Page 87 of Thirst Trap

Summoned

Lucas didn’t usually look rattled.

Frustrated? Sure. Cold, sharp, silent? Always. But rattled? This was new.

I was still curled on his couch in his shirt when he appeared in the doorway, jacket on, tie loosened, keys in hand. His eyes found mine like a storm.

“Get dressed,” he said. “We’re going to the Tower.”

My stomach dropped. “Lucas, what’s wrong?”

He hesitated half a second, like saying it would make it more real. Then he crossed the room, crouched in front of me, his palm steady on my knee.

“It’s Penny,” he said. “Taken. Back window forced. Blood at the sink.”

Ice water through my veins. “Missing…what do you mean missing…did she…?”

“She didn’t leave.” His voice was flat, controlled. “Logan found it. She was taken.”

Penny. Sweet, sharp-tongued Penny with thesoft laugh. Gone.

“There’s something you need to know,” he added. “About Penny. About Logan.”

I almost laughed. Not because it was funny, but because I already knew.

“Lucas,” I said quietly, “I’ve seen the way she looks at him. And the way he looks back.”

His eyes narrowed, surprised.

“They’re sleeping together,” I continued. “I’m not blind. Penny cares for Logan the way I care for you,like he’s the only thing keeping her steady. And he lets her. You think she hides it, but she doesn’t. Not from me.”

Lucas’s jaw tightened. Pain flickered across his eyes before he masked it. “He was moving her into the Tower tonight. Keep her safe. But someone got to her first.”

“And now he’s out there, tearing the city apart,” I finished for him.

Lucas nodded once. “If someone’s bold enough to take Penny, you’re next. And I’m not leaving you alone to find out how far they’ll go.”

The words hit like a live wire. I was already standing, already reaching for a dress.

No teasing. No smirk.

Because for the first time since this insane, dangerous love began, I understood what it meant to be Lucas Creams’s woman.

It wasn’t just games anymore.

It was survival.

He didn’t ask me to be brave.

He made sure I stayed alive.

Chapter 52

The Underground

The elevator dropped like a stone. Lucas stood beside me, stiff and unreadable, fingers flexing like he didn’t know whether to hold me or push me away.

The doors hissed open.