“Fair point.”
He sent another text.Then called.
Both went unanswered.
Something churned in his gut, and he wondered if she was upset.
He and Khyle walked up the stairs, the scents of cleanser and old food permeating the stairwell.Heading down the short hall to her door, he lifted his fist to knock, but wariness settled over him like a blanket.
He listened intently as he reached for the knob instead of knocking.
Pushing open the door, he scanned the area and his stomach dropped.
The couch was shoved away from the wall, a lamp was broken on the floor.
“Darcy!”Ford bellowed, charging into the apartment.He checked the bedroom and bathroom, but didn’t see a trace of her.
“I found her phone,” Khyle said.“And there’s a note on the fridge from her brother.”
Her phone screen was cracked, his texts and calls visible on the screen.
In the kitchen, the note from Cruz read:Darcy, Crashing with a buddy for a few nights to clear my head.
His mind was a jumble, his stallion furious.What had happened to her?
He closed his eyes, reaching out for the part of him that was connected to her as soulmates.
Returning to the bedroom, he went to the window.A metal balcony and fire escape had a ladder that led to the back of the apartments and a wooded tract of land behind it.He opened the window and rested his hand on the sill, inhaling slowly and picking up Darcy’s sweet scent mixed with the acrid scent of her fear.
And he smelled Colton.
Fury raged through him.He spun, lifting his phone to call Crew, when he spied a hair tie near the bed.He picked it up and wound it around his wrist to anchor himself to Darcy.
“Hey, Ford,” Crew answered.
“Colton took her, man.He fucking laid in wait in her apartment and then took her down the fire escape.”
“Send me the pin where you are.We’ll be right there.”
Ford sent the pin quickly, then said, “I’m going to track her on foot, follow my stallion’s instincts.I’ll leave Khyle at the apartment.”
“You can find her.She’s your soulmate and that’s a connection that no distance can sever.”
He wasn’t going to try, he was going to succeed.
It was the only option.
Hold on, sweetheart.I’m coming for you.
Ford left Khyle in the apartment and moved down the fire escape.He landed in a back alley where trash bins stood behind a fence.He cataloged every detail.Fresh footprints, evidence of dragging, a few drops of blood.
He walked quickly and quietly into the woods, following the part of him that was tethered to Darcy, using his stallion’s mating bond to Darcy to drive him forward.Glancing over his shoulder at the apartment, he knew his friends were going to show up and track his location on their phones, following behind to help so he didn’t have to keep them apprised of his whereabouts.
He moved through the strand of trees, rubbing the hair tie that was biting into his wrist.The trees separated the apartment complex from a small neighborhood.
He paused, then felt his stallion leading him to the west.His stallion hummed under his skin, ready to lend him speed and strength.
With Darcy’s name on his heart, he ran.
