Page 13

Max

I sprint up the stairs to Savannah’s apartment, my mind racing.

Nick's urgent call demanding I come immediately—without explanation—can't be good.

Though there's a slim chance this has something to do with Savannah, I know deep down that Hailey is in trouble.

Whoever she was afraid of a couple of nights ago has finally gotten to her.

I should have pressed her for more information, protected her.

I burst into the apartment and find Savannah sitting on the couch, visibly shaken. “Close the door,” Nick snaps from behind the kitchen island. Then I notice the blood pooling by his shoes.

I slam the door, panic rising at the thought of Hailey dead in the kitchen, but a masculine groan emerges from where Nick is staring.

“What happened?” I ask .

“I came home from the groomer and found him here—stabbed. And Hailey’s gone,” Savannah says.

Nick steps aside, allowing me to see the intruder. He has dark hair, dark brown or black eyes, and a shorter stature. I don’t recognize him.

He grimaces in pain, revealing bloody teeth as he grips the knife handle embedded in his stomach.

“Who the fuck are you?” I demand.

The man looks up at me, smiles, and then spits blood, nearly hitting my shoes.

“I already tried asking him questions,” Nick says. “I was waiting for you to show up so we could try some other methods. He hasn’t said a word, but I’m assuming Hailey stabbed him. We have no idea where she is. Maybe she got scared and ran off.”

I run my hands through my hair, processing everything. We need answers from this guy—now.

I turn to Savannah. “Get out of here. I don’t want you to see this.” She winces at the bite in my tone, but she knows it’s not directed at her. She cries harder but grabs her purse and Teddy, then moves toward the door.

“I’ll check in with you when we’re done,” Nick says, his face softening as he talks to her.

She wipes tears from her face. “Just get her home safe, okay?”

As the door closes, I kick the man in the side, eliciting a scream of pain. “Start talking,” I growl.

He forces out laughter—impressive considering the state of his abdomen. Most people have a lower pain tolerance than you'd expect. I’ve seen countless tough-looking men crumble after just a few punches.

Nick squats next to him, searching around his pockets, then pulls out his wallet. “Daniel Zamora.” He looks at me. “Ever heard of him?”

I shake my head and kick him again. The last name doesn’t sound familiar, and I don't think he was coming after us, so maybe he knows Hailey.

Nick rifles through the rest of the wallet, pocketing the cash before pulling out a shiny white business card. His eyes narrow as he mouths the words printed on it.

“What is it?”

“Void of Enlightenment. Guardian.” He furrows his brow. “Shit, I watched a documentary on VOE. A massive cult that started in Chicago but it’s everywhere now. They have their own militia, their own prisons. People go missing all the time, and the Feds don’t do a damn thing about it.”

“Is that what you’re a part of?” I growl, pulling his head back by the hair. He remains silent.

“The card matches the name on his license,” Nick says.

I punch him in the throat. He coughs and sputters blood onto my face. “Did Hailey ever mention being involved with these people?” Nick asks.

“Nope. But she wasn't exactly open about her past, so it’s possible.”

Knowing this fucker is involved in some freaky cult terrifies me that he wasn’t alone and someone took her. Feeling more anxious, I pull out my pocketknife. It's small, mostly used for opening packages, but today it has a more important job.

I hold the blade up to his face. “You’re going to start answering some fucking questions.”

“Fuck you,” he hisses.

I grab his right hand and plunge the narrow blade under his fingernail. Nick squats next to me, holding his arm just in time to prevent him from jerking away. Once I feel it loosen up, I yank the nail out. The tough-guy act is gone; his screams echo through the kitchen.

“Max, you should have gagged him first,” Nick hisses.

He’s right. The last thing we need is law enforcement knocking on the door.

I grab a kitchen towel from the counter and shove it in his mouth. Nick holds it in place along with his arm as I denail the rest of his fingers except for the thumb, leaving his nail beds raw and bloody.

Nick pulls the towel out. “Ready to talk now?” The intruder whimpers but doesn’t indicate yes.

I take the dull edge of the knife and press it against the exposed flesh on his ring finger. He arches his back in response, and Nick stifles a scream just in time.

I pull the knife away and nod at Nick. “I’ll talk,” he cries.

“Good. See how easy that was?” I ask. “You could have saved your fingers if you had cooperated quicker.”

“You’re going to kill me anyway,” he manages .

“Look at this, Max—the little fuck actually has some brains.” Nick laughs and smacks him on the back of the head. “Big surprise, considering he got himself caught up with a predatory cult.”

“What happened to Hailey?” I demand.

“She stabbed me. Then my partner took her and fucking left me here.”

He cooperates, giving me all the information he has without me needing to press on his wounds anymore.

A man named Kaiser Moore took her. She’s involved with the cult and escaped, but her father is the leader and ordered her return.

I have countless more questions about Hailey’s past, but time is short.

We need to haul ass down I-94 if we want to catch up to them.

I note the license plate number and any other useful information I can think of, then double-check that Nick doesn’t have any more questions.

I yank the knife from his stomach.

Then I slit his throat, ensuring he dies quickly enough to prevent any further trouble.

I quickly clean myself off in the sink, then turn to Nick. “Ready?”

His hands are in his pockets, and he avoids my gaze. “Are you sure we should hunt her down?”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Do you know how powerful these people are? They have their own militia. The government is too afraid to touch them.” He looks genuinely scared for a moment, then lowers his gaze to the floor again.

I move past him, unwilling to waste any more time convincing him. I’ll go alone if I have to.

“Stop,” he calls out as my hand rests on the doorknob. “Calm down and think for a minute, Max. I know she’s pretty, but...”

“Fuck off! She’s an innocent woman we hired who got kidnapped. It’s our job to help her in situations like this.”

“We can ask your father first.”

“He doesn’t need to know.”

“You’re just saying that because you know he’d side with me.”

I feel my chest heave with anger. “You’re really pissing me off now. Do you know how many of your reckless plans I’ve gone along with? How many mistakes I’ve helped you cover up?”

He sighs, shaking his head.

“I’m going with or without you.”

Nick mutters a string of curse words under his breath and drums his fingers on the counter. “I’ll help. But I swear to God, if anything gets fucked up, you’re taking all the blame.”

“Deal.” I open the door and lead us outside.