And that was the problem. That was what filled me with cold apprehension. Because how far could my strength and my sanity stretch, if pushed? How far would Chase bend me with my little sister's life in his grip?
I had a feeling I would soon find out.
27
Despite the high level of anxiety coursing through me at how painfully helpless I was to save Seph, I eventually fell asleep. The exhaustion from not sleeping the night before combined with the amount of physical activity I'd undertaken with Zed all damn day, it all finally caught up on me, and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When I woke, I was less than excited to find that it hadn't all been a nightmare. Seph was still missing, and we were no closer to finding her without playing Chase's game.
Actually, that wasn't true. Cass's transport had arrived in Italy, and he'd linked up with Demi already. Between the two of them, they'd already mapped out a radius that fitted the missing time frame Seph had described. Between Paulo picking her up and her calling me, we had a solid estimate of how far he could have taken her.
"Waiting around like this is going to drive me insane," I muttered into my coffee. Zed had already been out to get groceries and reluctantly handed me the newspaper when I asked him for it. I placed my coffee down and started flipping through the pages, heading for my favorite section.
"Why do you like to read the obituaries, anyway?" Lucas asked, peering over at the page as he sipped his own coffee. He had a stack of textbooks already out on the island counter where we sat and had been up before any of us working on assignments for his classes.
Zed snorted a laugh in the kitchen, where he was loading the dishwasher, and I gave him a wry look. To Lucas, I just answered, "Because clearly, I have issues, Gumdrop." Then I changed the subject because it was way too early in the morning for a psychoanalysis. "How is your tattoo healing? Cass will skin you alive if it gets infected."
Lucas leaned back in his chair and lifted his shirt to show the scabbed-over tattoo. "So far, so good," he reported. "Now Cass is going to need a Darling tattoo as well so he can be on Team Hades."
Zed snorted a laugh. "He already has one."
Startled, I jerked my face in Zed's direction. "What? Since when?"
He just gave me a lazy grin, continuing to load the dishwasher. "Uh, same night he did Gumdrop's. After you two went to bed, he got me to put it on his back."
I frowned, my eyes narrow in suspicion. "Cass doesn't have any free space on his..." I trailed off as I took in the way Zed was focusing extra hard on the dishes. Then I snickered. "You tattooed Cass's ass?"
Zed gave an annoyed groan. "No. It wasn't his ass, it was just... his back. Lower back." Yet he still wouldn't meet my eyes, so I definitely needed to check that out for myself.
Lucas grinned like he'd just been given ammunition to tease Zed, but Zed spotted the look before Lucas could get even a word out.
"You'll keep your smart remarks to yourself if you know what's good for you, Gumdrop. Don't make me retaliate in the gym later."
Lucas cringed and held his hands up in surrender. "Not a word, bro." He mimed zipping his mouth shut but sent me a smirk when Zed turned away once more. I just shook my head but had to admit how natural it felt to be interacting with them both like this. It was comfortable, except for that nagging sick feeling in my stomach over Seph's safety.
Fucking hell. I was going to kill her when we got her back. What kind of dumb-shit move did she think she was pulling by running away from the very people keeping her safe?
Growing angrier with every thought, I almost tore the newspaper pages as I turned them. When I found the obits, I took a couple of calming breaths and started reading through them one at a time.
"Fuck's sake," I groaned before I’d even made it through half a page.
Zed braced his hands on the other side of the counter from me—in the exact spot he'd fucked me yesterday. "Let me guess."
I rubbed my eyes. "No guessing necessary. All actions have consequences, my Darling. It's not