Page 64 of Cyber Revenge

My body trembles. My mind–close to breaking.And that’s when I hear it.

*Boom

Faint. Distant. My breath catches. Another sound. Louder.

*BOOM

The wallsshake.

Patrick’s head snaps toward the door. I feel it before I see it.Trip.The growl that rumbles from my throat is primal. Patrick’s eyes meet mine, and for the first time…

I see fear.

Trip is coming, andPatrick isn’t ready.

TWENTY-SIX

TRIP

The night air is cool when I wake up, but the space beside me is cold.

My eyes open slowly, adjusting to the dim glow of the TV screen.

The menu music from Call of Duty plays softly in the background like it always does on repeat. Lydia’s controller is still sitting on the cushion where she left it.

But she’s gone.

The blanket we tangled ourselves in hours ago is pooled on the floor, and her vape is still sitting on the table.

Something’s wrong.

I sit up, blinking away the last remnants of sleep as my senses sharpen.

“Lydia?”

Silence. The quiet isn’t comforting. It’s too heavy. Too still. My stomach twists as I scan the room, searching for anything that feels out of place.

“Killstreak?” I stand, moving through the house.

The bathroom is empty. The kitchen is quiet.Where the fuck is she?My steps carry me toward the front door.

It’s open.

Barely. Swinging slightly in the breeze. A soft creak echoes through the night as it moves, and my heart slams into my ribs.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, a primal warning screaming at me.

She’s not here.

I step outside, my senses sharpening instantly. The night is cool, but I don’t feel it. My body goes on autopilot, every instinct zeroing in on what is out of place.

And then I see it. Her phone.

Broken, scattered on the ground, glinting faintly in the dim glow of the porch light.My jaw clenches as I crouch down, fingers brushing over the broken glass. The metal is cool. But the ground beneath it…

Disturbed.

Scuff marks. Signs of a struggle. My blood goes ice cold.