Page 112 of Code of Heart

Owen caught Aurelia as she fell unconscious, cradling her limp body against his chest. He knew with gut-wrenching certainty that this night had irrevocably destroyed her. And if Levi didn’t come to his senses soon…It would destroy him, too.

Owen rarely got angry. It took a hell of a lot to rattle him, and even then, he was always the first to crack a joke, smooth things over, and let it roll off his back.

But not tonight. Not with Aurelia unconscious and broken in his arms.

As he gently lowered her to the floor, careful not to jostle her battered body, a slow, boiling rage unfurled inside him, cold and deadly in its precision.

First, it was the pathetic excuse for a man sprawled unconscious on the bed.

The second she whispered the nameKyle, it all clicked into place. Kyle Morris. The abusive bastard from the police reports, the one whose history Owen had uncovered and quietly kept an eye on. He was nothing more than a violent parasite who should have rotted behind bars years ago. And now?

Owen wasn’t leaving this hotel until Kyle was hauled out of here in handcuffs—or a body bag.

But the anger didn’t stop there.

No, the worst of it—the blackest, ugliest part of his fury—was reserved for his so-called best friend.

Levi.

The man who should have been here. The man who promised to protect her.

Instead, Levi took one look before he tucked his tail and ran. Didn’t even stop to think, didn’t let her speak, didn’t listen to him when Owen spelled it all out in the car.

He had left her bleeding, in pieces, barely conscious, and standing alone in her worst nightmare.

And that? That was something Owen wasn’t sure he could forgive.

His hands shook as he pulled out his phone and dialed for an ambulance, his voice tight but controlled as he rattled off the details. When the police arrived, he was all business, laying out exactly what had happened, his eyes burning holes in Kyle’s unconscious body as the officers cuffed him.

He stayed with Aurelia every second, his broad shoulders a silent shield as the paramedics worked, his jaw clenched so hard it ached.

When they lifted her onto the stretcher, her fragile body engulfed by the hospital blankets, Owen climbed into the ambulance without any qualms.

“She’s been drugged,” he told the paramedics grimly. “I’m absolutely confident you’ll find something in her system. Run the tox screen.”

He didn’t leave her side, not once, until the ER doors swung open for her and a nurse gently guided him to a quiet waiting room far from the chaos.

He sat there for god knows how long, unmoving, his fists clenched so severely his knuckles could have split open from how tightly his skin was stretched, his mind a whirlwind of fury and betrayal.

The phone in his pocket wouldn’t stop buzzing—Levi, over and over again.

Owen let it ring.

Let it burn.

For the first time in his life, Owen Voss didn’t have a single goddamn thing left to say to his best friend.

Isaac

Isaac stayed close behind Levi, following him down every flight of stairs from the eighth floor, all the way into the parking lot. Levi had stormed out without a word, avoiding the elevator like it offended him. But when Isaac stepped in front of the driver’s side door, blocking his path, that finally forced a stop.

“Get out of my way, Isaac,” Levi growled, his voice raw with fury.

“You’re in no condition to drive,” Isaac said evenly, extending his hand. “If you’re going to run, then hand over the keys and get in the passenger seat.”

Levi’s glare dropped to Isaac’s outstretched palm. For a brief, dangerous second, Isaac saw the flicker of violence in his friend’s eyes—like Levi might shove him aside and take the wheel anyway. But after a tense, silent moment, he ripped the keys from his pocket and slammed them into Isaac’s hand before stalking around to the passenger side and slamming the door shut.

Isaac exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and slid behind the wheel. He pulled out of the lot and drove without a destination, circling the city while waiting for Levi to break the silence, willing him to say something, anything.