Page 24 of Beast
Chapter Nine
Beast woke to an emptybed.For a heartbeat, he didn’t panic, just reached over, expecting to find Pixie curled against him like she had been all night, warm and soft, fitting against him like she belonged there.But his hand hit cold sheets.
He sat up fast, heart already thudding.His eyes scanned the bedroom—no sign of her.No sound from the bathroom.The silence wasn’t right.
He shoved the blanket off, standing barefoot on the hardwood, muscles tense.His gaze swept the room again, and that’s when he saw the folded piece of paper on her pillow.His chest tightened as he snatched it up.
Be right back.Breakfast run.Don’t worry.– Pix
The knot in his gut eased, but only a little.He let out a breath, rubbing a hand down his face.Damn woman was always thinking of others, even now.Of course she’d try to surprise him with food, even after the hell she’d been through.Still, the unease lingered.He moved into the kitchen, checked the fridge.Empty.She’d probably taken one look, realized the place was a bachelor’s wasteland, and gone to the diner a few blocks down.Logical.Innocent.
But logic didn’t calm his pulse.He was reaching for his phone to text her when it rang in his hand.The name flashing across the screen sent a jolt through his chest.Gunner.
Beast answered immediately.“What is it?”
“You up?”Gunner’s voice was tight.Controlled.That was never a good sign.
“I’m up.What’s going on?”Beast asked.
“Just got a call from Miles—you know, the old guy with the German shepherd.Walks Main Street every morning.He said he saw a young woman get grabbed by a guy near the alley behind the diner.Said it looked like she was fighting, but he got shoved into a van with out-of-state plates.They peeled out fast,” Gunner said.
Beast went still.The phone might as well have turned to ice in his hand.He didn’t speak, didn’t breathe.His mind went blank except for the image of Pixie.Her smile.Her laugh.The way she’d clung to him last night, soft and sleepy in his arms, like she finally believed she could be safe.And now—gone.
“Tell me she didn’t match Pixie’s description,” Beast said, his voice like gravel.
Gunner was quiet for too long.“She did.Small.Wore a leather jacket like yours.”
The rage that detonated inside Beast nearly knocked the air from his lungs.
He moved.Fast.He was throwing on his boots, pulling his shirt over his head, keys already in hand.His heart pounded like a war drum as he grabbed his phone again.
“She left a note,” he said, his voice low, lethal.“Said she was just going to get breakfast.”
“She never made it inside,” Gunner said.“Just talked to the diner staff.No one’s seen her.”
Beast didn’t even bother hanging up.The call ended with Gunner still on the line as Beast stormed out of his house and into the truck.He slammed the door shut and punched the steering wheel hard enough to split his knuckles.
His hands shook as he gripped the wheel.He had her.Brad.It had to be Brad.The bastard had finally made his move.And Beast had let it happen.She’d been under his roof.In his bed.And he hadn’t protected her.
He slammed his foot down on the gas, tires squealing as he tore down the gravel road, headed straight for town.He didn’t even feel the sting in his bleeding knuckles.Didn’t hear the rumble of the engine or the wind howling through the cracked window.
