Theo shoved his tattered jacket off and gingerly felt along his own ribcage. Pain drew inward and spiraled out. Yep. Broken. He kept his eyes open but started sending healing cells first to his brain and then his body. “We need to figure this out.”
“The trace on his call was good,” Chalton said grimly, whipping the vehicle out onto a main road. “Saul did call for the car, but he must’ve realized we were ready to make a move. How? How could he possibly know we were working with Ginny and not against her?”
“She didn’t tell him,” Theo said wearily, leaning back.
“You sure?”
Theo studied his brother. “I’m sure.” Even to get her father back, she wouldn’t send Theo to his possible death. “I should tell you that we decided to mate. To save her life.”
Chalton eyed him through the rearview mirror. “To save her life.”
Jared snorted. “I’m half unconscious and even I know that’s bullshit. To save her life. God, you’re clueless.”
Theo cut him a look. “Why don’t you fix your face and not worry about me right now?”
Jared groaned and stronger tingles cascaded around him. “Veronica likes my face. I should heal it.” He shifted on the seat. “You know what this means, right? The fact that we didn’t find Saul?”
Theo nodded, grimness clutching his heart. “Yeah. Ginny has to go forward with the meet.”
“If she hasn’t already,” Chalton said quietly.
“She hasn’t,” Theo snapped. “There’s no way she turned us in to Saul.” The woman might be a thief and a manipulator, but she wouldn’t purposefully cause harm. He just knew it.
“Say you’re right and your future mate didn’t call Saul and give him our information.” Chalton sped up, moving quickly toward the city. “What if she didn’t mean to tell him, but he still heard it from her?”
Theo rubbed his aching ribcage. “What do you mean?”
“What if—”
“Oh, shit.” Theo smacked his head and then winced at the instant pain. “The anklet with GPS.”
Chalton nodded, spraying snow and ice. “Yeah. It broadcasts location, but what if it also broadcasts sounds? What if he’s been listening in the entire time?”
Theo’s breath caught, and he fumbled for his phone, quickly dialing Ginny. “If he knows we left her…”
Chalton shook his head. “We left the place well guarded. If there had been any sort of problem, the guards would’ve called in.”
Good point. But Theo’s heart started beating faster as she didn’t answer. “Ginny. Call me. Now.” He left a message.
“She’s probably asleep,” Jared mumbled, keeping his eyes closed.
Theo looked at his brother. “Fix your face, would you?” That was true. Ginny could be asleep. But wouldn’t she answer, considering he was on a mission to take out Saul? She would. He dialed the guards. “Check my apartment. Now.”
“Affirmative,” came across the line.
He held his breath. Heavy footsteps sounded, and then nothing. “Hello?” he said, his voice clipped.
The guard cleared his throat. “The apartment is empty. She didn’t get by us, and there’s no sign of a struggle.”
“Secure the location,” Theo said tersely, clicking off. “I’m going to fucking kill her.”
Chapter 11
Ginny climbed through the vents before dawn, her hands freezing and her nose numb. After riding subway cars for hours and then maneuvering through the cold city, she’d finally arrived back at Theo’s building. It wasn’t dawn yet, so perhaps he hadn’t made it home. She had to believe he’d lived through whatever Saul had planned for him.
Saul had almost caught her several times during the last few hours, but she was a master at getting in and out of tight spots.
The planekite had left her system, so she was feeling marginally better. Whatever she had in her pocket had kept Saul from killing her or even dosing her again, so she desperately needed to open that envelope.
