Page 124 of The Saviors: Part Two

“Dragonfly,” Kai says roughly. “Please look at us.”

“No. No. No!” Chelsea starts pushing against my chest, but I can’t let her go. “NO!” Her scream pierces through my ears, and my heart shatters. “He lied to me!”

“We don’t know that,” Cole says, tears rolling down his face. “They’ve lied before.”

“SHUT UP!”

“Axel, maybe you should give her some space,” Les says softly. “She’s not in the right frame of mind.”

“I can’t.”

“We’ll take her back to my place. Let her cool down.”

Anger flashes through me, and I pin Les with a glare. “Like I can trust you to protect her.”

“You better watch your fucking mouth,” Gage says, stepping behind Les.

“No, he’s right.” Les looks so distraught that my anger disappears. “She said she needed some space and went to the pool house. I shouldn’t have left her alone.”

“It’s not your fault,” Nolan says, burying his face in Chelsea’s hair.

Chelsea jerks back, and the anger in her eyes takes my breath away. “Let. Me. Go.”

“Cupcake—”

She screams in frustration, and I finally let my arms slip away. She scrambles from my lap and runs from the house. “I’m on it,” Les says, disappearing behind her.

“What do we do now?” Nolan asks.

“Talk to Sean.”

That can go one of two ways. We can clear this shit up.

Or he ends up dead.

* * *

I walkinto the basement at Les’ to find Sean tied to a chair, seething. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” he yells. “No one has told me shit! Why am I being held like a goddamn prisoner? And where the fuck is Chelsea?”

I drag a chair to sit in front of him so I can see every reaction on his face. “Do you even care?”

Sean’s mouth drops open. “Are you fucking serious? Yes, I fucking care. Where. Is. She?”

“That’s none of your concern right now. I have some questions.”

“Tell me where the fuck she is, or I swear—”

“You’ll do what?” I tilt my head to the side, trying to keep my temper in check. I assess the situation and him. He looks pissed, but I can also see worry. Is that for Charlie, Amber, or Chelsea? The only thing I’ve come up with since our drive back here is that it could be bullshit. Why would Charlie set Sean up to get hurt like he did? I know Charlie is heartless, but that would have made him lose his edge. But nothing makes sense right now. Chelsea ran and locked herself in a room, refusing to see us. Les said we could talk to Sean, and then we had to leave. Ari took Charlie further into the basement to wait for us. I decide my best course of action is just to ask. “Were you helping Charlie?”

Sean takes a deep breath. “Tell me you’re joking. I would never help that motherfucker. Is that what this is about?”

“While we were at the compound, we heard the conversation between Amber and Chelsea. Amber said you were a plant from Charlie to pull us in.”

Sean’s entire face falls. “I would never lie to her, Axel. Or you. How could you think I’d hurt anyone that I love?”

“I want to believe you, but shit just adds up, Sean.”

“I don’t know whether to be pissed or hurt right now. Chelsea believed her, too, didn’t she?”