Page 39 of Little Wing (Shades of Fairhaven #1)

D ays had passed and there was still no sign of Lotus.

She wasn’t responding to my messages, and I hadn’t seen her at her apartment, work, or even The Royal Nomad.

But I knew in my heart that what those awful headlines declared was not the truth.

It couldn’t have been. Right? Perhaps this unknowing was the seed of doubt that stirred each time I tried to reach her with no response.

I even tried all the numbers I could think of to get in touch with her.

At the very least, I just needed to know that she was okay.

Even though that brutish asshole who attacked her was detained at the police station, I didn’t know how long it would be before someone else would find her and attempt to hurt her.

Next time, she might not be as lucky, and the thought alone stirred the madness inside me. It killed me not knowing where she was.

I scrolled through all the messages I sent before typing yet another text, asking her to at least let me know that she was safe.

After waiting for any sign of the message being acknowledged, I shoved the phone back in my pocket and looked back at my monitor where a budget spreadsheet remained untouched.

“Woah, excuse you? ”

I turned my head, realizing it was Quinn all the way from the front desk. Vampiric hearing was great, but not so damn clear that it sounded like she was in the room with me.

“I said, where the fuck is she?!”

“You’ll need to lower your voice if you expect me to respond,” she said again. Her voice rose to match the volume of the other party.

I was on high alert. The other voice penetrating the thick walls was low in pitch and rigid. Each word held a sharpness that immediately forced me out of my office and down the hall.

It wasn’t the first time that we encountered a disgruntled guest, and Quinn was more than capable of getting them to settle down, but it wasn’t the raised voices that bothered me the most. No, it was the familiar scent that alerted me.

It was Lotus’s scent that taunted me. But she wasn’t here, so that meant that— Fuck .

I moved down the hall, continuing to listen in on the conversation that bounced back and forth between the man’s questions and Quinn’s short responses.

“I’ve followed her scent to this shithole three fucking times.

I demand you send her out.” He sounded increasingly frustrated, but Quinn wasn’t letting up.

She had nearly a century of experience in wearing people down.

She wasn’t about to back down easily. While she continued to test his patience, I had the opportunity to get a look at him.

Quinn was standing behind the front desk with her arms crossed but otherwise looked unbothered while the man just feet away from her was demanding answers he wouldn’t get from anyone at Little Wing.

From what I could see from afar, he had shaggy black hair and features that were strikingly similar to Lotus.

He was dressed in an army green jacket with the sleeves rolled up and black jeans that had holes in the knees.

“Don’t play dumb. You know who I’m talking about. ”

“Nope, don’t know who or what you’re talking about.” Quinn faked a yawn before her eyes darted to the hall. At least she knew I was there if she needed me to step in.

“My sister,” the man hissed before he slammed his fist down on the desk, shaking it. “Where is Lotus Everett?!”

That question was like a punch to the gut, but I had to stop skulking around and step down the few stairs leading to the front desk.

“I’d appreciate if you didn’t terrorize my employees,” I declared. It was then that I got a good look at his face. I could see the same ruby eyes I fell in love with, but these were full of a burning rage that I needed to snuff out.

“Finally, someone who can tell me—” When the dark-haired man fully turned to look at me, I watched him stiffen. His eyes settled on me and his nose wrinkled like he just smelled something that sickened him. I knew he could smell Lotus on me. “Who the fuck are you?” he demanded.

“You’ve come into my place of business. It’s me who should be asking you that question.” I stepped down the final step and approached him. We were similar in height and that only had me roll my shoulders to adjust my posture.

Even though I knew his name, I needed to hear him say it.

What small sliver of uncertainty I had needed to be squandered before I contemplated beating the shit out of him for everything he did to the woman I cared about.

Lotus kept a lot of her history a secret, but I could recognize the fragments of the pain that she shared.

They all came back to her brother who turned her, abused her, and left her with a target on her back.

Now he barged into Little Wing demanding information about Lotus's whereabouts like he deserved it. He might have been her maker, but she wasn’t his property.

