Page 16 of Gathered Sparkle

“She has Levi!” Ezra’s words send a chill through me, freezing my blood as Koen goes rigid beside me.

“What do you meanshe has him?”

“That little idiot went out to get the evidence himself. Sylus managed to track his movements. He left the mansion last night on his own and went to Harrington Heights, but that’s all we’ve got. We’ve checked the security feed around the hotel, but Sylus still can’t hack his way inside. Dove didn’t come out again, and he’s not answering his phone.” Ezra sounds desperate. “She fucking has him, Koen.”

The air in the room feels like it’s been sucked out, my heart pounding as panic rises.Levi.Levi is in her hands, and all I can think about is what she might do to him, the danger he’s in becauseof me.

Koen springs up, pulling on his discarded jeans in a rush, and I scramble to do the same, grabbing the clothes I wore yesterday and yanking them on in a frenzy.

“Get the fucking police involved, Ezra,” Koen growls out into the phone as he zips his jeans. “I don’t care if everything goes to shit. We need to get him out. ShekilledOscar.” We’re already halfway out of the apartment when he finishes his sentence, Koen pulling on his shoes as we move.

“What do you think I was doing for the last hour while you weren’t picking up your damn phone?” Ezra sounds frustrated, and there’s a strained silence before he speaks again. “I have officers here, combing through the public areas of the hotel, but Veronica won’t let us into the back without a search warrant.”

“Fuck, if this shit goes public—” Koen starts, but Ezra cuts him off.

“I have the four guys here I trust. They’re looking under the guise of a missing person. No one knows it’s Dove,” Ezra adds. “Sylus is a few streets down, too, trying to get into the system from close to the hotel and keeping an eye on socials in case word gets out, but… fuck, Koen.”

He sounds desperate, and the fact that stone-cold Ezra sounds like that makes me nauseous.

“On our way.” Koen ends the call, and we rush down the stairs, moving faster than I’ve ever moved in my life. The whole world feels like it’s slipping out from under me.

We burst through the building’s front door, and when we reach the Bronco down the street, Koen jumps in, starting the engine with a roar while I scramble into the passenger seat.

He shoots me a look. “I’m sorry, but I can’t drive slow for you right now.”

“Are you kidding me? Fucking drive!” I snap, grabbing the seat belt with one hand and gripping my bracelet with the other. My pulse is pounding in my ears as I close my eyes, focusingon my breathing. The car jerks forward when Koen hits the gas hard, and I feel the pull of each turn, the force of every swerve, but none of it matters.

Levi is all that matters.

Getting him back.

When I finally open my eyes, Harrington Heights is coming into view, and Koen drives past the entrance. Ezra is standing there, his face twisted with barely contained rage, officers by his side, talking to Veronica. She’s standing at the entrance, her arms crossed, but her demeanor is composed like she knows she’s untouchable.

Koen’s fingers clench the steering wheel, despair radiating off him in waves. He’s losing it. He’s out of his mind with worry for Levi, and I don’t know how much longer he can take it.

I can’t take it either.

“Drive to the back,” I command, despite the fear clawing at my insides. “The back entry of the hotel.”

Koen shifts the car into gear, driving around the building. My heart races as we turn the corner. The area is quieter, hidden from view, and I lean forward, my eyes scanning for a way in.

The service entrance.

Koen’s hand is already on his seat belt, ready to jump out, when I notice a couple of hotel employees lingering in front of a door, smoking. My gaze shifts to Koen, whose face is too familiar, too well-known in this city.

“Stop.” I tug on his arm, keeping him in the car. “They’ll recognize you.”

He follows my line of sight before his jaw clenches, and I see the moment his composure shatters. “Fuck! I’museless. I can’t even get him out without risking everything.”

Koen, always so composed, always holding everything together for everyone else, is now unraveling in front of me.

He’s scared.Scared for Levi, scared for all of us, scared of failing the people he loves.

Levi needs us, and right now, Koen can’t be the one to go after him. But me? I’m just another face. I’m just a little thief.

Glitter.

Leaning in to kiss Koen’s cheek, I whisper against his skin, “I’ll get him back for you.”

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