“Don’t call her!” Shawn yells when I’m about to dial. “You don’t know what’s happening. If she’s hiding and you call, you’ll make things worse. The phone location shows her at your condo.”
“Let’s go!” Nico booms from the door, keys in hand.
Everyone’s suddenly sober and alert. We hop into his G-Wagon while Shawn’s on the phone sending a squad car over to my place. I open the security system app to check what’s happening, and my stomach sinks.
No picture.
If the feed was interrupted, there’d be an error message, but there’s just a black screen which means the camera near the front door is covered.
I rewind the recording to when Thalia approached the door less than five minutes ago, eyes red and puffy as if she had cried all night. She opened the door, probably expecting to find me on the other side. Her beautiful face paled, and she slammed the door closed with all her might. She remembered to snatch Ares off the floor in the mayhem of fear that must’ve been running through her head, then bolted into our bedroom.
Shit. There’s no lock on that door.
She can’t hide there.
She should’ve aimed for the fucking bathroom!
Two seconds later, something covers the camera. My heart slams like a hammer, bruising my ribs. The sour taste of fear on my tongue makes me sick. I’ll tear that asshole apart when I get my hands on him, whoever he is.
“She’ll be okay. She can handle herself,” Shawn assures, trying to soothe me. “Try to calm down. We’re almost there.”
“Calm down?”I snap, my hands shaking. “Would you calm down if Jack was locked in your house with some nutcase? He’sinside, alone with my girl!”
“The squad car is just a minute away. She’ll be okay, Theo. She’s got more fire in her bones than many guys I know.”
Nico speeds across Newport like we’re in a high-budget action movie. The engine roars, and tires squeal on every corner. Seven minutes. Seven long minutes pass before he slams the brakes outside the building, leaving the car in the middle of the road.
Blue and red lights flash on the roofs of three cop cars. The door to the building stands wide open, and one officer is outside, probably securing the perimeter and keeping a crowd of bystanders from getting too close.
I sprint inside first, bouncing off the wall in the hallway, my heart in my throat as I burst through the door. “Thalia?!”
“We’re here,” a male voice shouts from the bedroom.
I’m there in a heartbeat, every muscle in my back pulled tautly. Thalia sits on the bed with Ares curled beside her, no tears staining her face. I charge straight at her and pull her to me, the touch of my hands urgent. She’s okay. She’s not hurt.
The warmth of her body soothes my unnerved mind. “I’m here,” I say, cupping her face. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
A quiet whimper slips past her lips, and she goes perfectly rigid in my arms. “Don’t hold me. It hurts like hell.”
I let go, checking her over, only now noticing that her right shoulder is twisted back in an unnatural position. “What the hell happened?”
“No one was here when the first squad car arrived,” the cop explains just as Shawn joins us.
“He ran when he heard the police sirens,” Thalia says.
“But they’ve got him,” Shawn adds quickly as if he knows I need that piece of information or I’m going to flip. “They caught him running down the back alley.”
“Who? Who the fuck was here?”
“Kai.” Thalia rests her forehead on my shoulder, and I risk wrapping my arm around her middle, careful not to touch her dislocated shoulder.
Kai.
Why didn’t I think of that dipshit sooner?!
The note he left last time flashes before my eyes. I should’ve dug deeper when Shawn confirmed it wasn’t Dean or Asher. I should’ve known Kai wasn’t going to quit so easily.
You had a chance, and you blew it. Time to play.