Chapter 27 Koa
Koa
They’re taking her.
The tall one’s got Lexi slung over his shoulder like she’s nothing—like she doesn’t matter—and her fists are pounding against his back, her voice breaking as she screams my name.
Koa!
I’m moving before I can think. Before the pain in my ribs registers. Before I remember the blood still dripping from my split jaw and my swollen throat can’t exactly take a full breath.
None of it matters.
I’m not letting her disappear with a pair of fucking Reapers.
“Put her the fuck down!” I shout, sprinting across the parking lot.
My legs burn. My lungs scream. But I push harder.
A dark blur cuts me off—Revan. His mask glints under the streetlight, those cold eyes barely visible.
“Not your night, brother,” he says, voice smooth and mocking.
I don’t answer. Just swing.
My fist connects with air as he ducks faster than I expected and counters with a gut punch that knocks the wind out of me.
I stumble back, gasping, but I’m already swinging again. Wild. Desperate. Trying to get past him.
He blocks. Dodges. Laughs.
Then Oxy’s there—solid, immovable—grabbing me from behind, yanking me back.
“Stop!” he barks. “He’s not worth it.”
“They’ve got Lexi!” I shove at him, trying to break free. “Let me go!”
Oxy’s grip tightens like a vice. “You go after them now, you’ll get yourself killed.”
I’m still pushing, still fighting his hold.
But Revan’s already walking away. Calm. Collected. Like this isn’t chaos. Like he didn’t just steal the one thing I—
No.
I don’t think that. Can’t think that.
The tall one throws Lexi into the back seat of the sedan. The door slams shut. She’s pounding on the window, trying the handle. Locked.
“Lexi!” I shout, finally breaking free from Oxy.
I run.
Revan turns just enough for me to see the grin under his mask. “Thought you said he wasn’t your boyfriend?”
Then the car jerks forward.
I don’t think.
I leap.
My hands slam down on the hood, palms flat against cold metal as the sedan screeches away. The world tilts. Tires scream beneath me. I hold on tight. My fingers digging for any sort of grip for two seconds before physics wins.
The car swerves hard.
I’m airborne.
Flying backward through nothing.
Then the asphalt rushes up to meet me.
Shoulder first. Then hip. Then spine.
The impact steals my breath, grinds skin off bone. Pain lights me up from the inside. It’s white-hot and all-consuming.
“Fuck!” I spit blood onto the pavement, roll onto my side.
Everything hurts. Everything.
The road’s slick with oil and gravel that’s embedded itself in my palms, my arms, my back.
But I can still see the taillights disappearing down the street.
“Koa!” Oxy’s beside me, cursing as he hauls me up by the arm. “Come on! Get in!”
I stumble to my feet, half-dragging myself toward my Charger. My legs don’t want to cooperate. My vision swims.
But I move.
Oxy slams the car door and floors it before I’ve even closed mine. The engine roars, protesting the sudden acceleration, but it obeys.
We chase.
Headlights carve through the dark, cutting a path after those faint red taillights ahead. Every bump sends fire through my ribs. Every breath feels like swallowing glass.
I can still hear her voice in my head.
Koa!
Begging. Terrified. Gone.
Oxy glances at me. “You realize we’re running out of gas chasing these guys to their den, right?”
I look at the gauge. The needle’s already in the red. We’ve got maybe ten miles. Maybe less.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I grit out, clutching my ribs. “Go.”
He goes.
The engine groans. But we keep pace.
For a while.
Then the taillights ahead pull farther away. Faster. They’re not slowing down, and we’re running on fumes.
“Koa—”
“Fuck!”
Another mile. The engine coughs. Sputters.
“Shit,” Oxy mutters.
One more turn, and then it dies completely.
The silence that follows is mocking. I was so fucking mad at her for stealing my car and she brought it, guilt swam in her eyes, and now she’s taken by two fucking Reapers.
We sit for a long moment on the side of the road. Just breathing.
“Fucking hell,” Oxy says quietly.
I force the door open. My body’s shaking—half adrenaline, half rage.
I step onto the road, looking down the black stretch ahead. Nothing but stars and asphalt and the memory of taillights disappearing into the dark.
Oxy leans his head back against the seat. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“I’m not thinking at all,” I snap, running a hand through my hair. Blood comes away on my fingers. “That’s the problem.”
He sighs, reaches over to rummage through the glove box. Pulls out a half-empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Tosses one to me.
I catch it. Light it. Inhale until my lungs burn worse than my ribs.
“You got a plan, boss?” Oxy asks.
I laugh whenever he calls me boss. “Yeah.” I glance down the empty highway, fists clenching around the cigarette. “I’m going to find her. And when I do—”
He cuts me off. “You’ll what? Kill them?”
I meet his eyes. “If I have to.” I inhale a smoke and then howl, “Fucking Reapers!”
“Fuckin’ Reapers!” Oxy echoes, shouting out. “They won’t know what’s coming for them.”
I take another drag. “No.”
The wind howls through the open door, cold enough to make me shiver despite the heat still radiating from my bruised skin.
The night feels endless. Somewhere out there, she’s in that car. Terrified. Thinking I let her go. Thinking I didn’t fight hard enough.
She’s wrong.
Oxy groans, but he’s already getting out. “Guess we’re walking.”
“Guess so.”
We start down the road swallowed by darkness. The only sound is gravel crunching under our boots and my heartbeat pounding like a war drum in my chest.
Every step hurts. Every breath feels like a reminder of how fucked this is. I’ve been given orders to steer clear of Reaper territory. We don’t interrupt each other’s operations, but taking Lexi… that’s crossing the line.