I’ll hit her.
Glitch wrapped his arms around her, a sick smile beneath his bandages as Alex froze. Her eyes widened, and the blue light from her horns had barely begun to glow before he jammed a needle into her neck. Rage filled me, spilling out in a heat wave. Alex went limp, and he caressed her jaw, the kind of touch that made my heart bleed. And then, they were gone.
Nothing but disturbed air lingered in their wake.
“No!”My feet pounded against the pavement. “No, no, no, no?—”
It didn’t matter how quickly I got there. They were gone. It was only me and the rubble now. I dropped to my knees, my stomach roiling with nausea as my hands shook, fists pounding against the pavement until my knuckles bled. Fire pushed out around me, whipping into a small tornado until I felt Reed’s shield swallow it all, leaving me a smoking mess in the street while coolant plunged straight into my heart.
It wasn’t working.
“What happened?!” Reed’s voice rose over the chaos and rumble of flames.
My head shook wildly, my lips peeled back as I clenched my teeth. “He took her.” I turned, desperation in my voice. “She’sgone.”
Reed was beside me, his hands on my shoulders as that fucking shield swallowed me, forcing me not to burn the entire city to the ground. My breath came short, panic bursting from my lips as I went dizzy.
She’s gone. She’s gone. She’s gone. She’s gone.
I couldn’t protect her.
A helicopter landed, making my hair whip around my face and my ears go deaf from the rotors. Dahlia jumped out, her suit flapping in the wind as she rushed forward. I stood in a flash, seething as I met her, grasping at the collar around her throat as I pulled her up to her toes.
“Where are they?” I seethed, Reed’s shield the only thing keeping me from burning her alive.
Dahlia didn’t balk as she grasped my wrist. “We deciphered his chip, Leo.”
“And that led him straight to us.Now,where did he take her?!”
I didn’t care about the chip, the VIA, Splinter, any of it. I wanted Alexback,and I’d set everything in my path on fire to do it. Change be damned—I was prepared to become a goddamned monster. Reed pulled me back, grappling around my arms as Dahlia dropped on her feet. She tugged at her collar, straightening it, completely indifferent to my fuckingtorment.
“Cool off!” Reed shouted, his words barely registering. “We’ll get her back, Leo,breathe!”
Dahlia tucked her shoulders back, assessing the destroyed street, her eyes taking in everything at once. When they landed on me, they finally softened; a silent apology.
“I suggest you listen to WildGuard. You’re going to want to take a seat for this.”
TWENTY-NINE
ALEX
My head throbbed,and my body sagged with sleep.
Everything was heavy. I blinked, stars dancing in my vision before my eyes could focus on the dimly lit room. Stone walls, iron bars and a steel slab that doubled as a bed surrounded me.
A fucking prison? Seriously?
Just my luck.
“Where are we?” I rasped, my throat clenching as it chaffed.
A bandaged hand held out a cup of water. I didn’t hesitate, didn’t inspect the offering, as if it were given by a friend rather than a Villain. But that was the thing about Glitch—he wasn’t the enemy. You know, minus the kidnapping part. Or the bombings. Or putting Leo in the hospital. I was so sure, I could hardly breathe.
No, I’ve just lost my mind.
“My humble abode.” He bowed with an arm lazy across his stomach, his black hood slipping over his bandaged face. “Make yourself at home.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
