Karson felt as if a fist had gripped his heart and squeezed. Her words stung bad enough, but the way she glared at him, as if she was disgusted, as if she couldn’t stand to look at him …
“Amelia,” he tried again. She turned her back, her fists clenched by her sides, her breathing rapid. “I didn’t mean for you to hear.”
She laughed bitterly. “Clearly.” She stepped out onto the road, not slowing her pace as a car drove down the street. There were people on the other side, so if he moved with vampire speed they would see him. His breath caught in his chest as a horn blared and a car swerved around her.
His teeth clenched as he strode after her. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” She ignored him and kept walking, her eyes scanning the dark nooks of a nearby alley, but Karson would smell Georgie if she was close.
“Amelia, stop.”
The streetlight above her flickered as she passed. She was ropable; he’d crushed her heart. He hadn’t meant for her to hear it, hadn’t known she was there until her thoughts had slammed inside his head. His vampire hearing was exceptional,but she moved on light feet, and with the music and Rodney’s interrogation, he’d been distracted.
“Stop.” He grabbed her arm.
She yanked it away. “DO. NOT. Fucking touch me.” Her eyes glittered with dark rage. It was terrible and breathtaking. But then the rage shattered for a brief moment. What was left was worse. Her eyes filled with the kind of broken hurt only someone you loved could cause. He’d done that to her, and he was going to lose her. The thought flayed his heart, filling him with shame and self-hatred.
He stepped in front of her. “Please.” He heard the whine in his voice. “Let me explain.”
“Don’t speak to me. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”
He couldn’t lose her, not now, not like this. He would drop to his knees and beg her if he had to. “I love you,” he whispered.
“Liar!” she shouted, distraught. The light popped and went out, and he winced. “I heard you! All this time you pretended to care, and you lied.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Move.” He stared at her. She shoved him in the chest, her fists curled into balls, the strike of her magic buzzing against his skin. “I said move!” If she opened those palms, she’d send him flying. “You lied to me and like an idiot I believed you.” He tucked his hands in his pockets and took it as her fists pounded again. She could have done anything to him right then and he’d have taken it; he deserved it. He deserved far worse.
“I’m not lying.” Not this time, not about this.
Michael appeared suddenly between them, his hand resting on her shaking arm. “Alright, you can yell at him later. He has a lot of explaining to do.” His eyes were soft with concern. “But for now, let’s just concentrate on finding Georgie. We all need to be alert and at our full wits.”
Karson stepped back. Michael was right, every second they argued was a second they could be looking for her.
At the mention of her friend’s name, Amelia hitched in a breath. He watched as she shoved down her rage, layering it under a plate of armor. And all that was left was pain and devastation and worry. His heart wrenched. He wanted to take her in his arms, hold her against his chest, brush away her tears. He wanted their bodies to come together like two stars merging into one, their light blinding the darkness around them.Inside him.
Instead, his gut clenched as Michael hugged her and promised they would find Georgie.
They would, but whether she would be alive was not a promise any of them could make.
Chapter 32
Lost
There was a blur of figures, a rush of a breeze, my hairs stood up on end, and I stepped back instinctively. Rodney, Kenneth, and Janice appeared around us in a semicircle. Sirens grew to a loud pitch as an ambulance tore down the street.
Monique shot a sharp look at Kenneth and said bitterly, “That’s my cue to keep looking.” His gaze followed her as she strutted across the road and disappeared down an alley.
Did she think Georgie was discarded lifeless down one of them? Georgie couldn’t be dead. She had to be alive.I’d feel if she was gone, I’d know, I told myself just so I could hold it together.
Josh walked around the corner, his hands curled into tight fists, concern and worry filling his brown eyes. He was trailed by Pixie, Leon, and Challis.
“We were in the area and heard what happened,” Challis said before Karson could say anything. “We’ve come to help.”
Suspicion nagged at my stomach. He just happened to be in the area? One of Karson’s crew let Leah in … It must have struck Karson too because he hesitated as he analyzed them. They barely seemed to breathe as they stared nervously at him,waiting for his response. I didn’t trust Challis, but he was with Josh, Pixie, and Leon, and I trusted them.
Karson must have decided he did too. “Challis, check the cabs in the area, see if anyone was picked up anyone matching Georgie’s description. Pixie and Leon, go to the bars within walking distance and keep your eyes open and ears on alert. Report back to me.”
The relief on their faces was visible as they bowed their heads in a show of submission. I thought if they weren’t in the middle of the street, they would have dropped to their knees.
Josh stopped beside me, his hand slipping to my back and stroking softly up and down. “Are you alright, Amy?”
He loved Georgie as much as I did, and yet he was consoling me.“Define alright,” I rasped.
