane while we were at Pac. He went completely off the rails after she left. At first, I thought it was heartbreak—and no doubt that was part of it—but it wasn’t the sole reason for his deterioration. Even a broken heart doesn’t account for how crazed he was.
Wilder was always a little unhinged, but after Em left, he let his demons swallow him whole. At times, he barely appeared human, and other times he was no better than a zombie—barely around, and even when he was, he didn’t care to participate in anything.
Until Em came back into our lives, I haven’t seen him look so... himself since our days at Pac. He thinks he hates her; he thinks he’s pissed at her because she left, only I think it’s more. He’d have caved by now and fucked her if that’s all it was.
Whatever the reason he’s holding back, I seriously hope he figures his shit out soon. Thoughts of a repeat of that night from four years ago fill my dreams. I’m dying to get my Little Sparrow between us, naked and needy for our cocks, begging for relief as we fuck that sweet pussy and tight ass, filling her so full she won’t be able to handle it.
And if Wilder isn’t going to come to his senses, then Kai better. I don’t care which one of them is the other slice in my Emilia sandwich, so long as thereisan Emilia sandwich. It’s been too fucking long since the last one, and I have a craving that won’t go away until it’s sated.
“My guess is we’re harder targets for her. We know who she is, what she looks like, and what she’s capable of. It was easier for her to get beneath Louis’ guard.”
“So what do we do now?” I ask, looking at Kai. I might own a private security firm, but this is well beyond my wheelhouse.
“Police won’t look into Louis’ disappearance for another day, probably. I’m guessing Mel will have covered her tracks,”—he flicks his gaze toward a still-pacing Emilia—“much like she did with Richard. They might want to question you, Em, but just tell them the truth about that night. You didn’t know the guy, so they have no reason to suspect anything.”
Emilia stops long enough to consider what he’s saying before nodding in acknowledgment. "And what about Mel? We’ve tried going along with what she wanted, but she never shows her face. We have no idea where she’s staying or even who she really is. We’re getting nowhere; meanwhile, she’s…" she waves her hand in the air, returning to her pacing, unable to finish her sentence.
“We need to set up our sting operation ASAP,” Kai states with finality.
“So long as Emilia doesn’t end up fucking kidnapped again,” Wilder growls menacingly. All three of us stare at him in surprise, but he just stares right back.
