Chapter Twenty-Seven
The paramedics were packinggauze onto David’s gunshot wound when Jesse and Bryce hopped in the car and drove away. David and Celia were in the best hands possible. There was nothing more Jesse could do for them than pray.
Alex, though—Alex, he could save.
As much as Jesse needed to be in motion, Bryce was the first one to rush to the car. He practically thrummed with angry energy, all of it intended for the kidnappers. If they weren’t in the middle of a crisis, and Jesse’s hands weren’t covered in blood, and they hadn’t just escaped death by devourer—naw, Jesse didn’t even have the energy to spare to think he’d find driven Bryce attractive. Alex was Bryce’s family, and he was in danger. Jesse had to focus onthat, because he wasn’t about to disappoint the man he loved or fail someone.
Holy shit. There was a good chance he was in love.
Fuck of a time to figure that out.
The speedometer was rapidly climbing. Bryce thumped his hand against the steering wheel. “Damn it. I don’t know where I’m going. Where would they take him?”
“Valless mansion on Lindell.” Jesse pulled off his shirt and wiped as much of David’s blood off his hands as he could.
“Why there?”
“They need to regroup. What they tried to pull off took planning. Resources. Considering Megan tried to murder her husband, I don’t think they considered failing. Which means no back-up plan.” Jesse tossed his soiled shirt into the back seat. He took out his gun and checked his ammo. “What I don’t get is, why did they take Alex? Ransom doesn’t make sense. Are they going to use him as a hostage? Or is it possible they plan on using him to open a portal?”
“Alex would never do so willingly,” Bryce replied.
“Could they force the issue andmakehim do it?”
“I don’t see how.”
“The shit they were doing in that basement made me take an astral trip.”
Bryce scowled at the road as if it were the enemy. He dodged his vehicle around a few cars and didn’t slow for a yellow light that definitely turned red while they were under it. “I don’t think they have any of the statues. They need long-term planning. They have to relocate somewhere we won’t find them. Our advantage is that they weren’t ready for that kind of trip.”
“Does the DWO work internationally?” Jesse asked.
“We have some sister agencies.”
“Then if they manage to elude us, we can still hunt them down,” Jesse said. “Give me your phone. I’ll update Bonnell. Get us backup.”
“We can’t wait,” Bryce said.
“I’m not suggesting we do, but we’ll need support.”
Bryce handed over his phone. His driving was erratic, and Jesse was willing to overlook it, given the need for haste. When he ran a red light, Jesse had to face the truth; Bryce wasn’t thinking clearly. “I’m all for riding to Alex’s rescue, but if you don’t slow down a little, some cop is going to pull us over. Blood and guns are going to be hard to explain.”
Bryce slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “I should have planned that operation better.”
“If we had waited, we’d have a whole mess of devourers clogging up that basement and making St. Louis their private dining hall. Alex knew the risk. He willingly put himself in danger,” Jesse replied. He worked on sending a string of texts to the director.
“He’s still a kid. I shouldn’t have let him.”
Bryce had a fierceness in his voice, a growl that was more than anger at the situation. No doubt he was pissed at himself that he hadn’t prevented Alex from getting hurt.
In the basement, Bryce hadn’t hesitated to stand between Jesse and danger. He still had a red line around his waist. The bottom of his shirt was covered in holes, a whole piece of it ready to come off. The creature had tried to eat him, and instead of slowing down and taking a moment, he’d jumped right into rescuing Alex.
As fierce and determined as Bryce was, he wasn’t the only one who’d shown courage in that basement. Jesse said, “I’d be taking an astral trip for who knows how long without him. You have to accept that you can’t control everything and everyone.”
“It’d be nice if I could control one thing,” Bryce replied.
Jesse braced against his seat as Bryce made a tight turn. “Then control the car. Jesus, Bryce. Slow down.”
“We’re almost there.”
