door.
“She doesn’t ever slow down, does she?”
He slid Boone a wry look. “You have no idea.”
They both climbed from the Land Rover just as Willa’s frantic cry shot from the vicinity of the house. Max slammed his door shut and raced toward the sound. He leapt over the threshold of the entry, dread knocking him dead square in the solar plexus as he took in the chaotic state of the living room. The coffee table was smashed to smithereens, the couch flung onto its back end. Across the way, a floor lamp protruded from the television screen.
Boone stepped up beside him, his eyes wide. “Holy shit.”
“Reva was here.” Willa spun toward them, her face awash with fear and horror. “She has Aurele!”
“There’s no way she could have gotten here before us,” Max pointed out. And how would Reva have even known where to find Aurele anyway? Of course, he was still baffled by Reva showing up at the stationhouse. It was as if she’d had some inside source about his involvement with Willa. But other than Aurele, Willa’s friend from the Witches Alliance, and Boone, nobody had even seen him with—
From nowhere, the image of the unconscious leviathan he’d gotten into the fight with seeped into his brain. Motherfucker. He should have gone with his initial instinct and killed the ugly sonofabitch.
Furious over his shortsightedness and the events unraveling around him, Max grabbed Willa’s arm and dragged her toward the entry. She struggled within his grip, sobbing. “Let me go! We have to find Aurele.”
“Willa, we have to get out of here. Now.” He had no idea if Aurele’s kidnapper would be coming back to the scene of the crime, but he wasn’t going to allow Willa to remain here, a sitting duck.
Boone opened the rear passenger door, and Max unceremoniously dumped Willa onto the backseat. She tried to wiggle underneath his arm, presumably to dash back to the house, but he jumped next to her and restrained her against the seat. He fished the keys from his pocket with his free hand and threw them at Boone. “Get us out of here.”
Without wasting precious time asking questions, Boone hopped behind the wheel and sped them away from the quiet subdivision. Meanwhile, Willa continued to glare at Max, her eyes waterlogged with tears as he pinned her beneath him. “Baby, I know you’re scared for Aurele. But none of us will do her a damn bit of good if you end up falling into Reva’s clutches too. My number-one priority right now is keeping you safe.”
“You heard what she said. They’re probably going to t-torture her into revealing where the trident is.” A fresh sob broke from Willa. “Sh-she’s the only family I have left. I can’t lose her.”
“I know. But as long as Reva’s convinced that Aurele can lead her to the trident, she’s not going to kill her.”
Willa quieted, her desperate struggles lessening.
“Uh, guys, not to break into things back there, but I can only drive around aimlessly so long before we run out of gas.”
Max gave Willa a stern look. “Are you going to behave now, and not do something stupid like jump out of a moving vehicle?” She nodded and he cautiously released her before sitting up and meeting Boone’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “We need to find a secure location where we can put our heads together and come up with a plan on how to stop Reva.”
“You can’t get any more secure than the ducal manor.”
Max tweaked the bridge of his nose. “Let me get this straight. You’re suggesting we hole up at Justin’s house—the grandson of the psychotic bitch who’s out to annihilate us all?”
“You said yourself you trust him.” Boone’s focus shifted to Willa in the mirror. “Maybe knowing who Willa is will force Justin to use every trace of power at his disposal to protect her.”
Max stared at Boone. “How long have you known about Willa?”
“Ever since you mentioned Aurele’s name. I figured it was too much of a coincidence that two of the three missing murder victims resurfaced on the same day. I put two and two together and realized who Willa had to be.”
“Damn, you do take after your old man.” Max rubbed his jaw, considering their options. There was no doubt that taking Willa to Justin would be a huge risk. But as Boone pointed out, the duke came with a lot of powerful backing. Plus plenty of security guards. It didn’t automatically guarantee them safety, particularly