6. Erik

Chapter six

Erik

S hoving my way out of the back entrance of the club, I hurled the meager contents of my stomach into the alley, trying to keep my thoughts from spiraling out of control. I spat once more for good measure and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, twisting as I heard the door open and shut behind me. Jesse was standing in the dim light, looking so lost, and sad, and desperately hopeful, I couldn’t bear it.

“It can’t be her,” I signed, and he nodded, staring down at the photo on his phone. But it looked like her. I would recognize those blond curls and the gentle slope of her back anywhere. They were imprinted into my eyelids, so every time I closed my eyes I could see them as if she were right in front of me.

The door burst open a third time, and I watched Levy fade into view, his eyes wide. “It’s her. It’s fucking HER!” he shouted, and I signed for him to calm down, shaking my head .

“There’s no way. Anders said she was trapped in a utility closet. The ceiling caved in, the fire burned everything. There’s no way!” I insisted, signing for Jesse.

“I don’t know how, but it’s her. Look!” Levy snapped, thrusting out his phone. He’d gotten close, way too close from the looks of it, practically climbing onto their laps. The image was slightly blurry, taken in haste—or maybe from nerves. I couldn’t argue with it though, it was unmistakably Grace. Her gold curls framed her face, her hands tucked into her lap as Douglas held an arm over her shoulder. I clenched the phone so hard I thought it might crack in my fist.

“How?!” I snarled, unable to tear my eyes away from it.

“We should go home and regroup. Anders should know about this,” Levy told me, slipping the phone back out of my hand.

“No, she’s right fucking here! We need to get her, now!” I snapped, storming back toward the door. Jesse put his hands out to stop me, and I slapped him away. Levy’s arms wrapped around my chest, lifting me fully off the ground.

“We need to think about this, King,” Levy insisted. “Let’s go home.” I felt ridiculous, foisted up in the air like a ragdoll.

“Let me down, Leviathan!” I snapped, and he lowered me immediately. My stomach was rolling, and my head pounded. All I wanted to do was go in there and get her back. Was she okay? Was she hurt? What had that sick fuck done to her?

“Fine, let’s go,” I growled, and we walked out of the alley, heading back to the car.

The drive home was silent; Levy sent the photo to all of us, and I studied it closely, looking for… well, something. She looked odd. The image was blurry, so it was hard to say what was going on exactly, but she looked wrong. Like how a sleepwalker wasn’t quite awake, but not fully asleep either.

Jesse pulled through the gate, and I noticed someone sitting on the front steps. Anders was waiting for us, shirtless and barefoot, his hair a mess. He looked insane, so I knew this wouldn’t be good. Jesse parked on the driveway this time, barely stopped as Anders jumped up and stormed toward the car.

“Where is she?!” he shouted, and I grimaced, hopping out of the car as the others followed suit. Anders grabbed the back door and swung it wide, searching the inside of the car. “Where is she?!” he repeated, glaring at Jesse. Levy flickered into view, his hands up defensively as he approached Anders.

“Calm down, we’ll explain inside,” he insisted, and Anders backed away from him, swatting his hands away.

“She was right there, and you did nothing?!” he shouted, shoving Levy in the chest with his good arm. I ran forward, grabbing Anders by the shoulder. He whipped around and swung at me wildly. Thankfully, he was not made for hand-to-hand combat, and I dodged him easily. Jesse wrapped around him like a python, catching him in a chokehold.

“Anders, chill the fuck out!” I hissed. “We are going to go inside now and make a goddamn plan to get her back, alright?”

He ground his teeth, and nodded as best he could with Jesse pinning his neck and arm. I signed to Jesse, and he released Anders, who glowered at him, then turned reluctantly and headed back up to the house.

We gathered in the living room, Jesse and I taking a seat on the couch while Anders paced in front of us restlessly. Levy was standing with his back against the wall, watching Anders with caution.

“Are you sure it’s her?” Anders bit out, looking around at all of us.

“Positive,” Levy murmured, and Anders made a strangled sound, his hand raking through his hair. Jesus Christ, I never knew he could care about another human being like this, it was distinctly unsettling.

“Was she okay? She looked funny in the photo,” I asked Levy, signing for Jesse’s benefit. Levy shrugged, watching Anders nervously, like he might lash out at us if he said the wrong thing.

“She seemed out of it,” he explained, and my throat tightened. “Like… the lights were on, but no one was home.” His face twisted on a grimace..

“Douglas did something to her. Drugs maybe,” Anders muttered, and I filled in Jesse, who’s lips tightened into a thin line.

