He froze and leaned in, staring intently at the severed digit. “I don’t need to,” he replied softly, his voice tight with emotion. His eyes were a kaleidoscope of green and yellow when he glanced over at her, and the pain she saw inside them stole her breath. “It’s Justin’s. He had a birthmark in the shape of a star on his right index finger—same as the one on this one.”
Her heart squeezed as compassion filled her. “I’m so sorry, Colt.”
Clearing his throat, he shook his head as his hands clenched tightly. “He’s still alive, and that’s what counts. And I’ll make those motherfuckers pay when I find them. Now go do what you need to do so we can get out of here.”
Nodding, she turned without saying anything else, pulling her phone out of her pocket to call her uncle as she went to her room. She’d really been hoping that his cousin hadn’t been at the hotel at all. Or, if he had been, that one of the Bad Guys had somehow lost a finger and not him.
She’d never met Justin, and maybe it was because she’d seen how much Colton cared for him and how worried he was, but the thought of him being in so much trouble made her heart hurt. And she hoped that nothing else happened to him before he could be found. It was clear that Colton loved him very much, and she instinctively knew that it would devastate him if he lost him.
Maybe it was stupid of her, but she wasn’t the least bit afraid of going off with someone she just met. Mostly because it didn’t feel like they’d just met—it felt like she’d known him for years. Besides, the gut that so correctly warned her that the Creepy Dudes were bad news was also telling her Colton was trustworthy, so she was going to roll with it until he proved otherwise to her.
But she was damned sure going to give Sergei all his info, just in case her gut was wrong this time.
Colton walked back into the hotel, his gut churning. He had a sick feeling in his stomach the moment he saw the finger, and he’d suspected it was Justin’s. His cousin’s scent had been all over the room, so he’d known as soon as he walked in that he’d been there—even though, for a moment, he tried to convince himself Katia was right that maybe Justin hadn’t been—and there was no way he’d just sit around and allow someone else’s finger to be cut off. But suspecting it was his was absolutely nothing like seeing the birthmark and knowing for sure it whose finger it was.
He hadn’t wanted to wrap it in colored plastic and throw it in the dumpster either, but he hadn’t known what else to do with it. It made him a little sick to just throw it away, but he couldn’t hold onto it. He just hoped no one found it, and that he’d done a good enough job on the cleanup in the bathroom.
If the blood or finger were found and then tested, they’d know that Justin was more than human, and he couldn’t let that happen. Shifters kept their existence a closely guarded secret. As far as he knew, his cousin’s prints weren’t in any systems, but he didn’t want to take the chance that the blood could be traced back to him, or that they’d find DNA that shouldn’t exist in it.
That would put all shifters in danger.
He couldn’t believe he was even contemplating this shit, and he fucking hated the reason he had to. He’d known something was seriously wrong from the moment Justin disappeared, but seeing his severed finger drove it home with sickening clarity.
When he found the men who did this, he was going to kill them.
You kill them, I’ll burn the bodies, and then we’ll dance around their ashes while we celebrate, his dragon rumbled inside him, his voice fierce with the longing to do just that.
You bet your ass we will, Colton replied, vowing to do everything in his power to make that a reality.
He wasn’t normally so bloodthirsty, and neither was his dragon. His animal was a gentle giant, despite what he was. But they both had protective streaks a mile wide—which was part of why they wanted to be Enforcers back in the day—and they turned fierce when someone they considered theirs was threatened.
And that was even more true for Justin, who was like a brother to him, not to mention his best friend. Which was what made his decision to get Katia out of the city instead of immediately trying to track them down the hardest decision he’d ever fucking made.
His heart literally hurt at the thought of leaving Justin to fend for himself longer, when God only knew what was happening to him, and a heavy knot of dread was coiled tightly in his stomach. But he couldn’t leave Katia in danger, either—and his gut was one hundred percent certain that at least one of those fuckers was nearby, waiting for his opportunity to strike and get rid of the woman who could identify them.
She was a complete innocent in this, and Colton couldn’t let her be hurt or even killed just for being in the wrong places at the wrong times. All she was guilty of was having two jobs and working too hard, and she didn’t deserve what came from being the unfortunate person to see them twice.
And whether he wanted to admit it or not, whatever mess Justin was in… well, he chose it. Maybe he didn’t choose to be captured—or whatever the hell happened to land him with those fuckers—or to get his finger cut off, but he got himself into this situation. He’d been up to something for months before he disappeared, and he made a conscious decision to vanish without telling anyone where he was going or what he was doing.
But that didn’t mean making the decision to get Katia to safety before rescuing Justin from whatever mess he was in—and risking the possibility of losing him forever—wasn’t painful as fuck. Especially knowing he was being hurt and possibly tortured, and that every moment he was with those bastards was another moment when his life could be ending.
You’re doing the right thing, his dragon said quietly.
Am I? he asked, clenching his hands tightly into fists. Scratch that. I know I am, and I know I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her. Especially since it would be a direct result of me and Justin barging into her life. But not immediately tracking Justin down feels all kinds of wrong, and like a betrayal to the man who’s basically a brother to me.
You know how much I love Justin. I need to find him as much as you do. But like you said, he got himself into it, and she’s an innocent in all this. Besides, he’s a grown man skilled in fighting, and he’s a shifter on top of that. He stands a better chance against them than she does.
Exhaling quietly, he nodded, acknowledging that point. You’re right, of course. It’s just a shitty situation all around.
That it is. His dragon went quiet inside him for a moment. Is that the only reason you don’t want anything to happen to Katia?
He frowned, something st
irring inside him uneasily. What are you getting at?
I’m just saying, you’ve never reacted to a woman as strongly as you did to her. Maybe you’re too distracted by everything going on to recognize it, but I can tell how much you like her.
An image of her sky-blue eyes and pixie face flashed through his mind, and he nodded with a quirk of his lips that quickly faded. You’re right, I do. If I’d met her at any other time, I would have immediately asked her out. As it is, though, I feel guilty for even thinking about anything other than finding Justin right now.