Page 98 of Crave Me

We entered right into a kitchen where two of Elijah’s muscle were sitting down eating a midnight snack and drinking.

Before they could even utter a word, Damien launched himself at them, ripping both of them off their stools and driving them down brutally hard onto the tiled floor.

“I’ve got this!” he whisper-yelled over his shoulder as he smashed his fist into one hostile’s face, then dug his fingers into the jaw of another.

“Fine by me,” Asher said, pushing further into the house with me right by his side.

To our left was a living room. As he darted over there, I watched him draw a knife just a second before a hostile rounded the corner. He tossed it and it embedded deep in the guy’s throat before he could even utter a word let alone react to defend himself. As he went down, Asher proceeded, and I kicked open a door down the corridor.

I cleared the room, my gun at the ready, finding no hostiles inside.

And then I took it in.

A great deal of tech filled the meagre space. Just the kind of tech that Caleb would have been able to use to transmit that message to us through breaching King’s network.

He was here!

He was fucking here!

I spun around, urgency taking me over. So much so that I smashed right into Asher as I blew back out into the corridor.

“Shit,” I grunted.

He righted me, then focused up right away, telling me, “Cigarettes. Caleb’s brand. Living room. Kitchen.”

“He’s really here,” I breathed.

“I just cleared the next room along, a bathroom. No sign of him. We’ve got two more to go.”

I nodded as he rushed off to the other rooms, while I tapped my earpiece and communicated with Dante, “Any sign of Caleb?”

“Nothing yet. Barn cleared. Two hostiles down. Approaching the storm cellar now.”

“Copy that.”

I kept the line open, then went to check in on Damien to ensure he hadn’t gone full savage where he couldn’t pull himself back without help.

But then a roar caught my attention.

“Cas!”

Caleb!

I followed the sound, bolting down the corridor and smashing my way through the exit at the far end.

It took me out to a side parking lot that was flanked by another section of forest.

My breath caught in my throat as I caught sight of Caleb shirtless and in cuffs being dragged along by a choke chain wrapped around his neck that was being held by none other than Elijah Bane.

“You’re being a bad little pet. Don’t worry, the confusion of King’s presence will pass once we’re away from them again. Just stay with me, my special boy.”

My gut twisted at what that sadistic bastard was saying to him.

As if him being dragged along half naked with that metal biting into his neck and making him bleed all down his chest and back wasn’t enough.

My hand was shaking from the sight of it all and as I fired off a shot at Elijah, I missed his fucking skull. He cried out as the bullet embedded in his upper left arm instead. Fortunately, it at least had him releasing Caleb from the shock and pain of it. The fucker smacked against the side of a town car, then twisted to face me.

“King,” he seethed.

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