“Cyrus.”Stevie calls out again, her concerned brown eyes pulling me out of my reverie. “How long ago did the clerk see Alex go in?”
Shit. The only way to get Stevie’s buy in was to make it more believable by embellishing the truth. Looks like I’ll be digging that grave of betrayal even deeper.
“Less than an hour ago.” I lie, keeping my face blank.
“That’s good.” She says, biting into her lower lip. “That means she’ll definitely be there still.”
She folds and unfolds her anxious fingers in her lap as her soulful brown eyes study the road ahead. Thick dense fog coats the hills, but the hazy moon peeks through breaks in the mist, streaking pale blue light across her face. She’s beautiful, no doubt. But her resilience sets her apart.
The bullshit with Dimitri was a necessary evil, but I won't let him come between us again. Knowing him, he probably underestimates our girl. Hell, once upon a time, we all did. But if he thinks he can fuck with her to get to us, his own inflated ego will be his demise. Stevie is nothing like Hannah. She’s strong, she’s dangerous, and she’s no one’s fucking puppet.
Eleven
The drivethrough the city flies by and before I know it, the landscape in front of us changes. The tall skyscrapers of Downtown transform into the Valley’s familiar corner stores and run-down gas stations, but soon enough, we pass those in a blur.
It’s nearly 1am and as we cross the border into Oakville, there isn’t a single car on the road besides us. Oakville is a quiet town with a whopping population of 1,304. Their downtown area, if you could even call it that, boasts ten ‘mom and pop’ shops and what I can only describe as the tiniest movie theatre on the planet. As we drive through, I’m not surprised to find the streets completely deserted and the handful of shops closed for the night. The city itself is so tiny that if you blink, you may miss it.
Tristan pulls the car to a stop in front of the town’s lone red light and drums his thumbs against the steering wheel. Time ticks by slowly as we wait for the green light, and I can feel the adrenaline building within me.
We’re less than ten minutes away from Dina’s, which means we’re less than ten minutes away from seeing my sister. Ten minutes away from reuniting with the only person in this world that loves me unconditionally. I used to count The Reapers in that same boat, but after what happened with Dimitri, I see where their loyalty lies.
I’m not stupid. I know this impromptu recon mission is a ploy to get themselves back in my good graces. And it could have worked if things had played out differently tonight. But I’m not sure if things can ever be the same with us again.
Right now, I’ll play the part of the grateful girlfriend if it means I get my sister back. I don't know where Alex and I will go from here, but once I have her by my side, we’ll figure it out.
An ear-piercing siren blares into the quiet night, penetrating through the glass windows and jarring the three of us into high-alert.
“Where is that coming from?” I ask, searching out into the darkness.
The bulky industrial buildings lining the street ahead block most of the view, but the siren seems to get closer.
“No idea.” Tristan says, checking his mirrors as his hands squeeze the steering wheel. “Wherever it’s going, it’s moving f... fast.”
“I don’t see anything.” Cyrus adds, shuffling into the middle of the back seat. “It’s probably heading back to the Valley.”
“Yeah.” I agree, hesitantly. “You’re probably right.”
We still see no sights of the source as the sirens simmer down to a gentle whisper in the distance. It's quiet again, but I still can’t shake the feeling of foreboding the siren stirred up. Maybe it’s my nerves, maybe it's my own pessimistic viewpoint, but something about tonight just doesn’t feel right.
A few minutes later, we turn onto Dina’s block and it feels eerily like the night I left Alex here. Darkness coats the sky and the streets virtually empty. All I can hear is the sound of my pounding heartbeat as Tristan drags the car forward.
The red glow on Tristan’s knuckles is my first sign something’s wrong. I drag my eyes up to his face and see the same eerie light radiating off of him. Crimson flashes across the planes of his chiseled face, highlighting his strong cheekbones in a soft pink while emphasizing the shadows in a darker shade of rust. His expression is hard to decipher, a mixture of confusion and concern hardens his stare.
I turn to see what he’s looking at and my mouth falls open as chaos erupts around us. My stomach sinks as we watch a stream of people come shuffling past us. All of them look out of sorts. Some are crying and others look so terrified it steals my breath away.
“What the fuck is going on?” I ask, my voice trembling as I study each face that passes us.
“I don’t know.” Tristan answers honestly. “But we’re about to f… find out.”
Two parked cop cars block us from entering any further, so Tristan throws the car into park in the middle of the street, and kills the engine. He and Cyrus pull me out of the car as a unit, careful to keep their eyes on the strangers rushing past us. They flank my sides, acting as a barrier of protection as we wade against the sea of panic.
“Do you smell that?” Cyrus asks, glaring over my head at his twin. Tristan gives him a firm nod before answering.
“S… smoke.”
Picking up our pace, the three of us rush towards the motel. Bodies collide with ours as our steps gain momentum, but the twins are like an impenetrable shield, and we move through the crowd quickly.
We round the corner of the building and the scene we find in front of us knocks the wind out of me.
