Page 80 of Descent

Vincent

Closing the door behind me, I carry the two bags of take-out in my fingers as I come into the living room. A huge bed is in the center, Liam and Asher hanging out on it while Ronan is sitting at the kitchen island.

“Where is Skyla?” I ask.

“Out,” Asher says. “Wesley took her to Maggie’s.”

“And you thought that was acceptable?” I ask carefully.

Asher turns around to look at me, a sneer lifting his mouth as he speaks.

“Yeah, I did. Wesley is more than capable of keeping her safe, and we all know he’s just about as gone for her as we all are. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

“If anything does, I’ll skin Wesley from head to toe,” I promise, as a door shuts and footsteps sound through the house.

“Whoa, what the fuck did I do to deserve that kind of threat?” Wesley says, as he walks into the room.

Rolling my eyes, I move my head to look behind him.

“Where’s Skyla?”

Wesley frowns, his eyes roaming around the house.

“Isn’t she here?”

The entire room goes still, all our eyes swinging to him.

“What?” I snap sharply.

“Didn’t Asher drive her home with Liam from the hospital?” Wesley asks.

Asher is to his feet, moving towards him.

“I did. Then she told me that you were picking her up to take her to Maggie’s.”

Wesley shakes his head. “I haven’t spoken to her today.”

His eyes move to Ronan, their minds working a million miles a minute when my phone buzzes in my pocket. At the same time, Ronan’s buzzes against the counter as Asher and Liam’s ding with a notification. We all trade a look before scrambling for our phones.

Skyla: I’m sorry. I know this is the cowards’ way out, but I also knew that if I did this in person, none of you would let me go, and you have to. I can’t sit by anymore, waiting for him to hurt one of you, or worse, kill you. I hope you know that my heart is breaking as I type this, but I also hope you see why I had to do this. If I lost one of you, I’d never survive. I’m protecting you, like you all have protected me. Please don’t look for me, please don’t come for me. I’m trying to do the right thing…let me, please.

I love you all. Forever.

As I stare at the words, an icy chill settles into my chest. I watch as Ronan lifts his phone to his ear, hanging it up with a curse and trying again. Asher and Liam’s fingers are flying across the screen as they begin panicking.

“Fuck! It’s going straight to voicemail,” Ronan snaps, as he throws his phone against the wall, shattering the device to pieces.

“Where could she be? What is she thinking!” Liam says, as his eyes look frantically to any of us for answers.

My thumbs are already moving at lightning speed. Hacking into the city’s street cameras is almost too easy these days. I keep my eyes on my phone as I move towards the front door.

“Wesley with me. Asher and Ronan, go interrogate Bartlett. If she doesn’t talk, start removing body parts,” I say coolly.

“We’re not going to hack up her best friend,” Liam scoffs.

I pause on my heel, looking over my shoulder.

“I’ll hack up anyone I need to if it means we get her back.”

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