Page 66 of A Touch Of Death

"But why leave a note? Who in their right mind would let her leave a note?" Ezra asks, pacing the living room while his knuckles turn white from the strength of his clenched fists. Nix is silent, staring at nothing at all while he tries to keep his breathing even. His eyes have turned a solid yellow, but he snaps them closed, fighting for control.

We all stay silent while we think it over. Ezra is right, no one in their right mind would let the person they're kidnapping leave a note for us to find. They especially wouldn't fold it neatly and tuck it into my hand like they'renotkidnapping someone. Unless it's someone insanely stupid who has zero knowledge on how abducting someone is supposed to go. But if it's Davis and his merry band of dickwads who've taken her, they'd know better. Right?

Unless...

"Could someone be helping her?" I ask slowly, thinking it over. If someone was on her side, that would make more sense than anything else. Someone on her side would let her leave a note for us to find.

Like a sudden thought comes to him, snapping him out of his struggle with his animals, Nix says, "The tracker. How did she disable it? It was orange when we pulled it out of her arm. I've seen enough tech to know that means the device was disabled. How? How did she know to do that? Or how to disable it at all?"

"So you think someone is helping her, too?" I ask, my eyes finding him already watching me.

"Makes sense. But who?" he replies.

"That doesn't matter right now. What matters is how the fuck we're going to get her back. How are we going to get into that building, the very building we've been watching for over three years without any success at breaching it before? The very building which our faehas likely been taken to?" Ezra growls, his voice growing louder and louder the more he talks. I can't say I blame him. The anxiety deep in my chest is clawing so hard that it almost feels like a physical sensation.

"He has a point, guys. We watched that fucking building for years and never found a way in that wouldn't get us caught. How are we going to do that now? Six teams were recruited before us, and not a single one of them has been seen since. How do we get in and get Novia out without being killed in the damn process?"

They all look thoughtful, even with their features twisted in worry. There's a beat of silence while Ezra sits on the couch without making a sound. Nix leans against the island counter, looking far more troubled than any one of us. It makes sense. He's just lost the woman he mated not even twenty-four hours before.

The swift pang of jealousy is overpowered by my anxiety for Novia. We know what happened last time she was there, and I'm not naïve enough to believe things will be any better this time around. Given that she made her great escape once, those assholes won't let it happen again. There's a sinking feeling in my gut telling me those bastards won’t hesitate to make Novia pay for running away, too. We need to get her the fuck out of there.

"We're going get her. I don't care what it takes. She's suffered enough. I'm not going to let her suffer some more," I tell the room, my resolve hardened.

"Of course we're going after her, Spence. We just need a solid plan to work with, or our efforts will be completely wasted," Nix replies, readily agreeing and making a damn good point as he does.

I nod in return, and just as I open my mouth to start throwing ideas at them, Zayn calmly says, "We'll need help. We won't be able to do this alone."

"Makes sense, but who do we ask?" I question. "I mean, I know a few guys from training I could ask."

"I've got people who owe me a few favours. I'm sure they'll help," Nix supplies.

"I'm not short of a few contacts. I'll get in touch with them," Ezra chimes in, hands steepled in front of him while his elbows balance on his bobbing knees.

"Alright. I know a great deal of people I'm sure will lend a hand too. It comes in handy being alive for so long and helping a good deal amount of people on the way." Zayn nods, determination seeping into his eyes. He walks to his satchel to retrieve his cell and then sits besides Ezra, who's already pulled up an iPad out of fuck knows where. They both dive into looking for contacts and anyone we can call in a favour from. I follow in their actions, quickly moving to my room to gather my cell and contacts book before striding back into the living room and dropping to the armchair.

Nix is missing, and Zayn answers the questions that's on the tip of my tongue. "He needs to do something productive, so I suggested he return to where you and Novia were ambushed. He needs to shift, so he's going to track Novia's scent and see if he can catch any leads before returning to help us gather the assistance we’ll need."

I nod before diving into my contacts book. It's some time later when Nix returns and joins us, dropping his own devices and scraps of papers with several numbers on them onto the coffee table between us.

We spend the next several hours calling everyone we know, anyone who will help. By the time we exhaust every avenue, there's a thudding at my temples, my eyes sting, and the worry for our littlefaehas notched up to unbearable levels. What if we don't get her out in time? What if those we've contacted turn their backs on us? What will we do then?

"We can't afford to think that way. It's by sheer willpower that I haven't allowed myself to fall back into the depths of my monster again. We'll get her back, Spencer. I have to believe that. I didn't even have the opportunity to apologise to her. I won't let the last memory I have of her be her look of fear while I trapped her in a hotel bathroom." Zayn's eyes slowly turn to black, the colour seeping out of his eyes the more he talks.

Ezra slaps a hand on his back, bringing him back instantly. With more conviction than I've ever heard from him before, he says, "We'll get her back."

***

I've found myself sitting in Novia's room while we do nothing but wait. My body is practically vibrating with the urge to move, and the pressing need to find the woman who's snuckunder my skinis damn near suffocating. I swore I'd never let anyone in after the guys. And the little devil just slipped her way right into my damn chest with very little effort in such a stupidly small amount of time.

The mating bond that I've been feeling since she disappeared is beginning to physically hurt. My chest feels as though there's a stack of weights piled on top of it, pushing down until I can barely catch my breath. Yeah, she's definitely under my skin.

She became a part of our small team the moment we found her at the riverbank. She was a part of our chosen family as soon as we brought her home and took her in. She's our mate, and I have no fucking clue what I'll do if we don't get her back.

"Thoughts like that will only trouble you more and more. Staying positive is the best thing we can do for Novia right now," Zayn says, walking into the room and finding me sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of Novia's room. He sits on the end of Novia's pristine bed, smoothing the comforter out subconsciously. "I know you're scared. I'm petrified right now, too. We all heard what she went through in those five brutal years she was held there. I've seen it, and so have you. My heart feels like it lodges itself in my throat any time I linger on the thoughts of what could possibly be happening to her. And it's gutting me. But lingering on those thoughts won't help. They won't get Novia out of there and home safe with us. She needs us to believe we'll get her out of there. She needsus."

I nod, my elbows leaning on my knees, and my clenched fists holding my head up by my mouth. He's right. I know he is. But just the thought of her hurting at all causes my stomach to roll. Knowing she's at the hands of those merciless bastards again is killing me.

And the guilt that I feel has only grown as the hours pass.

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