Page 155 of Consume Me

“I promise.”

“I don’t like splitting up. What if he’s right?” Celine asks.

“I’ll go with you, Blake,” Abi says, looking at Dane.

“I go where you go,” he replies.

My friends will be safer if they’re together. “No. I have this.”

Maybe I’ve finally lost my mind. I will definitely lose it if I arrive there and there’s nothing.

Bailey approaches me. “I made a lot of mistakes the last time.”

“I trust you. I wish you’d trust your instincts as well.”

She offers me a comm and a pair of goggles.

“I can multitask. Just tell me when you’re there, and I will be your eyes.”

I nod and get into my car. It’s a two-hour drive and the farther of the two locations from the Family compound. I follow the GPS directions, and when I park, all I see is a damn hill surrounded by overgrown trees and snow.

Fuck. There’s no building here. Even if it’s underground, I don’t see an entry anywhere.

If I hurry, I could still reach the group at the other location, but I decide to double-check first, needing to be sure. I scan the perimeter with my goggles on, and two birds catch my attention. Birds always fly in a flock, and the movements of these two are pretty robotic.

I press my comm and say, “Bailey, can you check those birds?”

“They’re drones. Scan the ground. There must be an entrance.”

I do a full visual search of the area.

“Do you see the big stone?” Bailey asks.

I focus my vision on it and reply, “I do.”

“It’s a door. There is some warmth coming from behind it. You need reinforcements. Let me tell Kaden.”

“I am on my way. Just wait for me. Fuck,” Kaden says as Bailey must have linked our comms.

“We still need to check the other location,” I remind him.

“You’re going in, aren’t you?”

“I have to. Promise me again—if it’s between me and her, save her.”

There’s a pause on the other end.

“Kaden,” I insist.

“You’re my fucking brother and best friend.”

“I love you too, man. And remember what you would ask of me if our roles were reversed.”

“You’ve always excelled at this emotional blackmail shit. Don’t get yourself killed. What am I supposed to do with those two assholes, Dane and Hunter, without you?”

I chuckle. “I’ll try my best.”

When Bailey returns to the comm, she says, “The moment you move, they’ll know it. There are sensors everywhere. I’m trying to make you disappear into the background as we speak. Just stay low until I say so.”

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