We were going after the love of my life.
“I never want to be in this again,” I confessed as the three of them came to me. “I never want to feel this way again.” I shoved my gun into the strap at my thigh and tightened it, holding my breath and grinding my teeth. The pain in my jaw was nothingcompared to the fire in my chest, the burning embers falling into my gut. The fire was catching, and I was close to being consumed by it.
The memory, the scent of burning flesh filled my nose, and Damon’s screams filled my ears. Gray called my name, but I couldn’t—I wasn’t—
I squeezed my eyes shut, keeping my head bent, and tried to swallow as I fought back against the memories of me crawling out of the front windows of the plane, sliding down onto the ground, the sound of my bones cracking. Damon’s jagged screams morphed into Margo’s sharp ones, the dark part of my imagination finally getting its talons in her.
“Mitchell.” Hands were on my shoulders, shaking me. “I know where you are and I need you to get back here.” I raised my head, finding Grayson’s furrowed brow. “Get out of your head.”
Behind him, Ash was speaking with Agent Carson. She was talking fast, using her hands. Dominic pulled his eyes from me, following my gaze.
“We got something,” I said, my voice gruff.
“I know we do,” Grayson said. “I need to know where your head is at, Hayes.”
“My head is on Margo,” I answered.
After a moment of assessing me, he nodded and dropped his hands. Dominic stepped closer. “Leave the crash where it is,” he said gently. “The past has no purpose in the present, yeah?”
I took a deep breath, rolled my neck for the twentieth time, and agreed. Ash waved us over. “We got two possible locations,” he announced as Agent Carson showed us her tablet, zooming in on the north part of the city.
“Location number one,” she stated and zoomed out and back in again. This time, in a small area toward the southern outskirts of the city. “Location number two.”
“Margo is at one of them?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. We’re certain. Both of these properties are owned by G. D. Maxwell, one of Gordon’s investors. He’s an up-and-coming property developer,” she explained, handing me a file. “That’s all we have on him, but we haven’t had a chance to dig into this lead much. Not after discovering one of Gordon’s largest warehouses in November.”
“Thanks,” Grayson said, giving her a tight smile. “Is there any update on Murphy?”
“He’s getting a blood transfusion now, but he is stable.”
The boys and I looked at each other.
Fucking hell, Murphy.
“We need to split. Two take location A and two take B,” Grayson declared.
Dominic nodded, but Ash was still focused on the map. “May I see this?” he asked Carson, reaching for the tablet. Once it was in his hands, he paced back and forth, the tablet resting on his hand while he scratched his short beard with the other.
“What is it, Doss?” I asked, moving to him.
“Location A is a trap.”
Grayson and I shared a look. “How do you know?”
“This building is empty.” He looked at Agent Carson. “How long has Maxwell owned this property?”
Before she could answer, Gray had the folder open, his eyes scanning the pages. “Address?”
“It’s 378 Morgan Dr.”
“He purchased the building three years ago, but it’s been unoccupied since 1998.”
I looked up at the ceiling, pieces finally clicking. “Gordon didn’t take her for revenge,” I said, my voice growing darker with each word, “he took her because he wants her.”
Something hot stabbed me in the chest then, searing my heart as a primal feeling stirred.
He can’t have her.