Chapter 4
FOUR
It took me a quick trip to the ER and a lot of blinking to regain my vision.
Luckily, it wasn’t damaged permanently, and with some eye drops, it returned rather quickly.
Cove was immediately sent to grab Hudson, who, in turn, went after Amy.
Lucas and Kaya pulled out street camera footage from the street we were on and pieced together where she went.
Afterwards, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time than I already have by going to the ER. Cove and I returned to the address we found in Alexander’s pocket, and given the timing and the place where we saw Amy, it’s not unlikely that those two were supposed to meet. But why?
Cove wastes no time in pushing the door open — well, forcing them open. The brute strength of that man still amazes me from time to time, and the way he’s able to silently break the doorknob and open the door is insane.
I step inside, on high alert. One of my hands is on my gun, holding it tightly. Cove closes the door — well, not entirely since the doorknob is on the floor — and starts looking around.
It’s a small apartment, with a kitchen, dining room, and living room being the main areas merged together.
There’s one small bedroom, an even smaller hallway, and a bathroom.
Cove starts rummaging through the drawers of the kitchen, looking for anything that could indicate who this place belongs to.
My eyes roam around, noticing the small details. From a discarded hairbrush on the floor between the two couches to the small pack of press-on nails and a feminine perfume to a light pink coat, with some makeup scattered on the kitchen counter. This is where Amy’s been staying, for sure.
And judging by the way she left in a hurry, it’s safe to assume she hasn’t returned after meeting me. She fled, and that thought makes the anger linger within. The fact that she was within my reach and that she managed to catch me off guard pisses me off to no end.
“Hey, look at this,’’ Cove’s voice snaps me out of the thoughts. I turn to look at him, and he’s coming closer, flipping through some mail that he found. “All of these are addressed to Sarah Jones,’’ he says. “Except this one,’’ he hands me a white envelope.
Quickly, I pull my phone out, typing a text to Lucas to find anything about Sarah Jones, giving him the address and Amy’s description. I shut the phone off, put it back in my pocket, and grab the envelope from him.
I slump into the couch, tearing the white envelope open. Inside is a single printed letter, folded neatly in half. My fingers clench around the piece of paper before I unfold it, my eyes looking at it.
“It’s another address,’’ I sigh. Cove peeks over my shoulder, his brows narrowing for a second. He takes the paper from me, inspecting it closely.
“This is in the area where old factories are. Many aren’t in usage these days, though.’’
With a nod, I rise back to my feet. “Alright, let’s go.’’
Before I take another step forward, Cove yanks me back by my elbow, forcing me to sit down. I lift both my brows, half-surprised, half-angry. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“You’re not going there.’’
“Why the fuck not?”
Cove steps between my legs, grabbing me by the collar of my leather jacket, and starts shaking me violently.
“Wake up, you fucking idiot,’’ he hisses. “I know Blair’s kidnapping has messed with your head. I know, Arlo, alright? But I need you to stop for a fucking moment and actually think. You’re one of the most intelligent bastards I know.’’
“What the—’’
“Amy Marshall was in contact with Alexander Hawke,” he starts speaking, slowly, as if he were speaking to a child. “Alexander Hawke is entangled with Blair’s kidnappers. This address may well be the place where they’re operating from.’’
“All the more reason to go there.’’
My head snaps to the side, a loud sound echoing through the small room. The impact of his hand against my cheek causes my skin to turn red, and I’m momentarily frozen. Silence stretches between the two of us, and I slowly turn my head to look at him.
At this point, I’m too fucking shocked at the fact that this motherfucker just slapped me to even be angry.
Cove’s expression tells me he’s angry. His pupils are blown out, brows creased, his jaw clenched. His hand on my collar tightens the grip, and he looks to be a second away from tossing me out the window from the sixth floor of the building.
“Think, you fucking idiot,’’ he grits out.
“If you and I go there, all alone, with no knowledge of what the fuck is on the inside, we’ll either die, or worse, they’ll relocate.
And if perchance Blair is at the location, they will kill her before we can actually do anything.
You can’t be this reckless, you stupid fuck. ’’
Everything in me freezes at his words. My body’s paralyzed, his words echoing in my ears, ringing loudly. My heartbeat is furiously fast, and I’m struggling to keep the anger inside me. But Cove is right. This could be fatal, and I’m too fucking blind to see it.
