Iwhip my head towards the front of the house, feeling it surge through the bond before it’s smothered, and then I take off running. I get out in time to see the car lights disappear. That spike of fear before she smothered it is all I need to know. Bonnie is in trouble.
“No!” I turn around, frustrated and sinking into a deadly place inside me.
Pix stands behind me, his expression dark and stormy, but not alarmed.
“You! Where has she gone? Who was that?” My snarl of rage is quiet but deadly.
Pix scowls, not at all cowed by my unspoken threat. He brushes his hair back and turns away from me. “Meg, and how the hell should I know.”
When I turn away from him in an effort not to cut his throat, I find Cyn staring at Vale.
“Don’t even think it, Cyn!” I threaten, my body shaking with the violence of that warning.
“Rory, speak to me,” Bonnie’s father says commandingly. He’s slipped out of the house and has been watching our interactions, but something must have tipped him off to how bad things are.
The only reason I consider speaking to him is because he’s Bonnie’s father. But if he gets in my way, not even that will save him.
“Bonnie just left with Meg,” I say tightly.
“So what?” Pix challenges. I’m getting sick of this fucker.
“She was scared,” Kota murmurs. “She was really, really scared.”
Her father stands up tall, his expression flickering through several emotions. “Bonnie was scared?”
“Yes,” I say and turn to Vale. He’s looking at the ground, but his personality has shifted, and the dangerous side of our pack leader has emerged.
Mitchel Sanderson pulls out his phone and dials a number.
“Who are you calling?” Pix asks, but his voice has lost the edge, and he sounds like he might cry.
“Desi, answer your fucking phone right now,” Mitchel snarls and hangs up. “Right, she would have left something, a clue as to where she went. She’s not dumb; what did she leave?”
A spark of hope ignites in my chest and surges out, leaving me panting.What did she leave?Thank these psycho killers for their preparedness.
Kota trots off, looking around, and returns with a tiny little scrap of black paper. It’s like the corner of something has been torn off. I want to steal it from him, but I resist.
Vale reaches out and snatches it out of his hand. “I’ve seen these before.”
He stalks off, crossing the road quickly, and we follow him back to the house. He goes into the room she’s left all her packed up moving boxes and an antique dresser. We’ve been unpacking it slowly; we just keep getting distracted. He rifles through her belongings, making a mess of them, until he comes out with a handful of envelopes.
“She’s been getting these for months. Two arrived yesterday,” Vale mutters.
He picks them up and opens the top one, ripping the envelope in his haste.
“No. No, no, no. Bonnie, what did you do?” Vale exhales roughly, then holds his breath. His knuckles turn white, and the letter in his hands starts to shake.
I snag one of the others and rip it open. My stomach sinks.
“He thinks it’s her?” My voice is cold, and for the first time in my life, I think I feel true fear. It’s a feeling I’m not familiar with, and I hate it with every fiber of my being.
Bonnie’s dad takes the letter out of my hand and reads it. “What is going on?” he growls. He drops the letter and picks up another one.
Vale exhales roughly, but he doesn’t answer Mitchel; he looks directly at me. “Get ready.”
We snap to attention. He just took our leash off, and now we’re going to go hunt this fucker and make him pay. We go to separate rooms, ignoring the questions being barked at Vale. I get dressed, lining myself with all my favourite weapons before pulling my mask on. When I return, Vale stares at Sanderson and pulls his mask on.
The big alpha isn’t cowed even a tiny bit.
