Page 47 of These Dangerous Fates

Cade grabs his phone from the coffee table and silences it. As his eyes scan the screen, his face pales. I open my mouth to ask what’s going on, but the library door opens and Sterling barrels in.

“It’s Kai,” he says, holding out his own phone as well. His icy blue eyes are wide and wild. The energy he’s putting off is palpable. Nervous and chaotic. Scared.

“Get the car.” Cade barks and heads for the little office off of the library where they keep their weapons.

Sterling dashes out the side doors, and a second later, his Land Rover’s engine fires up. Standing next to the pool table, I stare at the patio door, mouth hanging open. What the hell is going on?

“Cade, tell me what’s happening,” I demand, loudly enough for Cade to hear in the little office.

He emerges with his arms laden full of guns and knives. “I’ll tell you in the car. Let’s go.”

I open the door for him just as Sterling pulls the Land Rover around. As soon as the car doors shut, Sterling guns it around the estate and down the driveway. The gates are closed, and Sterling curses as he slams on the brakes.

“Shit. Hurry up,” he mutters as the gates slowly squeak open.

When the opening is wide enough to fit the Land Rover through, he floors it again and takes off down the street. I lean forward between the front seats and look back and forth between the guys. Sterling is focused on the street, the lights from the dash casting a haunting glow on his face. Cade is doing something on his phone and a muscle ticks in his jaw as he grinds his teeth together.

“Okay, someone better start explaining,” I say shakily. Suddenly nauseous, I press a hand to my belly. An uneasiness has settled within me, almost like some part of me already knows what’s happened.

Sterling answers first. “Cade set each of us up with an emergency alert on our phones. If we are ever in trouble, we can press the button and it notifies the others that we need help.”

I have to swallow to work moisture back into my mouth. “That beeping was a notification that Malakai is in trouble?” My voice breaks on the word trouble.

“It was,” Cade answers gravely. “When activated, we are sent a GPS location of where the alert was initiated.”

“Okay,” I say, forcing myself to breathe evenly. “Where is he?” What’s happened that a vampire like Malakai needed to call for help? I shut my imagination down, stopping the downward spiral of possible horrible scenarios.

“He was in the alley off of Court Street, when he signaled for help,” Cade replies. “I’ll hack into the street cams to find out what happened and if he’s still there.”

A tense silence fills the car as Cade does his thing. I chew on the inside of my cheek, a nervous habit I developed after my mom and sister’s death. Sterling flies through the city, heading toward Court Street which follows the river Altair, and when he gets to the bridge spanning the expanse of water, he slows down.

“What do we have, Cade?” Sterling asks, his hands clenched tightly on the steering wheel.

“Fuck,” Cade whispers.

I lean forward between the seats again to look at Cade’s phone, but he angles it away from me. Frustration crawls up my throat, but I bite back the acidic comment that will do nothing but fan the already raging flames.

“He’s still in the alley.” He glances back at me, indecision warring on his face.

“Don’t keep anything from me, Cade Campbell,” I snap. “You brought me along, don’t shut me out.”

“Sam is there,” Cade says tensely. “It looks like Kai crashed his motorcycle. Sam and his guys have him circled. He looks bad. Real bad.”

My breath catches in my throat, getting stuck on the lump that forms at his words. Invisible bands wrap around my chest, slowly squeezing the air from my lungs, and the corners of my vision go blurry.

“Fuck!” Sterling screams and slams his hands on the steering wheel.

The noise jars me out of my head. I jump and suck in a huge breath. Gritting my teeth, I swallow down my fear. The last thing I need is for my anxiety to take over. I won’t let that happen.

Cade leans down to grab a gun from the floor at his feet. He quickly checks the clip and passes it back to me. “You stay in the car. Don’t even think about opening that door.” His voice is firm, and leaves no room for argument. He turns back to Sterling. “Go up Court Street. When you get to The Black Crow, slow down. I don’t want them hearing the engine. The alley is a block away from The Crow.”

Cade loads his own guns and slides them into the pockets and waistband of his pants. Before we get to the alley, he turns to me again. “Please, do not leave the car. I will ward it so no one can get in. Stay down and out of sight.”

“I won’t leave.” I promise. “Just, please, be careful. And get Malakai back.”

Cade leans back and gives me a quick, hard kiss. In the rearview mirror, I meet Sterling’s gaze. Something flickers in his icy blues, but he says nothing. Words bubble up inside me, but get stuck in my throat once again.

He turns to Cade. “Ready?” Sterling asks. His teeth are already elongating. His nose morphing into a snout.

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