Daphne: The Shape Of His Room
My fists went cold, banging on the clubhouse door while the Seattle sky ached with familiarity behind me. I had no time to appreciate it or lean into the feeling of being his, not after Wolfe’s call and Thay’s continued silence. It was nearly one in the morning, and my headspace was a mess. I was running on adrenaline, jet lag, and Wolfe-flavored heartbreak.
Get it together, Daphne. I breathed through my nose. But just as Thay predicted, the world was unraveling.
“Thay? Wolfe?” I pounded, but nothing shifted in the dark.
You would think that I would have come up with a plan to save him, but no matter how I lined the pieces, his voice was there alongside my thoughts, checking the queen.
“OPEN THE DOOR!” I screamed, blinking through the rain leaking from the broken roof.
In what world did this door not open for me? I shivered, the warmth of Maine still warm on my skin.
“BLADE!” I shouted, staring at his window. At all their windows. And that is when I realized that the house was completely dark. “Jessie? NATHEM!”
Panic washed over me in a burst of light. What if I was too late and…
“Fucking please,” I struck again. “Please, please open the door.”
To swallow down the dread that was creeping up my spine, I pulled out my phone and texted Nathem before tucking it away to keep it from the rain.
He is my person. He will answer me.
I banged. Kicked. Begged.
Prayed.
Shit. Shit. SHIT!
Taking a breath, I pushed my head between my knees.
Wolfe had no idea I was in Portland when he called, and after everything, I did not know how to tell them. Originally, I planned to make my way home until Thay permitted me to return, but with Wolfe’s news, how could I?
“Goddammit!” I screamed, rage-kicking the metal with my shoe. “LET ME IN!”
“Have you lost your bloody mind?” Nathem barked, flinging the door open and yanking me into his arms. “This is a terrible time, Daphne. You’re supposed to be in Maine.”
The house was dark, and I hesitated, glancing down the hall at Wolfe’s closed door and up the stairs toward Thay’s room, unsure of who might be inside.
“What is going on?”
Nathem scowled, flaring his nostrils at me, and that is when I realized he was in full gear, as were the shadows behind him, armed to the nines.
“I need to see Wolfe,” I said quietly, instinct telling me to stay silent.
“He is not here, and neither is Threx. You’re supposed to be in Maine.”
“Well, surprise!” I shot back, digging my fingers into my palms. “I am not. Which doesn’t matter because we have to stop him, Nate. Whatever Wolfe is going to do, we can’t let it happen. He said he had a meeting tomorrow.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Nathem hissed, his eyes wide in the dark as he signaled to the others lining the perimeter and shoved me into the wall. I could tell he wanted to drag his fingers over my mouth, but chose not to. “It got moved to tonight. They are not here.”
My heart dropped, pulling in two different directions.
“No,” my fist curled into a ball. “Nate?”
“There is nothing we can do,” his whisper was razor-thin.
I searched for something to hold on to, but his eyes were empty. There had to be a way to convince these armed men to stop Wolfe or at least protect him from whatever he was about to walk into.