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He couldn’t think about Atlas. Or a future that could have been his. He needed to save Charlotte. That was all that mattered now.
6
“Fucking hell, Fred! I thought we talked about you not teleporting into my room whenever you felt like it.” Atlas pressed a hand to his thundering heart and coaxed his magic back under his skin. A shield had automatically ripped itself out of him, forming a barrier between him and the intruder in his space.
“No, no,” Fred said, hands out in front of him. “You saidunless it’s an emergency. I know how to respect boundaries, thank you very much.”
A chill rushed over Atlas like he’d plunged into a frozen lake. “What emergency?”
“Gavin left the building,” Fred said with a frown. “I can’t see where he’s going. Actually, I didn’tseeanything at all, but I did catch him walking out the front door on the security cameras.”
Hurt swamped Atlas in an irrational wave. Why would Gavin leave? Had he been so freaked out and afraid that he felt like sneaking out was the only option? That kiss must have been a goodbye. Atlas grimaced. Now wasn’t the time to let his emotions get the best of him. He needed a cool and clear head. Because regardless of how Gavin felt about him or being a carrier, he was still in danger, and it was still Atlas’s job to protect him.
“Which way did he go? Can we call the Saint cover for a locator spell?”
“Better,” Fred said, pulling out his phone. “Nix is already on it.”
Nix was their IT person. She’d be tracking Gavin using the city’s CCTV network.
Atlas’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and pressed it to his ear without looking at the name. “Gavin?”
“Nope, just your brother with bad news.” Lark took a deep breath. “Charlotte isn’t here. She gave her statement and then was handed off to a uniform for a ride to the Hub. Except no one seems to know who she left with.”
“Shit. They’ve got her.”
Lark’s voice turned grim. “That’s what I’m thinking.”
“Gavin left. He was acting strange when I left him in one of the suites. He walked out the front door not five minutes ago.”
“Double shit,” Lark swore. Atlas could hear movement through the phone, then a car door closing. “I’m on my way. Call Derek. The hounds are already out. Maybe they can help us find them.” He hung up.
Trying to keep his breathing even, he lowered his phone enough to maneuver to Derek’s contact. If they hurt Gavin, he’d bury them so deep beneath the earth no one would ever find their bodies.
“Easy, big guy,” Fred said, staring at him with wide eyes.
The room was shaking. Correction, the building was shaking. Atlas took a deep breath and pulled his power back in. The shaking stopped, at least on the outside. Inside, he felt like his bones were vibrating with the need to unleash a tidal wave. The sheer force of his rage scared him a little. He had excellent control, but the thought of those HAP bastards taking Charlotte and using her to lure Gavin from the safety of the Hub made him want to pry himself open and dump enough power for the earth to open up and swallow the city whole.
“Sorry,” Atlas grunted after several more deep breaths, forcing himself to put a lid on it. He needed to keep his head. A total loss of control for a mage meant death and destruction for everything around them. There was more than one reason humans hated them, and other paranormals tended to be wary.
“Nix’s got him,” Fred said, coming to stand beside Atlas and tilting his phone so Atlas could see the screen. On it, Gavin was stepping out of the back of a light-colored sedan and looking around. “He’s at Cabot Park.”
Atlas was moving before the last word left Fred’s mouth. “Call Lark and Derek. Tell them to meet me there.” He pulled open the door to his room to find Pike there with a hand raised to knock.
“What’s going on?” Pike asked, looking past Atlas to Fred.
“Gavin’s gone. They took his friend to lure him out.”
Pike’s gaze lingered on Fred a moment before coming back to Atlas. “Shit. Let’s go.”
Behind him, Fred was already talking to someone. Probably Lark. He didn’t waste another moment. With Pike on his heels, Atlas ran down the hall toward the stairs.
* * *
Cool wind whipped over Gavin,raising goose bumps on his bare arms and tousling his hair. He walked along the park’s paved walkway, every nerve on high alert as he scanned the open grass and groupings of trees around him. The park was beautiful during the day—green grass, young trees, and fragrant flowers spilling out of their beds. At night, lit by intermittent lampposts and the silver shine of the moon, it took on an eerie vibe.
The fountain was directly ahead of him. The path opened up to a big circular area made up of flat gray stones. Out of the middle of a wide, shallow basin, the statue of a woman in a flowing dress with fangs peeking out from her smiling lips poured water from the palms of her open hands.
Gavin walked the circle around the fountain, peering down the different pathways leading to other parts of the park, but didn’t see anyone. He was alone. His phone buzzed.
