I had already debated calling her, begging her to come home, but my other half shutting up is an offer I can't refuse. I rush out of my office before I even have the chance to debate if this is a good idea.
I’m not even sure how quickly I drive, but I make it to the bad side of town in record time. I know I ran at least three red lights, but I honestly don’t even care. I couldn’t if I tried.
When I pull up to Violet’s apartment complex, I pull into a loading zone, again I don’t care. I rush out of my car, sprinting up the steps until I finally get to the fifth floor and violently bang on the door.
It takes far too long for someone to answer, my nerves and my body almost shaking the longer I’m left standing out here. “Violet, open up!” I demand, pounding my fist harder on the cold metal door.
When someone finally answers it’s another woman that I don’t recognize. A shorter woman with short brown hair and the same type of clothes that my Violet used to wear.
“Jesus, pal. I was sleeping.” She barks out. I sigh heavily, pushing past her and looking into the small and cramped apartment. Violet isn’t home but the place does look a little emptier than it did when I was last here to drop her off. The onlydifference now is there's a nice-sized pile of drugs on the kitchen table. “Where’s Violet?” I ask nervously.
This woman, who I never bothered to ask her name, sighs heavily. She moves around me and sits on the ratty old couch against the wall. “She left this morning, saying she needs a new start. She talked about maybe going to college but definitely getting out of this town. Why? Who are you, her pimp?” She asks with a chuckle.
I huff with frustration, running my hand through my hair while I stare this woman down. “No, I am not her pimp. I’m Adler. Where did she go?” I insist.
Now this woman just smiles up at me like an idiot. “You’re Adler? Well then, thanks for the money.” She says with an overly enthusiastic smile.
I glare at her, putting my hands on my hips while I stare down at this woman who is clearly high. “What money? Why did Violet give you money?” I ask sternly.
This woman shrugs, sitting back on the couch while also practically eye fucking me. “She didn't want to leave me empty-handed and without a roommate, so she gave me a couple of month's rent.” She admits.
I scoff, rolling my eyes at this woman. “And you spent it on crack? Alright then.” I say. “Where is she?” I ask again, frankly, I'm sick of going in circles with this druggie.
She huffs out a laugh, rolling her eyes at me. “You’re the reason she’s gone, you know? She took the ferry, it should be leaving soon, maybe an hour.” She answers with a small shrug.
I roll my eyes again but rush out of her crappy apartment. I knew Violet was going to leave, I just didn’t expect it to be so soon. I didn’t expect her to practically run from this town like it was burning to ash all around her.
Although that's not entirely fair. I basically put a target on her back.
If The Better Inc finds out that she was with me, they may think she's my mate and want to experiment on her. That or they'd want to see what she knows about us, torturing it out of her just to kill her when they realize what she knows isn't that valuable.
Not just to The Better Inc, I made her a target for my men. Out of respect for me, I doubt anyone in my unit would go after her and try to claim her, but it's still a risk. All the single guys in my unit fucked her, they all know how fantastic she is and how excellent she feels, and how incredible she is.
Chapter 31
Adler
It takes me an unnecessarily long time to get to the dock where the ferry takes off. I’m not even sure where it goes, I just know it gets you the hell out of Hollow Trails. It gets you into territory that isn’t overrun with aliens and things far worse.
I rush out of my car, running toward the dock when a man stops me. “Can I see your ticket, sir?” He asks.
I huff, crossing my arms across my chest and glaring at this man. “I don’t have time for this, I’m looking for someone.” I insist, but this man doesn’t seem to care. “Well, you can look for them while you look for your ticket.” He says casually.
The urge to shift is overwhelming, nobody would argue with me if I were shifted, but I don’t do that in public. I only shift in the comfort of mine and my unit’s homes and in the woods. “Let's throw this guy in the river.” My alien is practically screaming in my head.
I pull my wallet out instead, not having the energy or the time to wait in the long line at the ticket booth. “How much to pretend you saw a ticket?” I ask while casually flipping through the bills in my wallet.
The guard, or whoever he is, huffs and crosses his arms across his chest. “That’s not how this works, sir. A ticket isn’t even that much, just wait in line.” He insists.
Nope, not going to happen. I pull several hundred dollars out of my wallet and show it to him. “I don’t know, I think $600 can be pretty convincing.” I say with a small shrug of my shoulders.
The man sighs heavily, snatching the cash out of my hand before stepping aside and letting me through the little gated area.
I rush through the dock, shoving past people on my way to the ferry and running up onto it as soon as I reach it.
I spend what has to be the next 20 minutes looking at every level, shouting Violet’s name and scanning the crowd for the fiery red curls that I’ve grown to love so much.
I’m convinced that I’ve failed and that I missed the ferry she left on, knowing I’d never be able to find her if she actually got out ofHollow Trails. I scanned every level of this damn ferry and didn’t see, smell, or hear my kitten's voice.
