Page 144 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“I just need the car and the keys, Brian. I don’t need to be chauffeured around. Just give me the location, and I’ll get there.”

The butler hesitates. “I can arrange for a driver to be here in twenty minutes. You shouldn’t be out there alone in the dark.”

“I’m a shifter. Nobody’s going to bother me. I really need to get going, Brian. Keys, please.” I’m in no mood to negotiate with the stubborn butler.

He sighs and returns in five minutes with a key in his hand. “I’ve had the red Jaguar brought around. If you’d follow me? The address will be keyed into the GPS.”

“Thanks.”

I hand him Darian’s phone. “Take this. I have my phone on me. If I don’t cross paths with Darian, tell him to call me immediately.”

“What about the princess?”

Crap.

“Don’t wake her up. She’s sleeping.”

“Should I station guards around her room?”

“Sure.” I gesture with my hand distractedly. “Do that.”

I rush outside, still trying to get in touch with Mary or Jimmy. By the time I’m on the road, I’ve called them at least ten times each. There’s no response. Something is wrong. I know it in my gut. Something is really wrong.

With no choice left, I call Katherine. She answers, her voice weary. “Alice?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, Katherine, but when did Mary and Jimmy leave with Mira?”

“About two hours ago. Why? What’s wrong?”

Two hours is a long time for them not to be available yet. “I can’t get in touch with either of them. I have a bad feeling, Katherine. I’ve been calling nonstop, but neither of them is answering their phone. Did they say where they were going?”

“I—” Katherine clears her throat. “They said there was a safe house that Darian knew about it. There were some men with them, the ones wearing the dark clothes.”

The Black Arrows.

If Darian’s personal squad was with them, then they should be safe. So, why isn’t anyone answering?

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Katherine tries to reassure me. “But I have some friends in the police department. Do you want me to reach out to them? See if they can—”

“This is a horrible time for me to be asking you for favors, but could you? Please. I’m losing my mind here. I can’t get in touch with them or Darian, and I don’t know what else to do.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got you.”

She ends the call, and I get back to following the directions on the map.

My phone suddenly begins to ping. The notifications keep coming, and I pull the car to the side of the road to check them. Maybe it’s Mary.

There are a series of texts from an unknown number.

I open the messages, and my heart nearly stops.

It’s Mira. Photos of Mira.

She’s sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

It’s not just one image. There are several photographs, taken from different angles, with time stamps on them. Another message pops up with the location, a location that I am all too familiar with. The same location that Mira saw in her dream.

What is going on? How did Mira get to LA? Katherine said she saw her two hours ago. How is that possible? There’s no way Mira could get here in that amount of time.

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