Page 40 of Ruthless Angel

“A motel?” Raina frowned, gnawing her bottom lip in thought. “That’s so weird. She’d never leave without telling me. This is bad. Something happened.”

“Something like Brady,” Daire muttered, fisting a handful of his hair, pulling tight. He surprised all of us by punching himself in the face. “I should have known she was lying. I shouldn’t have let her leave this house.”

Daire was spiraling fast. He’d gone from blaming Clover to blaming Raina to blaming himself. I’d seen him in some pretty manic episodes. This felt bad, like he was on the edge of something very ugly.

“We need to look for her,” Raina said quietly. Her face had paled and her hands trembled. “We’ll come with you to Fox Grove.”

Daire whirled around to face her. “Like fuck you will. You’ve done enough. We don’t need you.”

Cash wrapped an arm around Daire’s throat from behind, silencing him. “We’d be happy to have your help. Don’t listen to him. He’s not in his right mind.”

“You better watch yourself, Daire,” Havoc warned, a deadly glint in his eyes. “I’ve been suppressing my urge to kill you for Raina and Clover. You’re starting to get on my last nerve. I may not be able to control myself much longer.”

All Daire could do was glare at Havoc. The tight hold Cash had on his throat kept him from speaking. I half expected Cash to choke him out. Only when Daire hung limp in his grasp did Cash release him.

Daire hit the floor, landing on his hands and knees. He gasped for breath, blinking furiously. “Fuck all of you.”

Raina frowned down at him with disgust etched all over her face. “We’ll follow you there.”

She turned away from the house, ushering the Gods along to the gold Lexus in the driveway. As much as I hated to admit it, Raina and the Gods could be valuable allies. She cared about Clover. She would do anything for our little Rainbow. We needed her help.

“Get up.” Nudging Daire with his foot, Cash pulled car keys from his pocket. “Let’s go look for Clover. I’ll drive. I don’t trust you behind the wheel right now. You’re too fucking unhinged.”

Muttering beneath his breath, Daire shoved to his feet and slammed out of the house, throwing the door against the wall. Cash and I exchanged a look before following. I understood Daire’s mood. There was part of me that wanted to blow my top and release the pressure building inside me.

After what I’d endured, the thought of Brady getting his hands on Clover made me sick. Melting down wouldn’t help Clover if she was in danger. Keeping a level head and thinking this through was the best option. For now.

The drive to Fox Grove was tense as hell. Daire was in a real mood. He swung from being certain that Clover ran from us and wanting to throttle her to being convinced that Brady had found her. That we would never see her again.

I did my best to focus on my breathing. Staying calm was a challenge. Daire’s intense energy didn’t help. My mind played horrible scenarios. I pictured Brady hurting Clover the way he’d hurt me. It made me want to throw up.

The Gods followed behind us in Havoc’s car. Daire had flipped them a middle finger when they’d pulled up behind us at a red light. Thankfully, he’d ignored them otherwise.

The closer we got to Fox Grove, the more my stomach ached. I had a sinking feeling that I couldn’t shake. Clover hadn’t run out on us. Something bad had happened to her.

We were almost there when Daire swore and punched the seat beside him. “Bad fucking news. I just got a tamper alert for Clover’s ankle monitor. It’s been removed.”

Nausea swelled, making my mouth water uncomfortably. I turned the vent so the AC blew straight into my face. Deep breaths weren’t helping anymore.

We followed the map on Clover’s tracker right to a seedy little motel on the side of the highway outside the city. Well, this was definitely not looking good. Clover would never willingly come to a place like this.

All of us gathered outside the motel room. Havoc stopped anyone from entering, wanting us to be prepared for anything first. It took Cash using his larger frame to keep Daire from rushing in like a maniac.

“I don’t want to risk you if there’s someone in there.” Havoc took Raina’s arm, steering her toward the front office. “Let’s see what we can find out about anyone who’s recently been in this room. The others can go inside and check it out.”

Raina’s face fell. She opened her mouth to argue but ended up shrugging, letting Havoc lead her away. The rest of us didn’t wait around. We rushed the door, guns in hand.

Daire shoved to the front, eager to be the first through the door. He tested the knob, finding it locked. Without hesitation, he kicked the door open. It crashed against the wall. Disappointment weighed heavy in my chest when I saw that the room was empty.

I followed Daire inside, taking a good look around the small room. The place was a dump. Old furniture and a boxy television with a rabbit ear antenna. A yellow flower covered comforter hung partially off the bed.

Clover’s ankle monitor sat on the comforter. It had been cut off. A few drops of blood sprinkled the blanket next to it. There seemed to have been a struggle.

“She’s not here,” I said, stating the obvious. Panic engulfed me. How would we find her now?

“Brady took her. He fucking took her.” In a fit of rage, Daire picked up the broken ankle monitor and whipped it at the TV. When that failed to break the television set, he picked it up and smashed it on the floor.

“I’m sure that will help you get her back,” Gage quipped, leaning against the door frame.

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