Page 93 of Quiet
Which left Briar sitting on his heels doing absofuckinglutely nothing.
All he could do was wrack his brain to try and come up with someone who might know where to find Isa. The only person other than Briar who even knew about Isa’s family was Will, and Isa had told him he knew less than Briar did.
It was worth checking into just in case. How the hell did he get in contact with Will?
Alex opened the front door, and Briar shot to his feet.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said as soon as he saw Briar. “No one has any idea where Isa lives. Apparently, he doesn’t talk about his home life. Ever.”
“Can you call Will?”
Alex startled and took a step back. Briar was probably being overly intense, but he couldn’t stop. He’d have to apologize later. Once Isa was back, Briar would have an apology party if he had to.
“Shit, why didn’t I think of him? Hold on a sec, let me see if I have his number.” Alex poked his phone for an eternity before saying, “Here it is!”
Briar snatched Alex’s phone out of his hand and called Will.
“What do you need? I’m doing hot boy stuff right now,” Will drawled lazily.
Briar opened his mouth to talk and then closed it again. He handed the phone back to Alex with a sheepish expression and motioned for him to continue.
“Will, we need to find Isa. He’s missing.” Alex put the phone on speaker.
“Have you tried looking under Briar? He’s a big boy, you know. He could easily stash him in a back pocket. I volunteer to search him, if you aren’t free.”
There wasn’t time for this. Briar glared at Alex’s phone. Alex clutched it protectively, as if he was afraid Briar would throw it too.
“Will, this is serious. Isa’s family came and took him yesterday.”
“Those motherfuckers!” Will hissed, and his voice went from cheerfully irreverent to murderous in a heartbeat.
“Where the fuck was Briar when this happened?”
“Isa snuck away—don’t you dare touch my phone, Briar. We’re going to need it—when none of us were looking.”
“God-fucking-damnit. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m coming over to your place right now and kicking Briar right in the shin. Then we’re going to find our precious baby boy. And when we find him, I’m kicking your other leg, Briar, and you will hold the fuck still both times because I trusted you.”
Briar nodded. Even if Will had his heels on when he kicked him, it was an acceptable payment if it helped get Isa back.
“Briar agrees. How are you going to find him? Do you know where he lives?”
“No, but I have the next best thing.”
“His phone,” Briar blurted out. For fuck’s sake. Will was connected to Isa’s phone too. He could have found Isa already if Briar had been able to think properly instead of raging like a wild animal. Sometimes Briar truly hated the way his mind worked. Yes, it allowed him to create wondrous things, but the drawbacks were hurting him more now than they ever had before.
“That’s right, big boy. You are fucking lucky I decided to stay in town over the summer. Get your shin ready, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Chapter35
Isa
“Having fun in there, you little freakshow?”
Isa roused from a daydream involving him and Briar sitting by the pond while Briar sketched their duck and its family. It was warm and sunny there and far more preferable than the cramped closet hosting his actual body.
It was a shame his sister had chosen now to taunt him. He’d almost drifted away entirely—the soft shimmer of his fantasy beckoned, letting him know that he was still welcome to come back. He never had to return if he didn’t want to . . .
Shit. It had nearly happened again. Whatever fueled the fairy spell in his mind was doing its best to swallow Isa whole any time he let his guard down. If Rebecca hadn’t interrupted him, Isa might not have been able to wake up enough to search the house when everyone went to sleep.
