Page 102 of Two Chambered Heart

Chapter thirty-four

- Kayden -

Kayden’s phone was going off in his ear.

He tried to ignore it, reaching a hand out to search for a soft, warm body before remembering she wasn’t there.Ugh.

The previous night’s events slowly replayed in his mind in annoying detail. The devastation on Corey’s face, the look of betrayal, gutting him all over again. And then drinking far too much whiskey with Jason in the aftershock of it. Jason had been confident that Corey would bolt the second she found out about their contribution to the drug epidemic in the city. Kayden didn't believe it, given how she had accepted every other fucked up thing about them. She’d cut off a man’s dick, for crying out loud.

How he’d fooled himself into this false sense of security with her was confusing, but he’d been so wrapped up in her that maybe it had influenced his perception. Maybe if he talked to her, he could make her see reason.Was there any reason, though?

His goddamn phone went off again. He groaned and stuffed the pillow over his foggy head to block out the noise. Why did he have an alarm on his phone? He didn’t even remember setting one. Kayden grabbed it to turnthe alarm off and realized it was Archie calling, and that it was also 5:00 a.m. He was about to swipe at the screen to answer the call when a heavy knock came from his bedroom door.

“Kayden? It’s me,” came a cautious female voice from the hallway. “It’s Corey.”

Still half asleep, he laughed at her naming herself.Who the fuck else would it be?“Come in, Little Fox.”

Corey pushed his door open and sheepishly entered his room. She was in one of their oversized hoodies, her bare legs looking sexy as hell under the hem. It was a good sign she was coming to his room before sunrise, right?

“So, listen. I think I overreacted last night.”

Yup, definitely a good sign.Even without hearing her thoughts, he felt he had a pretty good handle on how she processed things.

“Thank fuck. I know I couldn’t have misjudged everything so horribly.” He kicked the blankets off the bed and stood up. “Now come here so I can fuck you against the wall until you apologize for causing me an extremely stressful night of wondering if I would lose you.”

But before he could make good on his promise, his phone went off in his handagain.

It finally occurred to Kayden’s sleep and booze-addled brain that if Archie kept calling him, it was probably extremely important. His stomach dropped and he picked up the call.

Archie’s voice was strained, his words crashing into each other, and Kayden couldn’t make out what his friend was saying. Something was very wrong.

“Archie, slow down. I’m not following.” There was a buzzing in his ear that most definitely was not from his phone. After Corey had gone off like a bomb, they hadn’t debriefed the café incident, and what it might mean for them.

“They have him, Kay. Kreig’s men. Jason went out late last night for a ride. I didn’t get a notification that he returned to the penthouse, so I got worried and checked the CCTV through the city. They have him. I’ve been trying to get through to you since I realized. I’m trying to trace him now, but they’ve had him for hours.”

Kayden felt the air tear from his lungs and his legs give out.

He was on his knees, panic consuming him, the buzzing in his ears growing louder.

“No, no, no, no.” He brought his hands up to cover his ears, trying to block out the sounds.

“Kayden!” He heard Corey scream his name, but it was distant. She landed beside him and picked up his phone. He must have dropped it. Vaguely, he processed Archie’s voice on speakerphone, relaying the same information to Corey. Tears were distorting her perfect freckles.

“Kayden, we need to go get him! What’s the plan?” He registered her question but didn’t respond, just blinked in shock. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook. “Get your shit together!” She sounded just as panicked as he felt.

He heard Archie’s voice through the speaker. “I have his location. He’s in one of the industrial parks. I’m still trying to access the security system, but their security is strong. If I can breach their walls, it’s going to take me some time.”

Corey was also saying something to him, but he didn’t hear her. All he could think about was Jason. The other half of him. They would take his sweet time with him, too. Everything he’d heard Kovack thinking and planning for them, he was sure Kreig’s guys were doling out on Jase.

Suddenly, his cheek flared with red-hot pain. Then his other cheek smarted as she slapped him again. It was the jolt he needed to come back online.

He shook his head and grabbed her hand out of the air before she could slap him a third time. She was shaking badly.

He scrambled for the phone on the floor. “Archie, I’m here.”

“Thank fuck, I’m barely keeping it together myself. We need to plan, immediately. I’m still not through their security. I have no eyes inside the building. You may need to go there physically and get me connected.”

“I’m going regardless. There’s no one I can trust right now for recon.”

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