Page 73 of Crave Me

“Take it down,” Bastian told him, tightening his hold around me. “Especially with Wheeler being the subject matter.”

A shudder went through me before I could stop it and I saw Bastian wincing for me.

“I can’t tread on eggshells,” Caspian said, denying his request and biting at me, “Answers. Now.”

“I didn’t know for sure. I suspected. Coming to you with just a suspicion wasn’t good enough, especially when we’d already suffered from several not panning out the way we’d hoped.” I eyed him. “You obviously knew something too, though, because you don’t look the least bit shocked.”

“When I tortured Ben, he told me that Elijah was working with somebody who was trying to shield his girl away from barbarians. I made the connection to Jeremy from that.”

“Tortured?” Bastian spoke. “What the hell is going on around here? Caspian, tell me you fucking didn’t.”

Caspian blew right past his concerns. Actually, it seemed more like he couldn’t actually entertain them, that they weren’t hitting him at all. He was just… ice. Completely cut off. “Now, tell me about Hutchins,” he commanded me.

“When I was younger, my dad put a failsafe in place if things ever went south for him. That failsafe is Riley Hutchins. They worked together for a long while and they’re close friends. I contacted her to find my dad. She’s one of the only people who can.”

“I sent your father after Jeremy weeks ago. He failed.”

I pulled from Bastian’s arms. “You did what?”

“He trained that piece of shit, he knows his patterns, his hideaways, he was the best person available to find him.”

“Hold on, you’re telling me you sent my dad on a kill op?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck, Cas.”

“He was an active threat. I knew he’d come at us again. If Frank had done his job, the fucker would be buried deep, he wouldn’t have been able to feed Elijah information, and Caleb would still be here with us.”

“Blaming her dad, Cas, that’s a bit of a stretch. Other factors were in play and—”

“What’s Hutchins’ progress, Skylar?”

“She reported that my dad was deep underground and that she’s going after him. I haven’t heard anything since. But with him being that deep under, it will take time.”

“Push her. I need access to Frank. I need that fucker, Jeremy, found ASAP.”

“I can’t push her. It doesn’t work like that. If it did, don’t you think I would’ve already done that? Over and over? I want Caleb back here desperately too. She’s unreachable while she’s that deep. We have to wait. I’m sorry. But she never fails. She’ll find him. In the meantime, there are your other military contacts, the program Asher is putting together.”

“My contacts know shit about Jeremy! Asher’s thing is going to take time!”

“Cas—”

“Fuck it,” Caspian muttered.

And then he was storming out of the room and slamming the door shut brutally hard behind him.

Bastian and I stared at one another in a whole lot of shock.

And worry. Very deep worry.

“Oh my God,” I uttered.

He tightened his hold around me. “I know, beautiful. I know.”

17

~Caspian~

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