“Nope.” His lips clamp shut, glowering at me.
I swear, he forgets so incredibly quickly that he was pinned against the wall just a few moments ago, practically wetting himself. But at least he’s answering. I narrow my eyes on him and continue. “Blond, dark hair, ginger?”
“Blond like a fuckin’ Ken doll. Sorta preppy. Dressed like he has money. Good looking, I guess. Not that I waslooking,I’m not—” Noting the lethal glare I’m aiming his way, he stops in his tracks. I’m sure the little asshat has realized how stupid it would be to push me right now.
In my peripheral vision, I catch Cannon motioning to Archer then toward the driveway. Before I can ask Alec myself, Archer spits, “Car. Make, model, year.”
Alec scrubs a hand through his hair. “Fucked if I know. It was either black or dark blue. Some sort of SUV. He parked way over there”—he gestures as if the vehicle was quite a ways from the house—“near the trees.”
I squint at him, like he’s an idiot. “And that didn’t seem suspicious to you?”
“Nah, man. Just minding my own business.”
Archer’s head jerks back before he groans out, “Bullshit.”
Cannon gets Alec’s attention, motioning with his hand like he’s talking.
“What’d he say, Alec?” Archer supplies for Cannon when Alec stands there like an idiot, acting as if he doesn’t understand. With the way Cannon is shooting daggers at Alec from his eyes, he might not be satisfied unless he gets a punch or three in.
“He asked if his girlfriend, Elliot, was home.” Alec’s lips twitch as he studies each of us before he snickers quietly. “Didn’t know she was dating someone, huh?”
“Shut up and finish before I cut your tongue out and feed it to you,” I growl, my lip curling.
Alec blanches and holds up his hands again, which are now shaking ever so slightly. “Fine, fine. I told him I didn’t think she was home, but I’d check. I left him on the porch while I went upstairs. To my surprise, she was there, so I told her she had a guest at the door. That’s it. I took off with every intention of minding my own business from there.”
Archer groans. “Yeah. I’m totally sure you did. Did you see anything else?”
His brow raises, then his gaze slides toward the door. “Nope. She walked out and that was it.”
Watching him for another few seconds, I’m certain there’s something he’s not disclosing since his body language is shifty as fuck, but I’m done for the moment. If I find out he had anything more to do with what happened today, that’ll be the beginning of the end for him.
My lungs constrict.Elliot. Where are you?Fuck. I should have taken action sooner. I should have watched her more carefully, made sure she was safe. And now she’s with the person who has done her heart the most damage.
This is all my goddamn fault.
TWO
ARCHER
We watchas Alec strides quickly down the hallway toward the stairwell that leads to his room. He’s moving like he’s about to shit his pants. I huff out a disturbed laugh. More realistically, he’s probably afraid one of us will snap and make sure he never sees the light of day again. Fucking asshole.
Once he’s out of earshot, Kingston gestures that we should close in, creating a tight huddle. His pale-green eyes are a violent sea of anguish. “I think we have to assume it was that fucker Nick, right?Goddammit. I knew he was going to be a problem. Fuck!” He grips the back of his neck with his big hands, tugging hard as he moves his head around. I recognize it for what it is—he’s fuckin’ freaking out. I don’t blame him one bit.
And Cannon—he looks like his skin’s about to burst, allowing for a raging, angry beast to surge forth. We don’t know what kind of bullshit we’re dealing with, nor do we know who is involved. I certainly don’t trust fuckin’ anyone right now, not outside our immediate circle.
I’m supposed to be the one with my head screwed on straight. The one who they both depend on to be the calming influence in our trio. But how can I be that for them when my heart is being torn from my chest?
He’s takenour girl.
I dig deep, exhaling harshly, and let my jaw go rigid in my attempt to gain control over my emotions. Because Elliot… she’s everything. I never would have imagined someone like her coming into my life. She’s this shining light who looked at the three of us and intrinsically understood all of our broken parts and battered pieces—as much as we allowed her to—even though we put her through a lot of shit when she first arrived. She’s the one girl who sees all the twisted-up, backward parts ofmeand hasn’t turned away. She doesn’t evenblink.Nothing scares her. I’m fucking counting on that if she ever finds out—
Fuck. I can’t lose her now. I steel myself and nod. “Let me verify it’s him. I want to review the video feed and see what I can dig up about where this pussy lives.”
Kingston grunts, “Let’s head upstairs.” His strong hand comes down on my shoulder and our eyes meet. “The quicker you get on those videos, the closer we’ll be to knowing where the fuck she is.”
“I’m on it. You know, there’s a good chance he didn’t take her back to wherever he lives.” I wet my lips. It’s the truth, as much as he doesn’t want to hear it. None of us want to consider that if Nick’s gone anywhere else with her it’ll be infinitely harder to find her. I get it. But I won’t ignore the other possibilities. That’s riskier in my book. “If she has her phone with her, I should be able to see her location using the Find My app on her iPad.”
Cannon grimaces, then holds up his phone to let us know he’s on it before he dials.