“Besides,’’ Cove continues, “Amy has the upper hand now. She’s a few hours ahead of us. She definitely warned the rest of them. By now, the factory may as well be empty. Let’s go back to the base and form an actual plan.’’
I take a deep breath. Cove releases my collar, then steps back. His eyes roam all over me, the anger in his expression lessening with each passing second. He sighs, then runs his fingers through his hair.
“This is why I hate speaking,’’ he scoffs. “You morons need everything spelled out for you.’’
“Knock it off,’’ I mumble. “I’m out my element.’’
“I can tell that,’’ a snort leaves his lips, and I give him a glare. “You need to rest, Arlo. When was the last time you had proper sleep? You’re like a walking corpse.’’
“I’ll sleep when I find Blair.’’
“If you don’t die from exhaustion first. Seriously, you need to sleep. You won’t find her in this state.’’
My jaw clenches. I put the letter with the address in my pocket, then walk out of the apartment, knowing Cove will follow behind. His words repeat in my mind like a mantra as I take two steps down at a time, hating the way I couldn’t see the image clearly until it was pointed out to me.
One mistake will cost me Blair’s life.
Now that X has made contact and I know for a fact that Blair is alive, I can’t stop thinking about her.
I don’t even want to imagine what they’re putting her through, knowing the ways they took her childhood away from her.
The mere thought makes me want to start burning this city, piece by piece, land by land, until the pests reveal themselves and the flames burn them to the ground.
Because all of this is my fault. I couldn’t protect my peace. She’s my peace. The reason I’m alive. And they took her away from me. They took the most precious thing I’ve ever had, the only semblance of Heaven in this dark, twisted world.
I’m not stopping until all of them are dead by her hand. They aren’t my prey to hunt. They’re hers. And I’ll deliver them on a silver platter, and she can pick the way she wants to end them.
That’s the least she deserves.
“He’s ready,’’ Kaya says the moment I enter the room, standing up from the chair. She tosses the magazine to the side, her heels clicking on the marble floors as she approaches me. “Tied up, gagged, ready for interrogation.’’
I nod, then start walking toward the basement. Kaya’s hand wraps around my elbow, and I immediately pull it back, the touch of someone who isn’t Blair or my family making me physically sick.
“What?” I snap.
“Let me do it,” she says — no, she demands.
“Excuse me?”
“I have experience with terrible fathers,’’ Kaya explains, and sympathy pangs inside my chest. Her father was a fucking monster.
He had her chained to the wall, in an actual tower, without so much as sunlight for months.
“Let me try to get it out of him. Your anger will slip; mine won’t, because I have no personal attachment to either Alexander or Blair. ’’
I ponder on the thought for a minute or two, her daring eyes boring into mine. With a deep breath, I nod, and a triumphant smile tugs on the corner of her lips. She pulls out a couple of knives, then brushes past me, going down to the basement.
The interrogation room is small, with a one-way window taking up one entire wall. I’m outside, sitting on a chair, looking carefully as Kaya enters the room, softly closing the door behind her.
She removes Alexander’s gag, throwing it to the furthest corner of the room.
Instead of laying into him immediately, she starts circling him.
Her movements are slow, deliberate, and with a purpose.
The sound of her heels is the only thing that could be heard, and the silence is starting to get to him.
Alexander tries to keep up with her, but it fails quickly.
It’s my first time seeing Ekaterina Kalashnikova be who she is — the fucking Rapscallion.
The air thickens, the dominating feeling peeling off her.
He swallows nervously, and Kaya merely squints her eyes.
She takes a step forward, coming to stand right in front of him.
He tilts his chin upward to be able to meet her eye, trying desperately to keep up the emotionless, cold demeanor. However, his hands tremble on his lap for just a split second, and that split second is enough for her.
“Alexander Hawke,” her voice is lower than usual, the words laced with venom. “Do you know why you’re here?”
The question is as simple as it could possibly get. Yet, the man is too quiet. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, he shakes his head. Kaya lifts an amused brow, that sinister, dark look flickering through her blue eyes. She’s enjoying every second of this.