Page 42 of Blissful Devotion

“Kat!”

She’s here, tied to a chair, bloody and bruised but alive.

I jolt upright, my heart hammering in my chest hard enough that I fear it might just beat right out of my chest as I desperately heave in air and try to get a grip as I look around the room.

A nightmare.

Fuck!

Slamming my fists down on the bed, I fall back onto the pillows, choking on a sob as the memories of it play back in my mind.

It wasn’t real. I try to assure myself, but it does nothing to calm me. It felt real, though.

Rolling into her pillows, I take a deep breath, hoping to find some hint of her scent, something to calm me, but there's nothing.

Two weeks doesn’t seem like a long time, fourteen days, but a lot can change in just a few hours, let alone hundreds. Is she okay?

I roll off the pillow and stare up at the ceiling for a moment before I let my eyes fall closed again, trying to remember her smile or the sound of her voice.

Every day it gets harder, and I feel like she’s slipping through our fingers like water.

If it feels like a lifetime for me, how long must it feel for her?

I push myself up and get my sorry ass out of ‌bed, taking a quick shower and heading down, not even the least bit ashamed that I used her shampoo.

If this is all I can have of her for now, it'll have to be good enough until she’s back with us.

Home.

I swear I’m never going to let her out of my sight again.

Dressed in whatever I grabbed from my room, I head down for the day, unsurprised to find that I’m not the first. Jade and Roderick are poring over a stack of papers; the smell of fresh coffee and stale cigarettes is comforting now, letting me know we have people who care about getting Kat back.

Spencer sits on the far side of the table with more than just his laptop. Apparently he’d packed a whole PC, and while Jade gave a good speech about us getting some rest, I’m pretty sure he ignored the fuck out of her. I can’t remember a time since they got here when I’ve come down and he wasn’t right there, other than to piss or smoke.

He lives on caffeine and cigarettes and seems forever annoyed with everyone, but if he can find Kat, I don’t give a shit.

They didn’t have to be here helping us. They don’t owe us anything, and we haven’t even discussed payment, yet here they are.

I’d gone to Elio because I was desperate; he was my final hope when I was grasping at straws, but I never expected this.

Moving into the kitchen, I grab a cup of coffee and head back to the table to keep working through my stack. It’s slow going, but we have to be thorough, or we risk missing something that could be the difference between finding Kat and not.

I’d never enjoyed school, and my idea of relaxing has never been picking up a book like Oli, but the past few days have sure shown me the perks of being a brainiac. Oli’s gone through double what I have, flying through without hesitation.

It doesn’t take long before the others join us: Father, Oliver, Vince, and the rest of Jade’s guys.

If the circumstances were better, this might be nice, having so many people around; I’m sure Kat would love it, and Addy would, too.

Damn.

I rub at my chest, the ache of missing them both a physical feeling. It’s also what I blame for missing what seems to have everyone's attention.

The room is dead quiet, all eyes fixed behind me, making me turn to see what the hell I’m missing.

Alex stands just a few feet behind me, his gaze moving around the room to meet each pair of eyes, owning his shame.

Good, it’s about time he got it together.