He didn’t make much as a detective, but he could have afforded a bit better than this Psycho-like motel he’d ended up in. Was that dried blood on the bottom of the mattress? Thing was, Milwaukee was a small city, relatively speaking, and he couldn’t have anyone finding out what he did to himself, especially anyone on the force.
“Fuck.”
He failed pushing himself off the floor, landing on the side of his face. At this rate, he’d have a black eye. The second time he was successful but didn’t quite make it to the toilet before last night’s JD forced its way back out of his body. Thank God the sink was close.
He rinsed his mouth and headed to the toilet to relieve himself of another quarter of the bottle that had managed to make its way through his digestive system. He made it back to the bed without further incident, feeling mildly better. Another few hours of sleep and he’d finish out the day as planned.
While he felt like a shithead for baggin’ on Jake, making him run down leads for the missing Sarah on his own, he could not let his annual tradition of self-flagellation go.
He deserved it. She deserved it.
So, as his gut churned from his over-indulgence, he would see the day through, as he did every year, and tomorrow he’d get back to his duties as a Milwaukee PD Detective to find Sarah’s kidnapper.
Chapter 35
Dev
“Where did she go? She couldn’t have just walked home.” Dev’s head was still reeling from what Big D had told him and now Kate was gone. The little minx promised she would stay. He should have known better and tied her to the goddamned bed. Too much had happened in the last couple of days and he knew she was overwhelmed. He could feel it.
Dev, Ren, and Manny had searched the entire house and the outdoor grounds, all the way to the highway, but there was no sign of her. No cars were missing out front, but her bag and clothes were gone and, clearly, so was she.
“Damn it!”
“We’ll find her, Dev,” said Ren.
“I swear to God when I get my hands on that woman, I am going to turn her over my knee and blister her ass so she can’t sit for a week!” And then make her irrevocably his. He was going to complete the bonding as soon as he found her, so she would never want to leave him again.
He’d called her cell several times and it went straight to voice mail.
He was in a near panic. Nothing could happen to the woman that he had come to love. And with what he just found out about her, she was in more danger than ever. He was grappling with how to handle the competing emotions rolling through him. Known for his calm demeanor in the face of battle, he was anything but calm now.
“We need to check her house to see if she’s gone back there. Manny, you stay here. Ren, you’re with me.”
Ren furiously shook his head. “Nope. No way, my lord. At minimum, Manny and Thane go with us. Giselle can handle things here until the cavalry arrive. I’ve called everyone else home in case this turns into a goatfuck. This could be a setup and I won’t have the death of one Lord, let alone three, staining my conscience.”
Dev walked up to Ren, standing at his full height, which still didn’t quite match Ren’s frame. They were chest to chest.
“I think you’ve forgotten who’s in charge, Ren. I give the orders, I don’t take them.”
Ren didn’t flinch or break eye contact, even for a second. “With all due respect, my lord, my job is to protect you, and now your Moira. So let me do my fucking job. Sir.”
Dev shook his head, a smirk curving the corner of his mouth. “Jesus, you are a pain in my ass.”
Ren let a smirk grace his handsome face. “I live for it, my lord.”
“And I told you to stop calling me that.”
He bowed slightly. “Yes, my lord.”
“Fuck off.”
“Thane, we’re flashing to Kate’s. Get up here now, you’re going with us. Giselle, you’re in charge until we return. If Kate comes back, you are to let me know immediately and keep her here under any circumstances. You are to protect her with your life, like you would mine.”
“Of course, my lord.”
Their hands were all lethal weapons in addition to their minds, but each of them had their special armament they preferred to use as implements of torture against the enemy. When they flashed to Kate’s house, they instantly sensed something was very, very wrong.
That’s when Dev heard Kate scream.
___________
Kate
Since Erin lived on the north side of the city, it didn’t take her too long to get there, although she drove by Kate twice before she saw her, which was odd. Kate was waving her arms and jumping up and down, but she still drove by. Erin finally saw her about a quarter mile from the turnoff to the house.