Lib Novel Page 61
Then, suddenly, a wave of rage and anger pushes through the line so strongly that Olivia and I wince, drawing back, and fear floods her face immediately. We’re scrambling off the bed, tossing clothes to one another.
What the fuck is going on? I send through the team line.
Get to the pack center, Aris says; at the same time, Percy sends, in feeling more than words: Veronica is gone.
Chapter 26 – Olivia
I can’t believe I said that to him.
More than that, I can’t believe he didn’t say it back. Of course, he was saved by the knocking on the door, but I could see from the look on his face that those words paralyzed him. After everything—after the memory sharing and the conversations, he still can’t tell me he loves me?
What if he doesn’t?
We scramble to get dressed, things left unsaid hanging between us as Byron drives us to the pack center. When we get there, Ado, Bigby, and Rafael are just barely managing to hold onto Percy, who’s pacing back and forth, his hands in his hair, his eyes flashing around, a crazed look on his face.
I’d feel crazy, too, if my pregnant wife had gone missing.
“What are we going standing around?” Percy cries. “We need to go find her!”
“Veronica is my first priority,” Aris says, coming down the stairs two at a time. “But that’s why we need to be careful about this. Percy, going on your own could be even more dangerous for the two of you. This could be a trap. Olivia, Byron—can you do work on the road?”
“Of course,” we say in unison, me lifting my tablet, and him patting his laptop bag.
“Are we still going ahead with the Chicago mission?” Rafael asks, and Ado just manages to stop Percy when he lunges for him.
“Fuck you!” Percy screams, and I blink, realizing some of his veins have started to glow ethereally silver. Rosa said he was like that when he emerged during the battle with Amon’s pack.
“Hey, man, calm down,” Bigby says, trying to put a hand on his shoulder, but Percy shoves him off.
“If it was Rosa, would you be calm?” he asks, practically spitting, and Bigby takes a breath, nodding.
“No,” he admits.
“Let’s go,” I say to Percy, and when his eyes meet mine, I see them calm the slightest bit, and it dawns on me: Percy is more than my best friend. He’s like my brother. “Good?” I say, looking back to Aris, and he pulls Olivia aside, handing her something and saying something briskly.
“Have Bigby drive,” Aris says, looking between Olivia and me, “I have something for you to work on. Rafael, you and I will see if we can salvage the Chicago operation.”
“Got it,” he says, and I see Percy’s eyes slide to him, scathing with anger.
The four of us run out to the parking lot, and when I toss Bigby my keys, he raises his eyebrow at me.
“It hasn’t snowed yet,” I say, “and my car is faster.”
“No, I know,” he says, as he slides the seat all the way back and squeezes himself in. “I’m just surprised you’re letting me drive it.”
Percy sits in the passenger’s seat, directing Bigby in the direction that his mating bond pulls him. Breaking the awkward silence between us, Byron leans over, tapping what looks like a disjointed internal hard drive on my tablet.
“Aris said they found this outside Percy’s apartment,” he says, quietly, “they think whoever took her had a laptop, and while she was fighting back against them, she did this.”
He holds it up.
“Wow,” I say, shaking my head. “She’s fucking strong.”
“Yeah,” he says, nodding, “Aris wants us to get in here and see what we can find.”
With that, he sets to work hooking the hard drive to his computer and attempting to access the files. He sends a copy of the encryption code to me and I get to work, trying to ignore how the speeding car makes me sick as I stare down at my tablet.
“I thought they were after Olivia,” Percy mutters, his hand gripping the handle above his head tightly. “I just—why switch so suddenly? To Veronica? I’m just worried about the baby.”