Page 172 of Crave
Theo’s voice snapped through it, hard and sharp. “What the fuck was that?”
I didn’t answer right away. I couldn’t. My throat felt sanded raw. My pulse was a slow, relentless hammer.
“We’ve got a problem,” I said finally, and the words felt like gravel.
Jude turned toward me, tension winding through his frame. “Where’s Angelica?”
I blinked. The question hit harder than it should have.
Not because I didn’t know.
But because I suddenly realized—I hadn’t seen her since the smoke cleared.
“With Gabe,” I muttered, and as soon as the words left my mouth, that sickening wave of dread curled its fist around my spine.
Theo’s expression cracked. “And where the fuck is Gabe?”
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Time didn’t just slow—it stopped.
“Call him,” I said, already stepping back, already reaching for my weapon. “Now.”
Jude fumbled for his comms. “Gabe? Come in. Do you copy? This is base—check in. Report.”
Static.
Theo cursed and punched the wall.
My heart was thundering now. My ribs throbbed where I’d bled through my shirt again. But none of that mattered.
We were too late.
Or close enough to it that the difference didn’t matter.
We’d been looking in the wrong direction. Fighting the wrong war.
And now the only person who could unravel all of it was already slipping away.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
ANGELICA
It was too quiet.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The air felt wrong—too still, too clean, like the silence itself had teeth. Gabe stood a few feet ahead, his hand resting on the side of the SUV as he scanned the tree line. Marco hadn’t come back yet. He’d gone to check the perimeter ten minutes ago. Maybe more.
Something scratched at the back of my skull, a whisper that wasn’t a voice, but felt like one.
Move.
“Gabe,” I said, my voice tight, “we shouldn’t be here.”
He looked back at me, brow furrowed. “We’re safe. Just until backup comes.”
