Page 101 of Haunted Hearts

“What? No! I—” Jonah starts but Theo silences him with one look.

Viktor grumbles. “We’ll see.”

My hands fall to my hips as Jonah’s tail drops away. “No way, honey, he’smine.”

“Then let’s discuss how to make that happen.” Theo sighs. “Whatever we do, we’ll need to be careful.”

Shooting Viktor and Jonah a smug grin, I sashay over to Theo. Theo’s mouth twitches in amusement.

“We have plenty of time now that the Brotherhood won’t be feeding into his madness. He won’t have the protection, or the resources to sustain himself for long. We did well today. Let’s keep up the good work.” Theo’s arms unfold from his chest as he reaches for me with one hand outstretched towards me. “Come, we have a murder to plan.”

Chapter32

JONAH

Theo was sure we’d have time to start planning our next move. With the Brotherhood no longer a factor in the equation, getting to Fulton should be relatively simple. But I don’t want to waste time. So, when I wake up the next morning, I’m feeling stoked to get to work.

I stretch, my arms sweeping the bed to search for Willow.

But the bed is empty.

My eyelids fly open, and I turn my head, just to be sure. Yup, there’s no one here. Judging by the sound of soft conversation through the closed bedroom door, I guess everyone is up for the day. Huh, I guess we skipped training. Does this mean we’re going to dive straight into plotting our attack against Fulton? My heart races with excitement as I roll out of bed and head for the door.

Out in the rest of the apartment, everyone is gathered around the small table eating and looking over something. Willow is situated on Kwil’s lap, his arm wrapped around her waist possessively, while Theo and Brock flank his sides. Viktor leans across the table and points to something.

“This is where the woods were the thickest. We can approach from there,” he suggests.

“What? You guys started without me?”

Everyone looks up, mutters their ‘good mornings’ then returns their attention to the task at hand. All except for Willow who watches me approach with a warm smile.

“Good morning, Jonah,” she reaches for me. “We just started. I figured at least one of us deserves to sleep in, so I asked everyone to let it be you. Tomorrow, it’ll be my turn.”

I reach out to take her hand.

“Thanks, and that’s a deal. I’ll make sure everyone keeps their hands and dicks off of—”

Just as my fingers brush against hers, Willow vanishes into a poof of smoke. I freeze. Everyone pauses as they all turn to look at the space where Willow had just been sitting. The shock of her simply just up and disappearing, keeps my limbs locked in place and my breath lodged in my throat for all of five seconds before I snap out of it.

Then we’re all moving.

“Shit, shit, shit!” The word is repeated over and over as I stumble backwards and reach up to touch the piece of soul I have of Willow’s in the middle of my chest. Death explained that because she gave so much of herself to us, we’d be able to feel what she feels. Sometimes, it’s a blessing, other times, like now, it’s a curse. Her terror comes through the connection as waves, ebbing and flowing. It’s so strong that it feels like my own.

“Come on, guys, figure your shit out. We need to get her back!” Theo roars.

Does he need to shout? It’s not like we’re all just here twiddling our thumbs. “I’m trying!”

“You guys, get her back! This should be like second nature now!” Brock demands.

“Shut up, we got this!” I glare at him before forcing my eyes shut to really concentrate.

* * *

Turns out, we don’t ‘got this’.

No matter how hard we try, or how narrow our focus is, the Realm of the Dead doesn’t give back Willow. Her terror stays with us constantly. Sweet beads on my forehead as I try to breathe through it but feeling it for hours on end… my sanity starts to feel the effects. My own panic at not being able to reach the woman I love is like an ice pick driving into my skull. The excessive beating of my heart as it tries to shoulder Willow’s terror, my own fear, and the mounting frustration as we fail to get her back, feels dangerous. Thank goodness I’m already dead or a heart attack may have been in my future.

A day goes by. Afullday and there’s no Willow.

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