the hospital last night. The heavy silver cross sparkles in the sun like an omen.
“She’s been here,” I call out to whoever is listening. I look toward the footpath once more. If she’s injured, she might have crawled to safety.
I make my way toward the path as Priest and Saint climb over the barrier and head straight to me.
“What did you find?” Saint yells.
I hold out the chain. “This is the chain Travis gave her at the hospital last night. She was here. I think she might have crawled up there.” I point at the almost hidden path.
“Let’s split up,” Priest shouts to the guys. “I want everyone to fan out in groups of two or three, go as far as you can, and call in if you find anything,” he orders before turning back to me with a nod.
“Let’s do this, but first, someone needs to call Reign’s dad and brothers,” I say, but I’m not volunteering. I’m too close to the edge right now to keep calm when they lose their shit.
We start to make our way through the brush, the vegetation scratching against the leather of my cut and gouging my arms, but I don’t care. The pain is a welcome reprieve right now.
I listen to Priest talking on his cell but don’t pay much attention to him until he stops dead and growls, “Are you fucking kidding me? No, don’t tell me to calm down. Why didn’t one of you assholes call us? I swear if anything happens to her, this is on you,” he snaps, hanging up and shoving his phone into his pocket before walking over to the small crop of trees to the right of us.
Before I can ask him what the fuck is going on, he pulls his arm back and launches it into the trunk of the tree. The skin on his knuckles splits instantly, but it doesn’t stop him from hitting it again and again before turning back to us, his chest heaving with exhaustion.
“Tests confirm that DNA belonging to Jake Rowlins, a cop that works alongside Reign’s brothers, was found at each of the murder scenes. He’s been MIA for two days. Officers went to pick him up this morning, but his place was empty and his squad car was missing.”
“Did they run a trace on it? Wait.” Saint stops himself before pulling out his phone. “Check the fucking car,” he barks into the phone as Priest and I stare at each other in confusion.
“The squad car’s on fire. The flames took most of our attention. Can you see if it’s a Vegas issued squad car or if it’s an LAPD one?” He nods before mumbling “thanks” then hangs up, turning to us.
“If I’m right, that car down there will be Rowlins’s and he has our girl. Fuck.” He yanks his hair as his phone rings. “Yep.” I can see by his face his suspicions have been confirmed. He shoves his phone into his pocket and stares at us darkly.
“Are you saying Reign was arrested on bogus charges so we would hand her over to a monster?” I ask them, knowing why everything felt so wrong. That sense of foreboding was my brain’s way of warning me.
“I knew this guy had her. I could feel it. I’ve felt something malevolent stirring in the air all day.”
“Let’s go,” Priest calls, trudging forward.
“We don’t even know where the fuck he would take her,” Saint points out.
“Well, what do you want to do, Saint, stand around and wait for her brothers to come hold your hand?”
“Fuck you, Bates, I’m as pissed as you are,” he barks.
“Yeah, then stop bitching and fucking move. Reign only has room in her life for one psycho, and that’s me.” I shove past him, catching up with Priest.
We walk in silence for the next hour, coming across nothing of interest. If it weren’t for the snapped twigs and broken branches that suggest someone passed through in a hurry, I would have turned back a while ago, but something is driving me forward, some instinct tells me to push on and not give up yet. It’s the same feeling that led me to find Reign’s broken chain.
When an hour turns into two, we stop and check in with the other members, but nobody has seen anything. I storm forward, leaving the others behind, praying I haven’t fucked up and led these guys on a merry goose chase and wasted all this time while my girl is in the