by Rebel Hart
“Have you heard from him yet?” he asked.
On the way back from the cottage where we’d found Nathan, I immediately contacted Sicily. I was hoping that he could help me track down Deon, which he said he might be able to do, but he was unsure of how quickly he could do it. It made him just as angry as it made me, knowing that we left Deon and Nathan behind. He wanted to drive back out there himself, but if I knew the Loches, and I knew at least two of them pretty damn well, they probably weren’t there anymore.
“No,” I responded. “Have you been able to get a read on Deon?”
“Nothing yet. I sent out a bug, so if he uses his phone, it’ll let me know,” he said. “How you holding up?”
“Not well,” I replied. “I need to know that Deon’s okay.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll keep working. You let me know if you hear anything.”
“I will. See you.”
I hung up my phone and walked back into the living room where everyone was sitting around the sunken couch. They all stared at me, waiting for me to share an update if I had one, but I said nothing, just sat back in my spot on the couch, returned the phone to my lap, and continued to wait.
The only person I had even a shred of sympathy for was Nikita. She looked just as distraught as I felt, and though we had never really gotten along, I felt partially compelled to try to comfort her. Still, trying to relate to her had never worked well for me in the past. I couldn’t imagine she was feeling great about my involvement in everything that had gone down, so I quietly wished that there was reconciliation for us in the future and kept the rest to myself.
“Cherri,” Avery started sadly again, scooting over next to me on the couch. There was a waver in her voice that was hard to hear, but it was not enough to break my resolve. “Please talk to me. I’m sorry, okay? I should have let you stay and fight.”
It was too late for those sorts of apologies. All that was left now was to wait and pray that they came back.
What felt like hours passed by. We didn’t speak, didn’t move, just waited. We watched as the sun slowly set outside the window, and eventually, darkness found us. How many hours had it been? Three? Four? How long did we wait before we assumed the worst?
“Guys,” Kyle started quietly. “I think we need to start thinking about what we do next.” No one responded. Colette and Avery exchanged sad looks, and Alistair kicked a boot against the ground. Jaxon had a hand resting comfortably on Nikita’s head, and both Nikita and I didn’t even look up. “Come on, guys. I’m not trying to drag us down, but it’s been hours. We can’t just sit here forever. What if—”
Kyle’s voice was cut off by a sound coming from the hallway. We all stopped and looked up, unsure of if it was really the door or not, but then the unmistakable sound of it creaking open cracked across the silence, and we all jumped up and went rushing into the hallway. Nathan walked through the door, limping, bloody, and with one totally swollen eye. His arms were cut to hell, likely from running through the woods, and he seemed downright exhausted. I waited as Nathan walked in. Even as he shut and locked the door, I waited. Deon would be coming.
He had to be.
Nikita broke forward out of the group and threw her arms around Nathan, and my throat tightened, and my nose burned. He hugged her back, and they whispered a few things to each other that I couldn’t quite make out. Then they both turned and looked at me.
“Nathan,” I said quietly. “Where’s Deon?” Nathan’s expression went mournful and solemn. My heart shattered into a million pieces in an instant. “No.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Nathan replied, “he took my dad with him.”
A hand fell on my back, but I shook loose of it. I turned around and looked at The Royal Court through my tear-filled eyes. All I could see was Deon’s dead body. Avery looked back at me, her eyes full of tears of her own, but when she reached out for me, I just turned my back to her.
“I’m sorry, guys,” Nathan said. “Can you all leave? I just want to be with Nikita for now.”
No one really responded, but everyone started to move. I led the charge, storming past everyone out the front door. I could hear Avery calling after me, but I didn’t respond, only made my way out to the lot.
When I got there, I realized I didn’t have my car. It was back at the cottage where I’d parked it. I reached for my phone but didn’t feel it and realized it was probably back on the couch. With rage and grief battling to dominate my body, I raced back toward the house, ignored the members of The Royal Court all calling out to me, and went back into the living room. I collected my phone and was just about to leave again when I heard Nathan and Nikita talking from the kitchen. I peeked around the corner, and Nikita was carefully tending to Nathan’s wounds with a wet rag.
“So,” Nikita said, “you’re never going to tell her?”
“He asked me not to,” Nathan replied. “As long as my dad’s alive, she’s not safe. It’s better for her if she thinks they’re both dead.”
I put my hand over my mouth as relief threatened to turn my stomach inside out. As quickly and as quietly as I could, I walked back out into the night and was glad to see that The Royal Court had all gone. I picked up my phone and quickly dialed Sicily’s number.
He answered after one ring. “Hey, Cherri. Did you hear anything?”
“They tried to tell me he’s dead,” I said, “but Deon is out there somewhere, and I need you to help me find him.”
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Rebel Hart is an author of Contemporary and Dark Romance novels. All her books are FREE in Kindle Unlimited. Check them out at author.to/RebelHart.
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