Page 151 of Consume Me

I knock and lean against the wall beside the door, trying to act cool when everything in me wants to rip this world to shreds with my bare hands.

“Patience, Blake. This is a good lead.”

“What if this is a dead end?”

“They have her, and they will gloat with that. Felix and Caleb want us to suffer and go crazy first.”

I thought about that, too, but it’s fucking working. Imagining everything she must be going through at the hands of my psychopath father is killing me.

“I know it’s hard, but you have to stay levelheaded.”

When the door opens, a brown-haired girl appears, rubbing at her eyes. When she sees us, her eyes widen, sliding her hands on her hips.

“Oh. Wow. You…” she stammers.

This can’t be the girl. She appears interested in us, but clueless. Kaden huffs, but I am too fucking mentally drained to bother with a reaction.

“Where were you tonight?”

At my question, the flirting pose ends.

“What?”

“I asked you a question.”

“I went for a run. I always do that at night. It’s more peaceful.”

“You left campus?” Kaden asks.

“No. I just take the main road.”

“Don’t lie to me,” I say, and her eyes go wide as she swallows hard––genuinely scared.

“It’s not her,” Kaden says, and I grunt in acknowledgment.

“Thank you for your time.”

We head to the next college house. All the lights are on, and pop music pumps loudly through the walls.

“Should we even bother?” Kaden asks.

He has a point. If you’ve kidnapped someone, you don’t want to attract attention, but we need to check, just to be sure.

We knock, but it goes unanswered, so I open the door and step inside.

The living area is filled with girls in pajamas, wearing various face masks, and singing off-key. For a moment, my chest constricts. Mia should be at the college house with her friends, or better yet, with me at our lodge.

Everyone stills as they see us. A blond girl approaches, tipping her nose up.

“What do you think you’re doing here?”

“I have a question for you, Arabella Dawson.”

“What question?”

“Where were you tonight?”

“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”

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