Page 74 of Noel
Chapter25
Noel
My mind is buzzing, every instinct I’ve got howling like a fucking siren.
I didn’t see her message until it was too late.
Tinsel
The guys went to help hotel security and I’m running down to check something with BCE before the gala starts.See you there!xo
If I wasn’t scared to death I’d have grinned at the littlexoshe sent, but fuck me, I can’t do anything but drive.
I barrel through traffic, headlights flashing off brick and steel as I tear down the alley behind the Stargazer.
Shortcut.
No time for pretty entrances.
Not when my comms are lit up and Kai and Ego are reporting from every floor like men possessed.
“Where the fuck is she?”I growl into the mic clipped to my jacket.
Balor was right to ping me the moment her tracker went still.
Not offline—still.
No movement for too long.
Not in a place that should be quiet.
She was supposed to be prepping for the gala, not disappearing off the grid.
Not vanishing when my back’s turned for one damn second.
I wasso surethe lead with Patrick Greer was going to be something.
The guy had stalker written all over him—sweaty, too-thin, the type who posts fan videos of himself strumming sad indie songs with captions like
"This one’s for her."
But he was just a creep.Aharmlessone.
Well.Harmless now.
I left him with a black eye and a warning he won’t forget.
And it bought me nothing.
Nothing but wasted time and the growing sense that I’d made the wrong fucking call.
See, the chip I installed in the bracelet I gave her only works at full capacity when I’m within the same structure.
“She must have left the suite when we went to check on an issue,” Kai pants over the comm.
“We’re sweeping the west wing and ballroom floors now.Ego’s checking the staff halls.No sign yet.”
Goddamn it.
