Page 130 of Into the Woods

Behind him, Ryan and Royal were loading the last of our weapons. Ash was sitting at the computer, monitoring the roads and finding us the best route to the pier. And on the far side of the room, Maddie hovered in an open doorway, her face pale.

“I want to come,” she insisted.

Ryan whirled. “Mads, no. We talked about this.”

“But Bex is in trouble,” she pressed. “She might need me.”

Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, likely praying for strength to deal with his wife. “Madison, I will literally tie you to the bed to keep your ass here.”

“Ry—”

“Maddie,” Ash cut in, his tone gentle, “you’d be a liability. They’d have to split their focus between keeping you and Bex safe.”

I barely suppressed a snort, because he was wrong. My focus was entirely on my girl, and as much as I loved Maddie, if it came down to her or Becca… There was no choice to be made.

That being said, Becca would be heartbroken if something happened to her best friend.

“I don’t care who’s coming or not, but I’m going,” I announced, heading for the door.

“Court—” Royal began.

“I swear to Christ I will lay you out if you even think about stopping me,” I threatened, wondering if this was how the Hulk felt before he turned into a green beast that could level cities. Furious energy roiled in my veins, adrenaline and fear a toxic cocktail that threatened to undo me.

Royal, calm and collected as ever, just shot me a who the fuck are you kidding look. He held up a hand, keys dangling from it. “I was going to offer to drive.”

I exhaled a hard breath, my brain spinning with how much shit could go wrong in the next thirty minutes. Panic clawed up my throat, and I wondered if it was possible for a twenty-two-year-old to drop dead of a heart attack.

“We’re all going,” Ryan said, then looked at Maddie. “Except you.”

Her jaw set in a mulish line as she huffed, pissed that she was being sidelined.

“I’m staying, too,” Ash reminded her, his gaze never leaving the monitor.

“But you’re at least doing something,” she muttered, running a hand through her blonde hair. She turned to me, aqua eyes flashing. “Get my bestie back, Court.”

I nodded. “I will.” I’d never meant anything more in my life.

Except when I’d told Becca that I loved her, but that wasn’t a promise. It wasn’t even a vow. The word hadn’t been invented yet to explain the soul-deep covenant that bound us together. She was mine, and I was hers. That was now the sum of my entire world.

I’d just been the idiot who’d been too scared to risk his heart before. Too blinded by my own ideas of how to keep her safe and coddled.

But she wasn’t a fragile little girl anymore. She was a vibrant, incredible woman who hadn’t let the world beat her down. Who, even at this very minute, was putting herself at risk to help others. If that was who Becca was, I would embrace it. I’d stand in the shadows, forever the guardian who fought the monsters so she could thrive in the light.

“Got ’em,” Ash called, leaning in and tapping a few buttons to enhance a screen.

I pushed my way through the room and leaned over his shoulder to see a nondescript black limo gliding through the Parisian streets toward the city outskirts.

“That’s the car Lambert-Durand arrived in,” Ash added, his green eyes narrowed as he concentrated. “It left the parking garage five minutes ago and is registered to Lambert-Singh Shipping.”

“She’s in there?” I demanded, my chest giving a painful squeeze.

Ash grimaced. “I mean, I can’t see inside the car, but I’d be willing to bet on it.” He spun in his seat and looked at a separate laptop with a bunch of gibberish on the screen that I didn’t understand. “I tapped into her phone. The trace puts her inside the car or running alongside it.”

Or shoved into a trunk. Or…

Air hissed through my teeth as I bowed my head, fighting to stay in control and not surrender to the overwhelming panic building in my chest.

“Just got off the phone with Trick,” Rook announced, his shoulders bunched with tension. “They have an idea who the mole is now, but they have to contain and isolate him before they can meet us at the warehouse.”

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