“We need to keep eyes on her at all times,” I announced, drawing their attention. “Find an opportunity when she’s alone and get her the fuck away from him.”

That decision quickly devolved into an argument because I thought we should send a few of our crew to follow them, but Anders insisted that we handle this ourselves. If we did it my way, we could properly plan a rescue mission and not run into this half-cocked. If we did it his way… we’d be able to act immediately if an opportunity presented itself.

Finally, we reached a compromise. He and Levy would follow her, and Jesse and I would organize things from here. It wasn’t the best idea, but I was afraid that Anders would do what he wanted regardless of the end decision, so at least this way I had a semblance of control over things.

Anders went upstairs and cleaned himself up at my insistence—he would stick out like a mad scientist in his current state. I gave Levy clear instructions to keep us updated every ten minutes and to not let Anders leave his sight for a moment. I didn’t trust Anders right now, he wasn’t in his right mind. None of us were, but he was bordering the line of self-destruction a little too closely for my liking.

I groaned and lifted my head from my desk, looking around for the thing that was determined to wake me up. Grabbing my phone, I quickly checked to see what Levy had sent, my heart hammering as I opened the message.

Levy

Leaving downtown now.

I sighed and smoothed my hair away from my face, rubbing a dent in my cheek made from a pen I’d fallen asleep on. Three days, we’d been following Douglas and Grace for three fucking days, and so far, all we’d learned was that he was one goddamn overprotective bastard. Grace was never alone for more than two minutes at a time, either at his side or with that hulking bodyguard of his. Levy and Anders had followed them around town day and night, waiting for Douglas to slip up somehow, to leave her alone for even ten minutes, but so far we’d had no luck .

A knock on the door had me looking up, and Jesse gave me a sad nod, a cup of coffee in his hands. I smiled wanly as he brought it over, and I let my hand linger over his as he handed me the mug. He wasn’t sleeping—hell, none of us were. Every picture Levy sent of Grace had me growing more and more concerned. Something was very wrong with her.

She was definitely being drugged; Levy confirmed that Douglas was giving her something a few times a day, sometimes more. Whatever it was made her nearly catatonic, and that just made things harder for us. We couldn’t know if she would go along with us if we tried to save her, or if she’d even recognize us in this state.

“Go lay down for a bit, I’ll wake you if something happens,” I told Jesse, and he smirked ruefully, flicking my nose. Of course he wouldn’t, I wouldn’t either. Yawning, I drank a couple of mouthfuls of coffee, hoping it would clear out some of the cobwebs in my brain. I hadn’t used any of my luck yet, I was too nervous. What if something went wrong again? Clearly, my luck had its limits and seemed reluctant to spread itself further than just me. We couldn’t risk a gamble right now, not when Grace’s life was at stake.

I hated feeling so fucking useless.

Jesse tapped my shoulder and sat down on my desk, watching me closely. “Get your head on straight,” he ordered with a smirk, and I rolled my eyes.

“It’s just fine, thanks,” I replied, waving him off and checking my messages.

Levy

Stopping at some Italian restaurant.

Grace can barely walk .

I swore and threw my phone down, taking another deep swig of my coffee, wincing as it burned my throat. “How much longer can we do this? Just sitting and waiting?” I asked Jesse, who shrugged, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Levy and Anders had been sleeping in the SUV for three days; that wouldn’t be sustainable much longer. Levy told me that Anders was fraying around the edges, barely able to remain in the car, and getting no more than an hour of sleep a night. He was going to die if he kept this up.

“One more night,” I told him. “Then we change the plan. We’ll take the mansion and kill them all,” I told Jesse, knowing that plan was basically suicide. At least we’d be finally put out of our misery.

Keeping my phone close, I headed upstairs and took a long overdue shower, popping my head out every two minutes to check if I’d gotten a new message. The hot water did little to alleviate the tension in my shoulders, but at least there were no longer flies buzzing around my head. I hopped out of the shower and noticed three new messages waiting for me. Dripping water all over the bathroom floor, I quickly read the messages, then reread them, swearing under my breath.

Levy

Back at the club.

Anders went inside, couldn’t stop him.

Grace is really sick.

I strode into my room and got dressed robotically, trying to think up a plan that would solve this. I needed… we needed some luck. I concentrated hard, putting all my focus on getting Grace away from Douglas . The effort left me dizzy, depleting my energy a lot more than I’d expected. I stumbled out of my room and found Jesse in the kitchen.

“I did something stupid,” I told him, as another wave of dizziness had me pitching down to the floor.