Page 72 of Judgment Day

It would be hard. It might even be messy.

She was so full of life and love and passion. In a world full of roses, she was a wildflower.

But a darkness in her called to me. She’d ripped me open and climbed inside. She’d cupped my heart in her tender little hands and made me question everything I thought I knew about love.

Lincoln was looking over the house, making sure there was enough room. I’d already told him my plan. It was how I’d convinced him to meet us at the pier.

A gust of wind whipped over the hilltop and whispered against the windowsills. Something dark settled in the pit of my stomach.

Something was wrong. I didn’t know what it was, but it wassomething.

I walked into the kitchen, staring at the zero bars on my cell phone and wishing there was some way I could check in with Andrew.

The glass-paned doors that led outside flew open. Lincoln came barreling in with a roar. “Where is she?”

My chest split open.No.

“She’s outside,” I said calmly even though my lungs were heavy. My fucking legs were weak.

“She’s not fucking outside.” He stormed through the living room, across the floor where we’d fucked her so beautifully.

Doors flung open, hitting walls with a slam. His fist hit the drywall. His rage followed behind him in waves. “She’s not fucking here, Grey!”

I walked outside to the place I’d last seen her, the hilltop overlooking the rocky shore and rippling sea. That was when I saw the small white handkerchief lying in the grass.

In a single moment, the blue sky, steady waves, and gentle breeze all turned to black silence.

Five minutes.

That was how long I’d been inside the house. That was how long ago I’d left her, smiling and hopeful with a promise of peace. That was how long it took someone to rip it all away.

Five. Fucking. Minutes.

“We’ll find her.” We had no car. This town was as foreign to me as another country. The only places I knew were—“Fuck.” I met his gaze. “I know where she is.” I prayed she was there and not on a boat on her way to God only knew where.

* * *

She wasn’t there. The one place I was sure she’d be was empty. Sadie was behind this. I knew she was. There was no other logical explanation.

So, where the fuck was Lyric?

“You said she’d be here,” Linc said as he tore through the rooms of the country house where I’d found Ciaran. “Where the fuck is she?”

Breathe.

Think.

You’re on a fucking peninsula.The only way here was by boat or on foot. They couldn’t have gone far.

I wanted to turn every building in this whole fucking town inside out until I found her.

“We’ll go to the pier.” We were already tired, lungs burning from running this far, but I’d give my last breath if it meant finding her. “We’ll see if any boats have left recently.”

Lincoln’s chest heaved with anger and panic. I knew the feeling. My heart rushed with the same.

“Fuuuuuuck!” He dug his finger into his hair and pulled at the roots. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Fear and aggression ripped through every syllable as his voice got louder and louder.

“I said, we’ll find her.” I kept my tone even, ignoring the fury that screamed inside my head.

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