“Hunter Reed.” Jax’s voice fills the room. “Seems you’ve lost something precious.”
Every muscle in my body tenses. “If you touch her?—”
“Oh, I haven’t decided what to do with them yet.” His chuckle sends ice through my veins. “But I’m thinking it’s time you understand the price of defiance.”
In the background, I hear what I’ve been dreading—A muffled scream. Whether it’s Aurora’s or not remains to be seen.
“I’m going to kill you,” I say, my voice deadly calm. “Slowly.”
“Perhaps. But first, you’ll need to find me. And time is... limited.”
The call disconnects.
“Trace?” I snap at Grayson.
“Signal bouncing between towers. He’s in the city, but that’s all I can tell you.”
I grip the edge of the desk, knuckles white. “We need to be smarter than him. Think.”
I pace the security room like a caged animal. The monitors blur before my eyes, useless without a clear direction.
“We’re wasting time!” I slam my palm against the wall. “Every second we stand here is another second Jax has them.”
Grayson looks up from his screen, his expression calm in a way that makes me want to put my fist through his face. “Hunter, take a breather.”
“A breather?” My voice drops dangerously. “He has Aurora.”
“And we won’t find them by you losing your shit.” Grayson stands, placing himself directly in my path. “We won’t find them easily, Jax is too clever. But we will find them.”
I run my hands through my hair, the urge to destroy something overwhelming. This feeling—this helplessness—it’s foreign and toxic in my blood. I don’t lose control. I don’t lose, period.
“He’s right,” Penn says. “Jax wants you unhinged. That’s why he called.”
Grayson places a steady hand on my shoulder. “Ten minutes. Clear your head. Think strategically. We need Hunter Reed, the calculating bastard, not Hunter Reed, the enraged boyfriend.
I take a deep breath, forcing the chaos in my mind to settle. He’s right. Fuck, I hate that he’s right.
“Ten minutes,” I agree, my voice steadier. “Then we move, with or without a location.”
I step away from the group, forcing myself to breathe. Aurora needs me to think clearly. I close my eyes, compartmentalizing the rage, the fear. I need to function like the machine I’ve always been.
When I open my eyes again, my mind is clearer, colder. I will find Aurora. I will kill anyone who stands in my way. But I’ll do it with intelligence, not blind fury.
“Alright,” I say, turning back to my men. “Let’s be smarter than Jax.”
2
AURORA
My head throbs with each heartbeat, a pulsing pain that drags me from unconsciousness. I try to open my eyes, but they feel glued shut, heavy, and unresponsive. Something’s wrong. My thoughts swim through molasses, disconnected and slippery.
Cold seeps through my dress into my skin. Not the smooth coolness of silk sheets, but a harsh, unyielding chill. Concrete. I’m lying on concrete.
I force my eyes open, blinking against the dim light. Gray walls surround me. A concrete cell, maybe twelve feet square. A single bulb hangs from the ceiling, casting sickly yellow light that hurts my eyes.
“Liv?” My voice comes out as a croak.
She’s next to me on the floor, still wearing her gown from the masquerade. Her chest rises and falls in shallow breaths, but she doesn’t stir. The sequins on her dress catch the light, incongruously beautiful in this grim place.
