Page 28 of With This Ring

Annoyed, I rap my knuckles harder on the door. “Kai, open up. It’s Carter. Listen, we need to talk.”

Nothing on the other side of the door. No noise, no shuffling to get to the door, no chuckling that I came to him. Again, I pound on the door. “Kai, open up. Now.”

“Yeah, because that will get his attention.” I turn hard eyes on Nico, his stupid fucking bodyguard that annoys the shit out of me. “Maybe he doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Don’t give a fuck.” I push into Kai’s room, intent on cursing him out for making me stand in the hallway like a son of a bitch. “Kai, get out here.”

I check his bathroom and find it empty, though the shower looks recently use. Confused, I walk back out, pushing past Nico and going to Kai’s closet. Not there either. I shoot him a look and head out of the room. Kai loves my gym, maybe he’s working out.

Even before I get down to the basement, I know he isn’t there. There are no sounds of machines churning or heavy breathing or gloves hitting the heavy bag. Even still, I check the gym and the showers down there. Nothing. Kai is nowhere to be found.

When I get back to the main landing, Nico is standing there, a look on his face like he fucked up. “What is it?” I growl, stepping closer to him.

He holds up Kai’s phone. “I found this in his room.”

Letting out a frustrated noise, I tell him, “Search the fucking house.” Snapping my hand out, I curl it in his shirt and pull him close. “You were supposed to be watching him. That’s your only fucking job!”

Nico snatches out of my hold. “This is the first time he’s lied to me about staying in. So don’t give me shit about trustingmy friend.”

I grunt and jog back up to my room. I grab my keys and wallet, intent on driving around the city to look for him.That’ll be a bitch and a half, but Kai can’t be out in the world unprotected. Not only because he’s a St. Clair but because he’s a St. Clair-Whitlock. Someone wants both of us dead. Someone wants our families dead.

When I step into the hallway, Dad blocks my path. I try to step around him, but he moves in front of me. “Dad, I gotta find Kai.”

“I know where he is.” He shoves his phone in my face and shows me some GPS coordinates. “When I made your rings, I figured you’d need to know where the other was. So, I put a GPS tracking device inside them.”

“And you’re just now telling me?” I asked pointedly and snatch the phone from his hand.

“I was gonna tell ya eventually. When the time was right.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I say sarcastically as I punch the coordinates into the phone. Frowning, I look up at Dad. “He’s in Shell Village. At a night club.”

“Good. Go get him. We don’t know who could be out there trying to hurt him to get to you, me, and Charlie.”

I nod and dart around him. When I get back downstairs, I motion for Nico who just stepped out of the sitting room. “Let’s go. I know where he is.”

We waste no time hopping into my car and I speed out of the driveway. Before I exit out of the gate to our home, I call Declan. “Meet me at Club Aurora.”

“You got it,” he replies, then hangs up.

About ten minutes into my insane speed towards Kai, Nico clears his throat. I glance at him briefly, then face the road. “I’m sorry,” he says begrudgingly. “This really has never happened. I guess with his dad’s bullshit, then your bullshit, he needed out.”

“And he couldn’t take you?” His apology means fuck all to me. The only thing I care about is finding Kai and making sure he’s not hurt. I will fucking kill anyone that touches him.

“You like him, don’t you?” Nico asks, side stepping my question.

“What? No.”

“Yeah, you do. Or you would have sent me to get him. I am hisbodyguard, remember?” I make noise between a grunt and scoff. “Don’t fuck him over, Carter or I swear to fucking god?—”

“You’ll do what? Kill me?”

“Yeah, I will. There’s nothing I won’t do for Kaison. If you’re going to be there for him, fucking be there. Don’t just screw him over or fuck with his head. Or I will slit your throat while you sleep.”

We say no more after that. I know Nico believes what he says, though he’d never get the chance to act on it. I don’t intend to do anything to Kai. I don’t know what I want, my head is so fucked up, but I don’t intend to hurt him. I did that today and it still makes me feel like shit. I can’t remember the last time something I did or said affected me so much.

Around twenty minutes later, we pull up to the nightclub. People are leaving for the night, but I don’t see Kai among them. Did he already leave? I look down at the app I downloaded that corresponds to our GPS coordinates, but it hasn’t moved. Kai hasn’t moved. What if…

“The alley!” I shout, hopping out of my car that’s stopped in the middle of the road. Pounding footsteps behind me has me turning around, meeting the eyes of my little brother.

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