Page 106 of This Blood That Binds Us

His voice was monotone, his eyes unblinking.

“What? No. I don’t need that! Have you seen her or not?”

“Here you go.” He moved the card toward me again.

“What is this?”

“Here you go.”

“Is he possessed or something?” Presley leaned in, watching the man’s face.

“What? That doesn’t make any—oh.”

“Here you go.”

I took the business card. Underneath the guard’s name read a scribbled address.

113 Chesapeake Rd.Come alone.

“Oh.” I repeated as I turned back toward the parking lot.

My stomach turned in knots at the thought of her alone with him...bleeding. There was no telling what he might do with her. I had to find her.

“What does that card say?” Presley followed me into the car lot.

I stumbled back and shoved it in my pocket. “It’s nothing.”

He sighed. “Let me guess, it says to not bring anyone with you.”

I ignored him and moved my hands to my thighs, searching for my keys.

“I don’t have to tell you that this is a trap,” Presley said.

“Nope.” I grabbed my keys and headed for my car.

Presley stepped in front of me. “You don’t think I’m going to let you go by yourself, do you?”

“I think we’re gonna talk about it for a minute and then you will inevitably realize I’m right and let me go.”

Presley didn’t smile back. “If you go there alone...if he could do that”—he motioned back to where security was—“that means—”

“It doesn’t change anything. I’m going.”

“It changes everything! If he can do that, then there’s no telling what he could do to you...what he might do to her. We gotta talk about it. You need someone to go with you. Let’s just think of a plan.”

“You know as well as I do, the moment the twins catch a whiff of this—if they ever saw this address, no matter what, they would go busting in. There’s no plan with them. I can’t risk that, and we don’t have any leverage.”

“So, you just want to walk in there and do what? What if he is a psycho and just wants to kill you?”

“If something happens, if I don’t come back. At least it’s just me. It’s not everyone we care about. I just have to get her out of there, and I have a much better chance if I go alone.”

“Don’t even talk like that,” Presley said.

“You know this is the only option. You are the only one who would let me go.” I walked in closer, suddenly feeling heavy.

“If Zach and Luke found out I knowingly let you go, they would kill me. Literally.”

“No, they wouldn’t.”