Chapter 40 Gage
FORTY
GAGE
The metal door clicks open, and I step out into the cold morning air. The station reeks of stale coffee and even staler bullshit. My wrists are red from the cuffs, and my jaw still aches from clenching it too long.
Arrow’s waiting in the parking lot, leaned against his Jeep with two coffees in hand. He lifts one in a silent toast.
“Nice of you to drop by,” I mutter, my voice low and ragged.
“Couldn’t let Saint Pierce’s Most Wanted walk home,” he says, pushing the coffee into my hand. “Besides, you missed all the fun. River practically shoved the surveillance feed down their throats.”
I pause, stunned. “Wait… she did?”
He nods. “Yeah, she’s a keeper.”
“Damn. She saved my ass,” I say, exhaling.
Arrow doesn’t answer immediately. He just opens the passenger door and waits for me to get in.
Once I’m seated, he glances over at me, something guarded in his eyes. “She’s worried about you, man.”
“She okay?”
“She was when I left. She and Lark were at your place. Juno said they were going back to River’s to grab some stuff.”
Something tightens in my chest. “You let her go back out there?”
Arrow bristles. “She wasn’t alone. Juno was with her.”
“That’s not the point, and you know it,” I snap, fingers white-knuckling the paper coffee cup. “After last night, you should’ve kept her locked down.”
“She’s not the locking-down type, Gage.”
I know that. God, I know it. But it doesn’t make it easier to sit still knowing she’s out there—after everything that’s happened.
We drive in silence for a few beats before Arrow mutters, “For what it’s worth, she cares about you.”
My throat tightens. “Good. Because I’m in love, man.”
Arrow chuckles dryly. “I know you are. Welcome to the club.”
I stare out the window as the city blurs past, my mind stuck on the way River looked last night—barefoot, sleepy, wrapped in nothing but one of my hoodies. She trusted me. She put her body and heart in my hands. And for a moment, the world didn’t feel so dangerous.
That illusion didn’t last.
We pull up to my place, and Arrow kills the engine. “She’s probably inside, curled up on your couch. Told Lark to keep an eye out.”
But the moment we step inside, the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
“River?” I call out.
No answer.
Lark steps into the room, her face pale. “She went to her place. With Juno. To grab some of her stuff—”
The front door bursts open.
Juno stumbles in, blood on her temple, one heel missing. She’s gasping for breath.
“Oh my god. What happened?” I ask, already moving toward her. “Where’s River?”
“They took her,” Juno sobs.
“What?” Arrow’s beside her in an instant, helping her to the couch.
“She—she was locking her door, and I was heading back to the car to grab something. Two guys. Masks. They grabbed her and threw her into a van. I—I tried to stop them. One hit me.”
Arrow swears and pulls her closer, inspecting the wound. “You need a hospital.”
“I’m fine,” she gasps. “We need to find her.”
“Where?” I choke out. My hands are already shaking as I pull out my phone and text the team.
ME: RIVER TAKEN. MOBILIZE NOW.
Knight calls me immediately. “We’re already en route. Poe’s on the line too.”
“Good. We’re going to find her.”
Juno grips my wrist. “They said something... about ‘finishing what Regent started.’”
Every nerve in my body goes cold.
I meet Arrow’s gaze. “This is it. Whoever Regent is... they’re making their move.”
Knight rushes through the front door. “We’ll find her,” Knight says, his voice like steel. “We’ve got Poe tracking all van routes within a five-mile radius of her place.”
I nod, but it feels like my body is moving without me. All I can see is River—taken. Terrified. Alone.
I won’t stop until I bring her back.
And whoever took her?
They’ll wish they hadn’t.