“Hidden in plain sight,’’ I say, quickening my pace. “Not too stupid, if you ask me. Especially because sheer luck is the reason we found out.’’
Cove’s voice fills my ears, but I don’t hear him at all.
My movements come to a stop, and my body freezes for a moment. I can’t breathe, and I can barely comprehend what I’m seeing. The long, silken dark hair. The same build, the same type of clothes.
My heart skips a beat, and hope flutters in my chest. Something I never should’ve allowed myself to feel — happiness. My throat starts closing up, and against my better judgement, I start walking again.
I move as quickly as possible, brushing past the sea of people. The closer I’m getting to the big pedestrian crossing, all of me is hoping and praying the light doesn’t turn green just yet.
Everything else fades into the background, Blair being my main focus. She’s here. She’s walking amongst everyone, and for a moment, I’m too compelled, too absorbed in this fantasy that I’ve been hoping would come true, to realize how fucking impossible that is.
It’s only when I’m five feet away that I halt abruptly, my heart sinking to my feet.
She fucking smells wrong.
My butterfly smells like the softest grass, the simplest taste of vanilla, one that screams home. The smell that gives me peace, the smell that keeps my demons away. A knot forms in my throat, pure rage bursts through my veins, and I’m unable to hold myself back.
The light turns green, and people start crossing the road. My heart hammers against my chest, my arm reaching out. Imanage to wrap my hand around her hair just in time to prevent her from crossing the road, tightly gripping and pulling her back.
A scream comes from the depth of her throat as I spin her around. I can’t find it in me to truly care about the fact that we’re in public and that everyone could see this. All I can focus on is that now things have somehow gotten at least twenty times more complicated.
Her eyes widen, and they’re the wrong shade of brown. Blair’s is a deep caramel shade, with a speck of wooden color close to her iris. This girl has the plainest, most common shade of eyes. And quite frankly, they’re ugly to look at.
She’s missing the freckles I came to adore on my butterfly, her lips aren’t as plump as hers, and she doesn’t have the soft arch of her brows like Blair. However, I’m not an idiot. In an instant, I realize who I’m looking at, and the fact knocks the wind out of my lungs.
She knows who I am, too.
The fear in her eyes is something I’ve only ever seen in people I’ve killed. The terror, the trembling of the body that tells me just how scared she is. The way her face pales a shade, her mouth parts, and she’s unable to speak.
“Amy Marshall,’’ I hiss, grip on her hair tightening.
The girl flinches, swallowing thickly. Her hand comes to clasp around my wrist, a trembling mess that doesn’t deter me in the slightest. If anything, it pisses me off more that she dared to touch me.
No one except Blair touches me.
“Arlo,’’ Cove’s voice doesn’t cut the tension — it makes the air around us thicken. Amy’s eyes dart between Cove and me, trying to find a way out. “We’re in public.’’
My jaw clenches, and I take a deep breath.
That’s all it takes.
“You caught me off guard once, boy. It won’t happenagain.’’
Before I can understand what she means, my eyes close. Pain shoots through my body, my eyeswatering immensely. My hold on her hair falters just enough for her to escape, darting into the crowded space.
The cunt pepper sprayed me.
FOUR
It took me a quick trip to the ER and a lot of blinking to regain my vision. Luckily, it wasn’t damaged permanently, and with some eye drops, it returned rather quickly. Cove was immediately sent to grab Hudson, who, in turn, went after Amy. Lucas and Kaya pulled out street camera footage from the street we were on and pieced together where she went.
Afterwards, I couldn’t afford to waste any more time than I already have by going to the ER. Cove and I returned to the address we found in Alexander’s pocket, and given the timing and the place where we saw Amy, it’s not unlikely that those two weresupposed to meet. But why?
Cove wastes no time in pushing the door open — well, forcing them open. The brute strength of that man still amazes me from time to time, and the way he’s able to silently break the doorknob and open the door is insane.
I step inside, on high alert. One of my hands is on my gun, holding it tightly. Cove closes the door — well, not entirely since the doorknob is on the floor — and starts looking around.
It’s a small apartment, with a kitchen, dining room, and living room being the main areas merged together. There’s one small bedroom, an even smaller hallway, and a bathroom. Cove starts rummaging through the drawers of the kitchen, looking for anything that could indicate who this place belongs to.
