“Every goddamn second.” And I did. Whiskey hadn’t dulled a damn thing.
Devil took a slow sip of his coffee. “No one’s seen Lark.”
That landed harder than the hangover.
“She didn’t come back,” Mystic said, his tone careful now.
I grabbed a mug and poured coffee that tasted like burnt dirt. “Guess not.”
Mystic straightened. “Aren’t you worried?”
I shot him a look. “Why the hell would I be?”
Silence stretched tight.
Devil set his mug down. “I need to talk to her.”
“About what?” I snapped.
“About Zach,” he said evenly. “About who he is, why he showed up now, and what he knows.”
My jaw locked. “Good luck.”
Devil studied me for a long second. “You know where she’d go. We called Miriam. None of the women here have heard from her.”
I shook my head, the movement hard enough to make my skull scream. “No. I don’t.”
Mystic muttered a curse. “Chain—”
“Don’t,” I cut in. “I’m not chasin’ her down.”
“She might be in trouble,” Devil said.
I laughed, short and bitter. “Or she might be exactly where she wants to be. With him.”
“That’s an assumption,” Devil said.
“It’s a conclusion,” I shot back. “She didn’t come back here. Didn’t go to Miriam’s. Didn’t tell anyone where she was goin’. She walked out and disappeared. That tells me plenty.”
Devil leaned back against the counter, his voice calm but firm. “It tells me she was scared.”
“It tells me she lied,” I said. “She looked me in the eye and lied. Snuck around. Met another man in a motel. I’m not playin’ detective to make myself feel better about that.”
Mystic stepped closer. “You care about her.”
“That’s the problem,” I said flat. “I cared enough to let my guard down. Won’t be makin’ that mistake again.”
Devil watched me like he was weighin’ the cost of pushin’ harder. “If she’s with Zach, and if he’s tied to the cult coming back around—”
“She made her bed,” I cut in. “I’m not draggin’ her out of it.”
The words tasted bitter, but I swallowed them anyway.
Devil exhaled slow. “I’ll find her.”
I turned toward him. “You do what you gotta do. Just don’t expect me to come runnin’.”
“This isn’t like you.”