If there was one piece of information that I committed to memory, it was that Luca was the one person Lotus feared.

I wasn’t going to hand her over to a man who appeared to long for destruction.

Hell, no. Even if I couldn’t get in touch with Lotus, I wasn’t going to stop protecting her.

“Well?” I asked again as the man continued staring at me with his fangs bared. From here I could tell that one of them was cracked.

“Luca,” he snarled. “Now you. Why is my sister’s scent all over you?”

“She’s my partner.”

Even Quinn’s mouth formed a small “O” before she applauded behind Luca.

Apparently, the confidence in my voice did nothing, because Luca’s sneer only grew wider.

He brushed a stray hair out of his face and stepped toward me.

Every ounce of his energy was seeking to intimidate.

His grin was wicked and suddenly all those descriptions in the articles about his crimes were frighteningly believable.

“Oh really? Your partner. So, she told you everything about herself?” He asked, taking another step closer. “You know everything about her? Who she is? What she’s done?”

With my fists clenched, I shook my head and scoffed. Luca might have looked fucking psychotic, but it didn’t make his face less desperate for a punch.

“She didn’t kill those women, Luca. You’re the abuser here.” I nodded toward the door behind him. “Look, I’m not going to have you slander her name here. Now get the fuck out, or I’m going to turn you in where they will waste no time in tearing you apart.”

“Okay,” Luca chuckled darkly. “But you know that if they get me, then they’ll string her up, too.”

“She’s innocent,” I growled .

“Is she, though?” Luca wagged his finger at me, like he could tell me something that would shift my feelings for Lotus. “Has she told you about Wesley?”

Okay, I admit that did throw me off.

The tightness in my chest was becoming more difficult to ignore.

I always knew there was so much more to Lotus, but every passing moment was painting her more and more like the enigma I first saw her as.

She was the flower hiding her truth behind petals that I wished could be plucked away.

How many more petals would I have to watch fall before I finally understood her completely? How much more truth would emerge?

“Another surprise then?” Luca snickered and stuck his hand in the pocket of his green jacket.

“Don’t forget, I’m not afraid of you, asshole.

I see your fists all clenched like you’d actually do anything.

None of us are innocent.” He turned on his heel and pointed at me and then over at Quinn.

“If I find out you’re keeping her from me, I have no problem destroying your fucking life. ”

Quinn stepped out from behind the counter and pointed her manicured nail at the door behind Luca.

His gaze didn’t break from mine, but he nodded and stepped backwards until he pivoted and walked out of Little Wing.

The air around us shifted. The heaviness that we felt just moments ago moved out of the space, likely with the man who would continue his search for Lotus until he’d find her.

“What a psychotic little man,” Quinn declared, walking over to place her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, do you want me to call this in, or do I need to wait until you connect with her?”

Both Mateo and Quinn knew that I couldn’t get ahold of Lotus or her friends.

After seeing Luca, at least I knew she wasn’t with him.

If she was avoiding him, then there was still a chance that everything she told me was true.

Yes, there were many things she clearly left out, like the fact that her brother was alive and certifiably insane.

Knowing that alone, I had to try harder to find her. Even if just to keep him away from her.

I nodded. “Yeah, let me try again and if he comes back, let me know. I don’t want him in here anymore.” As I said that, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number I had called countless times over the last week.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

“Hello, you’ve reached Lotus Evans. I’m not available at the moment, but please leave a message with your name and number and I’ll do my best to return your call as soon as possible.”

“Lotus, it’s me.” I stepped back into the hall and leaned against the wall.

“I know you’re hearing these. I need to see you.

” After hanging up, I ran my hand through my hair, letting my fingers tangle in my curls.

Everything felt flipped upside down. I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing, but I knew that I wouldn’t give up on finding her.

Whether any of this was true or not, I felt I deserved to hear it from her lips and not some fucking psycho.

“Quinn, I’m heading out early. Let Mattie know.”