Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,46

would kill Jasmine without a second thought. God only knows what he would do to Brady.

She touched her belly, flattening her hand against it. Would he hurt her if he knew she was pregnant? Could she somehow talk him down from this...make him understand what he was doing? If she had to, could she convince Evan Wallace that she was in love with him to save the life of her baby?

Did she have a choice?

Casey quickly slipped into her shoes. Before she left, she stopped at the bedroom door. Brady sprawled over the bed, barely covered by a sheet, snoring peacefully. Silent tears fell over her cheeks. She just wanted one more look at him.

I’m so sorry, she thought, pulling the door closed.

I’m sorry.

26

Brady

Brady woke instantly.

He lay on his back, a sheet twisted around his legs. The only light in the room was the glow of his charging cell phone. He reached for Casey, intending to pull her closer. He touched only a pillow.

“Case?” His voice sounded loud in the silence. He listened for sounds of her in the bathroom, moving around the living room, the kitchen. Nothing.

Uneasy, he hauled his jeans on again and opened the bedroom door. The apartment was still. He went through room by room. No sign of her.

A pit opened up in his stomach.

“Casey!”

He ran to his bedroom and dragged on a sweatshirt, grabbing his keys and shoes as he raced through the living room. His gaze snagged on Casey’s phone, half-hidden by pillows on the couch. He turned it on, and the last few texts popped up on the screen.

His heart stopped. She’d gone right to the bastard.

He called Zack for backup, but didn’t wait for him once he got to Jasmine’s. He took the stairs two at a time, dreading what he might find. Or what he might not find.

Deep claw marks had been torn through the cheap plywood door near the knob, opening a hole just big enough for a human hand to fit through to unlock it. Jasmine’s neighbors were old and mostly hard of hearing, so none of them had called the police. Brady assumed that whatever Evan Wallace had done, it had been quick and quiet. He pushed the door inward, scanning the wreckage. As he’d done at Casey’s place, Wallace had thoroughly destroyed Jasmine’s home.

He saw a splatter of blood on the wall and felt dizzy for a second. Not Casey’s. Please...not Casey’s.

“Casey?” He kept his voice low, stepping over shards of broken table and piles of shredded cushions. “Jasmine?”

He listened for a moment. There…the faint sound of weeping.

Brady followed the sound to the bedroom. The mattress lay in chunks around the room, covered in torn clothing and ruined furniture. In the corner of the room, he saw a pile of sheets and comforters trembling.

“Casey!” He was across the room in an instant. Desperate, he pulled the covers aside.

Jasmine, curled in the fetal position, shook with tears.

“Jasmine…” Brady said softly. She slowly sat up, and he could see that her right arm was badly broken. Her expression was blank from shock. Brady gently gripped her shoulders, kneeling in front of her. “Jasmine! What happened? Where’s Casey?”

Jasmine shuddered, shaking her head as she slowly climbed out of her stupor. Brady saw recognition dawning in her eyes when she looked at him. “B-boss…”

“What happened?” Brady asked again. “What happened to Casey?”

“He took her.” Jasmine wiped at her eyes with a trembling hand. “That goddamn motherfucker took her!”

As Brady helped her to her feet, he heard Zack enter the apartment. “We’re in here!” he yelled.

“Jesus…” Zack breathed. “This is worse than the other place.”

“He was pissed off,” Jasmine said quietly. Anger and fear thrummed in her voice.

“What did he do to Casey?” Brady was having a hard time keeping his tone calm. He had no idea how long Wallace might have had her. “Did he hurt her?”

“He slapped her,” Jasmine said. “When he was human. Before he shifted.”

That was it. Without thinking, Brady slammed his fist into the wall of Jasmine’s bedroom, taking out a chunk of drywall. Rage coursed through him so fiercely he could feel it crackling like electricity deep inside. He turned to Zack, who took a half-step back.

“You okay, man?” he asked.

“No.” Brady felt the dragon inside him fighting to come out. He curled his hands into tight fists and forced himself to take a deep breath. It would do Casey no good if he lost it now.

“Did he say anything about where they were going?” Zack