Page 166 of When We Fall: Part One
“E, fucking hold it together,” Enzo growled out, his breathing ragged from the pain he was in. “We need you right now, brother. OK? She needs you.”
E nodded and visibly swallowed. “OK. I’m OK. For Rosalie.”
Enzo gave him a curt nod before going to his phone and calling his father. He turned away from us as he talked, his words soft, so we didn’t know what he was saying.
I looked around as Fox cursed and called Anson again.
Where would she go if she were running? And why the fuck hadn’t campus security escorted her out?
It didn’t matter. I’d deal with that shit later. Right now, I need to find her.
I jogged away, E following behind me.
“We shouldn’t go anywhere alone,” he said, catching up to me.
I grunted and walked across the parking lot, looking for clues. I stopped on a curb and stared at everything.
“The alley,” I murmured. “She always goes through there when I’m with her to get coffee when she has a break.”
“Same,” E said, his voice wobbling. I knew he was scared to go into the dark alley. Finding her hurt or dead would send him spiraling. Fuck, it would do the same to me. I’d lose what little sanity I had left.
I rushed into the dark alley and caught the tail end of a blacked-out van pulling away. I frowned, my pulse thundering.
“That’s never good,” E said thickly.
I nodded. Dark, windowless vans in our world only meant one thing.
Clean-up.
I turned on the light from my phone and searched the ground, E doing the same.
“H-Here,” he called out, his voice trembling.
I rushed over to see the smallest dots of blood on the pavement.
I swallowed hard.
“Come on,” I said, my voice hoarse.
We ran back to Fox and Enzo.
“Van in the alley. Blood,” I managed.
Fox swore again and once more tried Anson.
Enzo’s face paled. “We-We need to regroup. Home. I-I need to gather men. I-I…” his voice faltered. “I can’t lose her. I can’t.”
I nodded. “Me either. Let’s regroup. I’ll take care of everything. It’ll be OK.” My words came out stronger than I felt, that was for damn sure.
And now, here we were. Three days later. I had no idea what kind of shape she was in. Her conversation with Enzo had been short, he said.
When asked how she sounded, he shook his head and said she was quiet. Withdrawn.
We had no details past what Ass Hat had given to us.
Fox was gone. I prayed as hard as I could for his safe return.
Everything felt like it was falling apart around us. I was barely keeping it together. E had woken screaming into the night every night she’d been gone. Enzo was throwing up with worry, barely able to lift his damn arm. And Fox. Fuck, Fox was a mess. I was sure he hadn’t slept at all.
