Page 63 of Savage Blood
As if she felt my gaze, Gia’s head swiveled in my direction from a few seats down, her long braids swaying. She was dressed in black as usual, with a silver raven stitched on the left of her chest. An unreadable look crossed her sharp features while worry darkened her eyes.
My stomach soured, expecting her to rant about Hawk and Kourtney being involved in an unsanctioned mission to the Underworld. Gia benched Kourtney for a few weeks because of it. And Hawk, well, he was getting his own punishment in a dungeon.
Would the raven captain finally tell me what a disaster I was?
Ari cleared his throat. “Captain Gia, I believe you have some pertinent information before we discuss the former lord of Savannah.”
“Right.” She opened the cover of her tablet, connected the device to Ari’s software, and displayed that information on the projection screen. “Anna Coltrane is missing.”
The spicy pretzel dropped from my fingers and bounced on the napkin. “Uh, what?”
Captain Gia released a heavy sigh and pulled up a picture of a nondescript brick building. “She escaped from the Chicago ravens’ custody at their rehab center three days ago. There has been no sign of her since.”
“And you’re just now telling me?” My voice rose a few octaves as I pictured the unhinged former raven captain. Lasttime I saw her, she tried to lock me up and rip the Infernal Sol right out of me.
My heart pounded as a million theories blazed through my mind. Saint rested his hand on my knee under the table, but it did nothing to quell the rising panic.
Coltrane’s escape had nothing to do with Hawk’s Underworld imprisonment. She didn’t give a damn about him.
Was she still hellbent on getting the demon amulet? Could she have somehow found out Barric had it?
Gia’s long fingers moved around her tablet and opened another file. “Coltraneseemedto be making progress and gained the trust of the guards. When they allowed her to partake in a training exercise outside of the compound, she made a run for it.”
“Where do you think she’ll go?” Saint asked, his thumb tracing circles on my knee.
My chest ached because I wanted someone else’s thumb attempting to soothe me.
Why did Fane have to betray me?
“If I had to guess, it would be Savannah.” Gia opened a series of pictures and displayed them on the projection screen. “Coltrane has developed an obsession with you, Tate.”
An icy chill slid down my spine, deepening as Captain Gia flipped through photo after photo of a sketchpad, my name scrawled across every page.
Tate.
Tatum.
Tatum Teague.
Tatum Teague is the key to my future.
The amulet. She has the answers. She knows a way.
“What the fuck is all of this?” Saint’s muscles grew rigid, and I felt his wolf stir, instantly feeling the urge to protect me.
What the ever-loving hell?
I should not be able to feel his wolf or his emotions.
And yet, I freaking did.
“Ravens discovered this notebook beneath Coltrane’s mattress in her room.” Gia opened another file with more pictures of the notebook where strange symbols mingled with my name.
And drawings of the Infernal Sol.
Son of a bitch.
Saint’s gaze met mine as he recognized the ancient demon amulet. He didn’t say a word or even make a gesture, but I knew he had my back with whatever information I decided to reveal—or not reveal.
