Page 103 of The Devil's Hunt

“Theo and I are heading your way. My contact will meet us when I send her the address,” Kai quickly reported.

“What’s the status of the men?”

“They’re standing by, ready for action depending on how you want to handle this.”

“Copy. See you soon.”

“Arch, there’s something else.”

“What?” I managed to get out. I didn’t know if I could handle anything else.

“Theo just sent over the footage from the café and alley.”

“What is it?”

“Maddie was there,” he stated hesitantly.

“What are you saying? They kidnapped Maddie too?”

“No. She wasn’t kidnapped. She helped them.”

My phone dinged, and I opened the attachment, watching multiple different camera angles as several masked men and Maddie helped load an unconscious Mila into the back of a black van. The air rushed out of my lungs, and my hands clenched into fists as pure rage burned through my veins like acid. Maddie had played us. She used Kai to get close, and I guessed she had been working with Alexander all along.

“I’m so sorry, Archer. I’m so fucking sorry,” Kai apologized repeatedly.

I drowned out his words, hung up my phone, and slammed my fists into the dashboard over and over, blood dripping down my fingers before I stopped.

“We’ll get her back,” Damion spoke softly.

He sped through the city, keeping several blocks of distance so we didn’t tip them off. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest, and the temperature in the car felt suffocating. As we neared the city's outskirts, every second felt like an eternity. I promised never to let anything happen to her, and I failed. I fucking broke my promise. Alexander got to her anyway.

Kai texted me an address a mile from where the dot had been stopped for several minutes.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, but my body shook with adrenaline. We pulled off into the parking lot of a high-rise apartment complex, driving down into the parking garage where we wouldn’t be seen. A few minutes later, Kai and Theo parked next to us.

I stepped out of the car, and Kai and Theo looked at me apologetically. “Where are we?”

“My contact’s apartment,” Kai responded.

“Where is she?”

“We are going up to her,” he replied cryptically.

“Why?” I pressed.

“She’s risking a lot by helping us. It’s not safe for her to meet us out in the open so close to where Mila is.”

“What does that mean?”

“She’ll explain everything when we get up there,” he said, leading us toward the elevator.

I wanted to press him for more answers, but I knew that he wouldn’t steer me wrong. I needed to hear what his contact had to say. He was good for always finding people willing to backstab their bosses for money or drugs, so I assumed I would be writing a fat check before the day was done.

The high-rise was modern and clean, shocking compared to the usual places hiscontactsresided. We ascended to the 20th floor in silence, the doors opening to reveal a large, well-lit hallway. We stopped outside a black door with the number7201in gold. Kai knocked, and we waited.

The door opened, and a woman with green eyes the same shade as mine and long, dark black hair looked up at Kai. She moved out of the way, inviting us in, and quickly closed the door behind us.

“This is Haven,” Kai introduced her. “Archer and Theo are with me.”

---