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“Thanks for choosing me. I’m sorry,” I choked out. “You’ll never be able to go back.”
“You’re family,” he said simply. “I will always have your back.”
I started driving, hoping to get far enough away from both the Clovers and Zan before I ran out of gas. Then we’d be stuck traveling on foot, and that was going to make things even more difficult. But at least I wasn’t alone. I snuck a glance at Warner, hoping I hadn’t made a mistake. If something happened to him because of me, I’d never fucking forgive myself.
Chapter 39
Zan
“She must have taken the necklace off,” Pax muttered.
“And put it where?” I snapped, slamming my palms against the steering wheel. “Even if she abandoned it, I should still be able to fucking track it. There is no way she’s far enough away for me to lose the scent of my own damn blood.”
“We can’t be that far behind her.” Pax jumped out of the truck, and I followed. “We missed them at that camp by hours.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face, freezing when I spotted the armored vehicle parked in front of Impulse. As if this night couldn’t get any fucking worse. Pax mumbled a curse when he noticed the same thing. I tilted my head, listening to the conversation happening inside the club. Viggo’s voice rang out first, and then I heard Amaros respond.
I’d left Project Peace in such a rush that I hadn’t spoken a word to my father since I’d gone after Kali yesterday. I was hoping to find her before I had to face him, but that clearly wasn’t the case, seeing as how I had no damn idea where she was.
I absentmindedly brushed my fingers over my neck where she’d stabbed the needle into me. I should have known the second her lips touched mine that she was playing me. After everything she’d seen in Project Peace, there was no way she would have ever wanted to kiss me. In the back of my head, I had known. But there would never be a time where I’d deny her kiss. Even if that meant getting shot up with hawthorn.
I didn’t blame her. It was exactly what I’d expected her to try to do when she found out what my father was planning. I knew her well enough to know that she’d never accept it. But I figured I’d have a chance to talk her down. And I never thought she’d find a way to evade me.
She probably hated me and never wanted to see me again. But I couldn’t allow that either. Amaros would send vampires after her. She might be able to hide for a while, but they’d find her.
And…I fucking detested not knowing where she was. The dread was suffocating me, and it wouldn’t go away until she was at my side again.
I trudged forward, ripping open the door and entering Impulse. My nerves were fried, and seeing Amaros made it so much fucking worse. Viggo was standing at the bar with Gia, and he couldn’t even manage a smile before he downed a shot of whiskey. Gia gave me a small nod before shuffling around to get us all a round of drinks.
“You came back without her,” Amaros murmured, eyeing me with disappointment. “She is your responsibility, Zan. She knows too fucking much.”
If he hadn’t dragged her into Project Peace, this never would have happened. I didn’t voice that, knowing it would only piss him off even more.
I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples. It was taking an enormous amount of effort to even think clearly. My head was a fucking mess. The crushing pressure hadn’t let up since Kali had disappeared. Not knowing her whereabouts was literally driving me to the edge.
Amaros drummed his fingers on the bar. “She has your necklace on. How did you lose her?”
“I don’t know,” I ground out. “I tracked her to a Clover camp, and then the scent was just gone. She took it off somehow.”
She must have covered herself in lotion too, because I couldn’t catch a scent of her blood either. She and Warner had been gone by the time we arrived at the camp. The three Clovers who were there hadn’t told Pax and me much. The woman had a tattoo like Kali, making it impossible to entrance her. But Matt was easy. The last time I’d entranced him, I’d told him not to use the hawthorn anymore. But he wasn’t any help. Kali had come for Warner, and they’d left together. That was it. No idea where they were going. Nothing.
“I still don’t understand how she got away from you.” Amaros’s eyes cut to Pax. “She’s human. A fucking woman. And she took you by surprise? I know you have a soft spot for humans, but this is embarrassing, even for you.”
“She was trained her entire life to fight,” Viggo spoke up, defending his twin like always. “She could have done it to any of us.”
“I didn’t let her go,” Pax snapped. “I didn’t know she even had a stake.”
I stepped forward. “It’s my fault. She’s my responsibility. I’ll find her.”
“Yes you will,” my father hissed, rage climbing in his voice. “And you’ll kill every single person she’s been in contact with. PARA can’t know about our work with the Shadows. I want her back on my property as soon as fucking possible. I already have Jasper gathering a group to go searching for her.”
Ice chilled my veins. “They’ll kill her.”
Amaros lifted his gaze, meeting my eyes. “At this point, I don’t care. You can find another to mate with. We need to protect our secrets.”
“And if he’s bonding to her?” Pax forced out through clenched teeth.
Amaros frowned. “He’ll survive.”
