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His uninjured eye widened and his back stiffened. “But don’t do it, Ellie! Don’t meet them. They’ll kill me anyway, and they won’t let you go when they’re done.”
The man punched him twice more and David slumped in the chair. The camera turned back to Miriam. “Elinor, I hope I haven’t underestimated your attachment to young Dr. Preston. Meet us tomorrow night or we’ll deliver him to your front doorstep. And you won’t like the way he looks when we’re done with him.” Then the video ended.
I stared at the frozen frame on the screen. A sob broke loose and I reached back my hand to throw it across the room, but Collin grabbed my fist and pried the phone loose before I could do it.
“I know you’re pissed, Ellie, but we need this phone.”
I leaned over my knees, my heart cracking into pieces as I finally let myself break down. What had they done to him? What more hell would he have to go through because of me? I struggled to catch my breath. No, the fucking Guardians were the ones who had beat the shit out of him. I needed to blame them. I choked on a sob again, remembering how his sweet face had looked in the video—bloody and bruised. My threat to Miriam wasn’t a bluff, and her video only made me hate her more. I stood up straight, my chest heaving as I fought to regain control. “Pissed?You think I’m onlypissed?”
“Ellie.” He grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes. “I swear to you, I’ll do everything in my power to get him back. This isn’t done.”
My control broke again and tears clogged my throat. “I begged you to save him when I went after her. You told me you would and you didn’t…you came after me instead. Why should I believe you now?”
His hand cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing away my tears. “Because you’ll always come first. Above everyone and everything. Every fucking time, you’ll always come first.”
I shook my head and sagged into his chest and sobbed, some of the fight drained out of me.
His hand moved to the back of my head as his other arm wrapped around my back, holding me gently against him. “He was already gone by the time I got out back. There wasn’t anything I could do. I’ll help you save him.”
His words filled me with hope. But I suddenly realized that I was back to where I was when all of this began—blindly following Collin. Well, I was no longer that naïve, stupid girl who’d followed him like a lost puppy. I was stronger now, and I knew things he didn’t. I jerked out of his grasp. Nothing good ever came from letting Collin take control. “Then you’ll have to tag along with me, because I’m going after him myself.”
Resignation filled his eyes, and he took a step back. I reached over and grabbed my sword off the table and strode toward the door.
“Ellie, hold up.”
I spun at the waist and stared at him, my gaze cold. “Are you coming with me or not?”
“Hey, I’m all for going on a recovery mission, and you seem hell-bent on taking over,” he said, his tone light as he held his hands out at his sides. “And fine, I’ll let you. But what’s your plan?”
Asshole. I didn’t have one and he knew it.
He took a cautious step toward me. “Can I just make a suggestion?”
“What?”
“Before we leave, let’s look for clues.” He took my nonresponse as a sign to continue. “If they moved the collection out, they would have needed a big truck. Maybe someone noticed.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Who? This building is completely unoccupied except for this section. And the back faces a field. Who would have seen anything?”
A wry grin lifted his mouth. “Someone most people would ignore.”
Chapter21
“Come on.” He brushed past me as he moved to the back door, unlocked it, and then pushed it open.
I followed him out and down the steps next to the loading dock. A puddle of water sat in the middle section of the drive.
“I noticed this earlier, but it’s directly under an overhang and it rained last night. But now I think it’s condensation from a car or truck’s air conditioner.” He pointed to it. “This was how they took David.”
Fear rushed through my bloodstream, making me light-headed.Get it together, Ellie. “And it was gone when you got back here?”
“Yeah, I suspect they didn’t waste any time before starting their interrogation, and then they hauled him off before anyone could investigate. If they are really watching you—or me—then they probably even knew we were here.”
I put my left hand on my stomach to ground myself. “So, what do we do with that?”
“Come here.”
I followed him down the stairs and around the corner, telling myself that following him didn’t mean I was giving him control. “Where are we going?”
