Chapter 17: Griffin

17

GRIFFIN

W hen I wake up covered in blood, alone in my room in the bed and breakfast, I smother the string of expletives I'm tempted to shout.

Glancing around the room, everything's in its place. There's no broken furniture to explain my injuries. One sniff tells me it's not only my blood. Scrambling up in the bed, I stare at the streaks of red coating my arms and legs, horrified.

Not again.

Staggering to the bathroom, I wipe my face with a damp towel and stare at my haggard reflection. It's easy to tell I haven't slept. I was too torn up about how I left things with Kali. But apparently stewing over what a mess I made of things with her wasn't the only thing robbing my sleep. Jumping into jeans and throwing a big hoodie on to cover the worst of the stains on my clothing, I trudge downstairs, but the dining room and kitchen are completely silent.

No sign of chaos, here at least, but the mood in the house feels off. Listening hard, I hear sniffling. Something bad has happened. Fuck.

I charge back upstairs, pounding on Maisy's door with my fist, with an uneasy feeling settling in my gut. Please tell me it's not because of me.

Maisy cracks the door open and blinks up at me, eyes wet, before joining me in the hallway. My heart plummets. Her expression is haunted, and I go completely still, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

"What's wrong?"

It's like watching a car crash in slow motion. I know what's coming is going to be bad, but I'm powerless to stop it.

"It's Kali. She's gone. She was attacked last night in the woods and…" she sobs, pulling a tissue from her sleeve. "She was badly hurt. Really badly."

" She's gone ," I whisper in disbelief, repeating Maisy's words as I brace myself against the doorframe and struggle to stay on my feet. My chest constricts, and rising panic makes it hard to breathe. "Kali's dead?"

It can't be true. Flashbacks of crashing through the forest and hearing her screams assault me. Then what?

I rub my eyes, trying to make sense of the jumble of images rolling around in my brain.

She can't be gone.

"Missing." Maisy clarifies, looking absolutely bone weary. "Jack went to get Doc. The lane was blocked by some fallen trees, and he couldn't get down the road. And while I was getting more towels in the back, she just…" Maisy throws up her hands, looking defeated. When she speaks again, her tired voice is no more than a whisper. "We looked everywhere, but it's like she disappeared into thin air. I thought this was all over. I can't take any more."

My knuckles turn white where they're gripping the wood, which is the only thing keeping me upright. I concentrate on breathing and ignore the tornado of emotions rushing through me: Grief, guilt, rage, fear.

Leaving was hard, but I trusted her family and friends to do everything they could for her. I knew a stranger arriving in the middle of such a fraught situation wouldn't be welcome. But maybe I should have barged in there anyway. She might still be here.

"Did she leave? Or was she…?" I can't bring myself to ask if she was taken out loud, as if saying the word kidnapped makes it real. I saw her injuries. I know she couldn't have left by herself.

"She didn't walk out of there on her own. Oh Griffin, there was just so much blood." Maisy hangs her head and presses her thumb and index fingers into her eyelids hard, like she's trying to erase the memory. "Why would someone steal her away? She was bandaged up, but I couldn't stop the bleeding. What if she's too weak to recover without our help?"

Pressing my lips together, I don't answer. I've got nothing to say that's going to help, and it's the same thought that's running through my mind.

"They were out looking for her all night, but the rain washed away any trail, and it was too wild out there to hear anything. Henry, the local deputy, is going to arrange a formal search party and round up as many volunteers as he can."

Fiddling with the sleeve of her dressing gown, she stares unseeing at the wall in front of her. For the first time, Maisy looks at me properly and sees the state I'm in.

"Sorry, you probably don't know any of this." Maisy looks exhausted and I inch closer in case she needs to sit down. "Scott was the sheriff. A good guy, or so we all thought. It turns out him, and his sister Serena were responsible for the three missing girls."

Sighing, she rubs her bloodshot eyes with her fingers and blinks hard. "From what we can piece together, it looks like Kali stepped in to protect Holly when she found them in the woods, and Serena…" Tears well up in her eyes, but she brushes them away, trying to gather herself. "I can't believe Scott and Serena killed all those women. I just never imagined…"

Nodding, the knot in my chest loosens a fraction, and I suck in a deep breath. She's still alive. I can feel it. I can't waste any energy focusing on who hurt her. Right now, I need to concentrate on getting her back.

It's still dark outside, but not for long. The searches are going to be starting soon, and I need to help any way I can. I don't know enough about Kali to go looking for her on my own yet. Her friends, where she likes to go in her spare time, anyone she's fallen out with. That's all vital information that Henry will hopefully share.

Jed's cruel smirk crosses my mind. He'd be stupid enough to come back, but something tells me he's not brave enough to steal her out from under everyone's noses. It's not something that can be discounted though either, especially if he wasn't acting alone.

"I'll get dressed and go make myself useful."

Maisy reaches out a hand and places it gently on my arm, her fingers touching the cuff right beside a deep graze on my hand and a thin stripe of dried red blood.

I stiffen, but I don't think she's noticed it.

"You probably regret moving here. We couldn't blame you if you didn't want to stick around. It's like this place is cursed. But please, do everything you can. Something tells me you're who we need right now to bring her back."

Nodding, I pull Maisy into a quick hug that ends up stretching out as both of us savour the moment's comfort, knowing the rest of the day is likely to be awful.

"I'll keep you posted. Get some rest, Maisy." I'm not sure who needed that more as I sigh, giving her one last small squeeze, before stepping back. "I'll bring her home."

Maisy nods, but the sadness in her eyes tells me she's not convinced.

Back in my room, I stagger to the shower and turn it on, letting the scorching hot water distract me from the ache in my chest. I don't understand what the hell is going on. As the searing heat burns my skin, I scrub it clean, watching detached as the pink-tinged water swirls around my feet before disappearing down the drain.

It's not Kali's blood that coats my skin, but right now, I find it hard to care about what I did to anyone else.

All I care about is Kali.

When I'm confident there are no incriminating traces of evidence left on me, I hurry downstairs, stealing some cake and an apple for breakfast, before jumping in my truck and hurrying to the police station.

As the sun slowly peeks over the hills, bathing the town in a soft yet eerie glow, trucks fill the small parking lot with local residents, the emergency phone tree doing its job well despite the storm. Everyone is out to help in any way they can, despite the heavy clouds still lingering overhead. The worst of the storm may be over, but it's far from pleasant outside.

My beast rattles around inside me, trying to assert his dominance, as we push through the crowd gathering outside.

Henry is easy to spot when we're ushered inside.

Instantly, I know he's just like me. His eyes briefly glow as he takes me in. He's still staring when I feel a hand on my shoulder, and then turn to look into the face of the only other man in town that I've already met.

Jack.

"I don't think you should be here."