Page 40

F uck.

Fuck. Fucking fuck.

My thoughts crash and burn in rapid succession, my hands pulling on my jacket as I snap the hoodie over my head. The door slams behind me, and I jump down the stairs and barrel through the driveway and across the street.

The Omega Chi Kappa house sits diagonally from the Manor. I walk through their pretentious little hedge fence until my fist is on their deep burgundy door.

They’d better fucking answer.

My fist slams against the door again, harder this time.

Still nothing.

Fuck this.

I shoulder the door, slamming into it with all the rage coiled inside me. The frame gives way with a loud crack, the door swinging open violently. The house seems quiet, but I saw Talon’s Aston Martin that daddy bought him in the fucking driveway. I know he’s here. The three fucking musketeers like to hole up in their back office, which is exactly where I head.

By the time I throw the office door open, all three of them are already on their feet, guns drawn.

The Omega Chi officers—Dredyn, Talon, and Jasper—are dressed like they’re about to star in a frat-funded action movie. Black tactical vests, balaclavas, multiple firearms across the table.

They don’t lower their weapons when they see it’s me, but the tension in their shoulders eases ever so slightly.

“Well, well.” I smirk. “Are you gentlemen the shoot first type?”

Dredyn narrows his eyes. “Not lately. But be careful, Morgan. Could change our minds if you don’t explain why the fuck you just broke into the fucking house?”

“Yeah, you’re real fucking charming, Dredyn. Just send me the fucking bill. Someone’s got Kai. There’s a live stream, and I need the quiet one to track the IP. Now.”

“You’re serious?” Talon asks.

“Do I look like I’m fucking joking?” I bark. “And why the fuck are y’all dressed like that?” Their vests look ridiculous.

“We don’t answer to you.”

Jasper exhales, gesturing for Dredyn and Talon to lower their weapons.

“All right, calm down, big guy. No need to wreck the rest of the house while you’re here,” Talon says. Jasper motions towards a sleep setup on monitors on the far side of the room. He doesn’t talk. Some freak accident shredded his vocal chords or some shit. I don’t know. I don’t have fucking time to be friends with OCK.

I pull my phone out, tossing it toward him. “This is the link.” He grabs it, his eyes scanning the screen as he moves to the desk. His fingers fly over the keyboard, pulling up the live stream in seconds.

The video loads, and there he is. Kai.

My heart stutters for a fraction of a second before rage surges forward again. He’s tied to a chair, his head slumped forward, blood streaking down his face. A man—masked, of course—stands before him, delivering another punch that rocks Kai’s whole body.

“You son of a—” The words rip out of me before I can stop them. My fists clench so hard that my nails bite into my palms.

Dredyn watches the screen for a moment, his jaw tightening. “Shit. You weren’t fucking kidding.”

“Where is this coming from?”

“He’s working on it,” Talon snaps back. “This isn’t amateur hour, Morgan. Whoever is running this knows what they’re doing. They’ve got layers of proxies to sift through.”

Kai could do it. Kai would have the location before I even had to ask.

Embedded in the live stream is a timer that ticks down. Twenty-six minutes. “What the hell is taking so long?” I snarl.

Dredyn sighs like I’m inconveniencing them. Which, I am, but fuck them. “Unless you’ve got some magic hacking skills I don’t know about, you’re gonna have to let Jass do his job.”

The arrogance in his tone is the final spark.

My fist slams down on the desk beside him, the impact sending a tremor through the room, making the monitors rattle precariously. “You think this is a fucking game?” I growl, leaning in close. “Kai’s life is on the line. My brother’s life is on the line.”

Dredyn’s gaze finally snaps up to meet mine, his irritation flaring in the sharp set of his jaw and the fire behind his eyes. “You think we don’t get that?” he snaps. “Where was all this righteous fury when your other brothers were getting murdered?”

The words hit like a slap, but they don’t slow me down. I don’t think—I move. My hands grab the front of Dredyn’s vest, twisting the fabric as I shove him back against the wall with a loud thud.

“Don’t ever fucking question my loyalty,” I hiss through clenched teeth, my face inches from his.

Dredyn doesn’t flinch. If anything, he leans into the confrontation, his lips curling into a humorless smirk. “Morgan, you’ve got ten seconds to get your hands off me.”

“Or fucking what, Dredyn?” I bark, tightening my grip. “You gonna leash me? Drag me out to the quad and teach me a lesson? Please. Don’t pretend you’re the goddamn moral compass here. You humiliated America’s fucking sweetheart in front of the entire college. She left the country to get away from your overbearing ass. And now you’re?—”

The words are barely out of my mouth when I’m yanked back, my feet nearly leaving the ground as Jasper wrenches me across the room. His fist cracks against my nose, and pain explodes across my face.

I stumble back, blinking as stars flash in my vision. Warm blood trickles down my upper lip, and I instinctively swipe at it, already clenching my fists. “Jesus fucking Christ. For a mute, you’ve got a nasty punch.”

“Don’t fucking talk about our girl like that,” Talon snarls.

Dredyn pushes off the wall, adjusting his vest as he steps forward. His hands rest on the desk, his knuckles pressing hard against the wood. The cocky facade he wore earlier is gone, replaced by something colder.

“You wanna throw another tantrum, Morgan? Or do you actually want to save your boy?”

“He isn’t my boy.”

“You’re all fucking that girl, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t see?—”

“He’s yours just as much as she is. Now answer my fucking question before I properly kick your ass.”

Every muscle in my body is coiled, every nerve screaming for me to lunge, to shut him up for good. But I don’t. Not because I want to, but because, deep down, I know he’s right. Every second wasted here is another second Kai is bleeding, another second closer to whatever nightmare those bastards have planned for him.

I take a slow, shuddering breath, forcing myself to step back. My fists unclench, but my hands still shake. “Get the location,” I say, my voice rough and strained.

Dredyn gives a small, humorless chuckle, shaking his head as he turns back to the monitors. “That’s what I thought.”

Jasper exchanges a wary glance with Talon, then signs something to him. Talon responds with his own sign.

“We’re narrowing it down,” Talon mutters, more to himself than anyone else. “Whoever set this up is good, but they’re not invisible.”

The countdown on the screen ticks mercilessly. Twenty minutes remaining.

Jasper turns around and signs to both guys, and I am stuck wondering what the fuck he’s saying.

“We’ve got something,” Dredyn says finally. He points at the screen, a set of coordinates flashing across it. “There. It’s coming from an abandoned warehouse on the east side of town.”

As I head for the door, Dredyn’s voice follows. “Try not to get yourself killed, Morgan. I don’t want to feel bad if I don’t go to your funeral.”

I don’t bother looking back. My only thought now is Kai—and the reckoning waiting for whoever dared lay a hand on him.