Page 91 of Royal Havoc

Five steps to the wooden chair.

Blood whooshes loudly in my ears, drowning out the silence when I feel a faint pinch on my wrists. A phantom feeling of wrongness crawls up my legs. Burning spreads over the back of my scalp, begging to be touched. Nothing penetrates my eyes, which stare blankly at the light projected over a black-and-white hallway outside the doorway.

forty-seven

Splash Of Truth, Hold The Caffeine

Vexen: 2024

My eyes fly from the small screen when Zeke lays on his horn behind me, alerting me that the light’s green. I’ve hardly pressed on the gas when my phone starts ringing.

“Where is she!” Hendrix roars into the phone making my brain vibrate in the cab of my truck.

Gathering my senses. “The coffee shop in Devil Ridge,” I answer.

Hendrix growls like an animal into the phone. “I told you to keep her safe for forty-eight hours. Not let her leave the state.”

“Easier said than done,” I mumble stupidly.

“What the fuck did you say?”

“Isaidshe stormed out this afternoon when I told hernotto go meet our dickhead teacher.”

“Teacher? From Edge?” he questions quickly. “Are you sure it wasn’t Nolan?”

The hits just keep on coming. Slamming my hand on the steering wheel. “Pretty sure I know the difference between the two. Besides, Nolan called, and she told him the sa —”

“You let her talk to him? I gave clear instructions. Keep. Your. Eyes. On. Her.”

I think I hear Dad start to talk, but I ignore him. “Fine, I’ll go to the —”

“We’re right behind Zeke,” Dad cuts me off before the call ends.

The three of us caravan across the bridge into West Virginia. I’m the first in the gravel lot, parking my truck beside her Jeep. Other doors slam as plastic crunches under my boot, causing me to stop.

“What’s wrong?” Zeke calls from the sidewalk when he notices I’m missing.

Fear stabs at my spine as I roll the broken plastic in my hand. “It’s…” My head snaps up. “Go! Hurry!” I try to shout, fear stealing all my air, restricting my throat.

Dad and Hendrix dart across the street as Zeke dashes towards me.

“What’s…” his words die instantly when he sees me holding the busted tracker in my hand.

He recovers quickly, dragging me by the arm to the shop. The closed sign fills one of the glass squares above the one they’ve shattered to break inside the empty shop.

“You said she was here!” Hendrix roars in my face, fisting the front of my shirt.

Zeke and Dad yell, struggling to break us apart before god knows what he does to me. We’ve all heard stories about his inventive mind when anger strikes him.

“She was… I thought… Her Jeep’s… FUCK!” I shout, rage finally taking over and numbing the fear. “Someone removed her tracker,” I spit out, showing the others what I’m holding.

Hendrix settles, brows pulled tight as he examines the mangled plastic. “Where was it?”

“On the ground beside her Jeep,” I answer.

“We put it inside the interior of one of the back doors,” Zeke clarifies quickly.

“So someone wanted us to know they found it,” Dad throws out, glancing around the small shop. “Nothing looks out of place.”

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