Malice.
Rage seeped from my flesh and dripped from my pores. I’d take out anything, anyone, who would hurt them.
I eased open the door another inch, cringing as it creaked on its hinges. I bit down on my lip like it might keep the sound contained.
The only thing there was the stilled vacancy of the room.
I stepped inside, eyes rushing around to take in the stillness.
Where the fuck was Felix?
Terror rode my spine.
What if I was too late? What if Felix hadn’t been enough to protect them?
Heart slamming against my ribs, I inched deeper into the darkened house, the old antiques big and imposing, as imposing as the silence that reverberated back.
Quieting my feet, I eased up the sweeping staircase, moving as fast as I could without making a sound.
I went straight for Bailey’s door.
Somehow, I already knew it’d be sitting wide open, her bed empty, covers a mess where they’d been dragged to the floor.
Sweat drenched my forehead and dripped down my back.
No.
No. No. No.
Blinking through the staggering pain, I pushed right back out, and did the same to Faith’s room, eyes sweeping the place, knowing it would be the same.
Emptiness bled through the door. Pooled on the floor. The picture frame that had remained on her nightstand had been shattered on the floor.
I started to rush out, to run for the door, to grab for my phone as I did.
Then I heard it.
A rustle from upstairs.
A small bang.
A barely heard moan.
But it hit my spirit so loudly I could have sworn Faith was screaming it in my ear.
I need you, Jace. I need you in a way I’ve never needed anyone.
Little fingers digging into my neck.
You sway aww the dragons?
Pulse crashing through my veins, I eased up the narrow staircase that led to the third floor, not knowing what to expect but preparing for the worst. I paused only long enough to send Mack a text.
Me: Get to Faith’s now. Bring backup.
I inched the rest of the way up the steps, cringing every time the old wood groaned, praying I could make it up without being noticed.
If the girls and Felix weren’t alone up there, it would be me against who knew how many. The last thing I wanted for them to know was that I was coming.
The banging grew louder the higher I got, and I eased up into the open space of the rambling third-floor above.
Dust and boxes and old furniture sat everywhere. It’d been cluttered the last time I’d been up here, but since then, it’d been torn apart.
Ransacked.
The barest light glowed from a corner at the very back, and my heart clanged, the desperate clawing of the beast when I found Faith huddled on a worn couch on the other side of the expansive room, rocking Bailey in her arms.
Her expression was terror-stricken, her energy bowed and twisted and tied. Stuck on this moment.
Life in the hands of the bastard who raged in front of her, gun clenched in his hand.
Felix.
What the fuck was happening?
Confusion spun while horror climbed into my spirit.
Felix.
My mind flashed with all the threats. The fact someone had been able to get in and out without being noticed. Almost like they belonged.
Felix.
He’d been right there under our noses this whole time.
Watching her.
Waiting.
Motherfucker.
How could I have let this happen?
That lead had been nothing but bait to lure me away. And I’d left Faith right in the palm of his hand.
Rage blistered and blew. I didn’t know how he couldn’t feel the storm whip through the room, the lashes that struck in the stagnant air.
Thunder.
Swore, I felt a bolt of lightning strike through the center of me.
A stake to my body.
“Where the fuck is it, you stupid bitch?” Felix ranted, angling down toward her where she did her best to hide in plain sight, her hand over the back of Bailey’s head like she could protect her from the words he spat.
“I told you . . . I . . . I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. I don’t know anything about Joseph’s business.”
Roaring, Felix whirled to the side and kicked a huge cardboard box. Glass shattered when it crashed onto the ground, contents spilling out.
Bailey screamed, and her mother held her tighter.
While I almost came right out of my skin.
No one would hurt them.
No one.
Not ever.
I’d die before I let that happen.
Felix was back in Faith’s face. “Give up the bullshit innocent act. I know you know. I gave you plenty of chances to come clean. Warning after warning. I didn’t want it to come to this, but I’m out of time. Just the same as you. Now tell me where that piece of shit hid it before I beat it out of you.”
Anger surged. So intense I almost went running across the room.
But I held back, eyes scanning, trying to figure out the best way to lure the asshole away.