Page 101 of Brutal Obsession

“How do you know?” Rory’s voice deepens in anger.

“Her hair.”

Riley’s eyes snap to my face. “What?”

“A lock was nailed to the wall in the shack.” The image is branded on my brain. “That bastard is taunting us.”

The mood grows sour, bitter, and darker than before.

“We got lucky.” Darren coughs, swiping dirt and gravel off his cheek. “But we also underestimated him.”

Finn unleashes a growl while slamming the steering wheel with his palm. “Won’t happen again.”

Chapter 29

Cian

“Got a lock on them!”

Rory’s shout kicks us into action. Like statues in a garden coming to life, we all shake off our moss and move.

We gather around Rory’s double-wide monitor display at the Kings’ estate. It took more than an hour, but he and Finn managed to hack the state’s CCTV to track the vehicle Enzo used to transport Harper.

“Looks like they left the compound about ninety minutes before we arrived.” Rory enlarges a video feed showing a blacked-out van skidding around a corner into a busy intersection.

“They’re going northwest.” Finn points to a map on the table dotted with Xs that indicate where the De Lucas own property. “They’ve gotta be headed to one of these locations up here.”

I’m listening, but I’m not.

I’m alive, but I’m also dead inside.

I’ve failed hertwicein twenty-four hours.

The knowledge crushes my chest.

I still can’t believe I was careless enough to let her be snatched right from under our noses. Every ounce of traumainside me is activated, detonating in random, unexpected ways. Losing Harper feels like my mother’s death all over again.

I’m so blinded by my love for them that I miss the fact that they’re in more danger than I can protect them from.

My self-hatred only makes me more monstrous on the inside, more reckless, more dangerous, and more determined.

I stalk to the door of Rory’s office and jerk it open. One of the hinges rattles precariously. “Let’s go.”

“Be patient.” Darren settles a hand on my shoulder, tension tightening his voice.“We don’t know which property they’re headed to?—”

I clamp my fist around Darren’s wrist hard enough to surprise him.

“Figure it out on the way,” I growl to the rest of the room. “Let’s move out.Now.”

Riley’s the first one up and out the door. She’s the only one who understands even a fraction of what I’m going through. All day, she’s been breaking apart and putting herself back together again, rolling through cycles of fear and dismay, then rage and determination, over and over. She wears a mask of unstoppable resolve as she passes by me.

She’ll do anything and everything it takes to bring Harper back alive. And so will I.

Harper could already be dead. She’s in Enzo’s clutches. The most despicable things imaginable could be happening to her, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.

Not by standing around here.

The only way I’m going to get back to Harper and keep her by my side for the rest of our lives is if we leave right now.

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