But when I got closer, I realised it was too bright. The colour almost looked fluorescent in the dimming afternoonlight.
It was Farbgel.Notblood
I should've felt better about that, but it just made my heart pound harder. Rowan used the Farbgel. He wouldn't have unless he had to... Which meant Marcus was here. And if Marcus was here, if Rowan's phone was on the ground and there was no sign of him now...
That bastard had been lurking all this time, just waiting for a chance to get to Rowan. And I handed it to him. I fucking handed it to him.
I should've listened to my gut. I should've walked with him no matter how solid Rowan sounded. I told myself he needed the independence. Hedeservedit after all this shit. But it didn't mean I had to let him go alone. Not when IknewMarcus wasn't finished.
God, what thefuckwas I thinking?
My eyes darted in every direction, desperate to be proven wrong. Rowan could still show up out of nowhere, muttering about losing track of time or stopping to talk to somebody. But nothing changed.
I didn't know where Marcus could've taken him. I didn't know what direction they went. All I knew was that Rowan was gone.
I dragged a shaky breath through my nose and tried to get my thoughts in order. I couldn't track them. I had nothing to go on. No camera feed. No vehicle. No idea where Marcus even lived.
My grip tightened around Rowan's phone. I needed to call the police. They had guys trained for this kind of thing, right? For missing people. Assaults. Whatever the hell this counted as. Kidnapping?
Jesus. This was actually happening.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out in time to see the screen light upwith a name I hadn't seen in weeks.
Bin Fire.
I swiped the text alert open with more force than necessary.
Lose something?
I knew it would be playing into his game, but I sent back an immediate reply:Where is he?
The typing bubbles appeared within a few seconds. My hands started to quiver while I waited, praying the response would give me something to act on.
All I got was:Clock's ticking, Elias. Better hurry.
I glared at the words. He was messing with me. I could feel his arrogance through the screen.
But I couldn't do anything. I had nothing to trace and no threat to follow. The seconds started to drag, and I started to pace. My mind whirled with every possibility I didn't want to consider, but I tried to force my thoughts to focus.
Then the screen lit up again. Incoming call this time. I answered immediately.
Marcus's voice slithered through, calm but laced with mockery and a sick kind of enjoyment. "I told ya, Elias. Clock's tickin'. I'm startin' to think you don't actually care that much."
My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles ached. I fought to keep my voice level so he wouldn't get the satisfaction of hearing how close I was to snapping. "Where is he? What did you do to him?"
"He's still in one piece. For now. But if you want to keep it that way, ya better start movin'."
I fought against the spike of nausea that tried to rise in my throat. My thoughts spun through every angle, every way to stall or dig for something I could use. But it didn't take a genius to figure out what this was. He didn't just want to scare us anymore. He was serious now.
I pushed the words out flat and steady. "What do youwant?"
"We're at the rec. You know where the graffiti wall is, yeah?"
I knew this was a bad idea. That wall was pretty well hidden from the street, and the park was quiet this time of year. If anything happened, it would be a little while before anyone knew. But what choice did I have?
I opened my mouth to speak, but Marcus cut me off.
"And don't be stupid, Elias. If I see any coppers or you try anythin' clever, Rowan won't make it to sunrise."
