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Grayson's eyes widened, and he struggled against my hold. But I was too strong for him; he couldn't break free. I leaned in closer, my breath hot against his face.
”If you ever put Sofia in danger again,” I said, my voice dripping with menace, ”I will kill you. Do you understand me?”
Grayson nodded frantically, and I released him. He stumbled back, gasping for air, and I turned away from him. I needed to get out of there before I did something I would regret.
Grayson had done reckless things before, but he always seemed to find a way to fix them. If he hurt Sofia, there would be no coming back from that. He was my brother in all but blood, but I was certain that I would kill him without hesitation.
It was very quickly becoming clear thatSofiawas the real danger here…because I’d threatened to kill for her, and I would do it again.
And at this point, I was too addicted to stop.
Still gasping for breath, he followed me outside, where I leaned against the railing and looked down at the parking lot of Sam’s apartment complex.
”You’re right,” he said. ”I’m sorry.”
”Sorry won’t cut it,” I replied. ”Iwillreplace you.”
He sighed, leaning over the railing too. ”There’s something I didn’t show you.”
I turned on him, raising an eyebrow. ”What?”
Grayson pulled out a cell phone, pressing a few buttons. He held the phone up for me to see, and I frowned.
”What’s this?”
”It’s not my phone,” he said. ”At first, it was Sam’s. But I think it actually belongs to Sofia.”
”What?” I took it off him.
”I found it in Sam’s nightstand.”
He didn’t need to say anything else. The night Sofia had been beaten up was the same night she had lost her phone. ”Do you think she would’ve recognized her brother?”
”I mean, I think she would like to think she would’ve recognized her brother.”
I nodded, feeling a sense of unease settle in my stomach. If Sofia's brother was the killer, then we were in more danger than ever before. I needed to talk to Sofia, to tell her what we had found. But first, I needed to find her.
”She can’t have gone far,” I said softly. ”She doesn’t have a car or a phone. We need to split up and find her. And Grayson, if you see her, do not engage. Just tell me where she is.”
”I could put her in my car and drive her back to HQ.”
I shook my hand. ”Leave the handling of Sofia to me,” I said. ”You’ve done enough.”
He nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. We both knew that we were running out of time. The killer was getting bolder, and we needed to stop him before he struck again. But now, we also needed to protect Sofia from her own brother.
I pocketed the phone and ran down to my bike, then I took off in one direction, scanning the streets for any sign of her while Grayson went the other way.
I had to find her before Sam did.
Because if he caught her again, I wasn’t sure if she would get away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sofia
Iknewthat,ifI went through the back of the apartment complex, I would be able to cut through the leasing office and the pool toward the eastside. Once I got out of the apartment complex, I was able to duck into a gas station that was only a few minutes away.
I didn’t have any money on me, I didn’t have a phone and I definitely didn’t have a car, so getting access to my apartment was completely out of the question. But I needed to speak to my brother, and I would find my way home. I’d made a deal with Teo and truthfully, I didn’t particularly want to involve the police, considering it might get my brother in trouble.
Not because he was the Orchid Strangler.
