“It has to be.”
He goes to speak but my cell rings and I see Gunner written across the screen. “Hey, man…”
“Where the fuck are you?” he demands.
I frown, hearing the faint sound of music in the background. “With Tyson on our way to Blackout. What’s up?”
“I don’t know what’s going on with you and Amelia—congratulations on the engagement, by the way.” I roll my eyes at that. “But I figured you’d like to know that your plaything is at Harrison’s house party.”
“What?” I snap, pulling the phone from my ear and placing it on speakerphone so I can look at the cameras in our house. She’s nowhere on them.
“Yeah,” he goes on. “I was standing in the kitchen, and she walked in. Sarah got her a drink, but Holland came up and took her for something more.”
“Motherfucker!”
“Tell me what to do, Sin,” he says while I track her location, but her cell it off. Good thing I know where Harrison lives. “Want me to let her go? Or remove her from the party?”
“We’re twenty minutes away,” I growl, knowing a lot can happen in that amount of time. No telling how long she’s already been there. “Drag her out of there by any means necessary,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Thought so,” he mutters to himself.
“Gunner?” I speak before he can end the call.
“Yeah?”
Tyson slams on the brakes to make a U-turn as I hold up the address to show him. “Are you there alone?”
“No, Prickett is here somewhere.”
“I want Holland.” If he came and got Elli, it’s because he has plans for her. I killed his best friend, left his body to rot as a warning. Elli doesn’t know that but I’m sure Holland does.
“Got it.” He hangs up and I throw my phone down.
“Fuck!”
“We can be there in fifteen.” Tyson slams on the gas, now going the opposite direction.
“What the fuck is she thinking?” I growl to myself. I ruined her drugs, so she went out to get more. I haven’t checked on the cameras in over two hours because we were at Carnage. I didn’t have any reception in there.
My cell rings again and I bend down to pick it up off the floor where I threw it. “Let me talk to her,” I demand when I see it’s Gunner again and immediately put him on speakerphone.
“Where the fuck are you?” he rushes out.
“On our way. Why?”
“I’ve got her, but, Sin …”
“What?” I sit up straighter when he trails off.
“She’s in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” I ask, my heart racing.
“I found her unconscious. Her breathing is rapid, she’s burning up. I can’t get her to wake up.”
“What—”
“She’s overdosing,” Tyson speaks.
“Fuck. Hold her head,” Gunner barks at someone.
Overdosing? No. She may do drugs, but she knows her limits. There’s no way she would take too much. She’s smarter than that. “What’s going on?” I snap. “Gunner?”
“She’s vomiting,” he states. “Hold her head, Sarah.”
“I’m trying,” I hear her cry.
“Can you get her to Blackout?” Tyson demands, doing another U-turn.
“Blackout? She needs a hospital,” Gunner argues.
“I’ll take care of it,” Tyson assures him. “Gavin can meet us at Blackout.”
I look at the address again. “They’re closer to our house. So are we.” Blackout is on the other side of the city. I understand why Tyson suggested it, but she could be dead by then.
Tyson nods. “Send him the address and we’ll meet them there.”
Gunner hangs up and I go to call him back, wanting to stay on the phone with him, but my cell vibrates, alerting me of a text.
UNKNOWN: We know where your loyalty lies. Let’s see about hers.
“FUCK!”
“She’ll be okay,” Tyson says.
“Fuck. Fuck.” I fist my hands before running them through my hair. “It’s the Lords. They want to test her. Fuck!”
Tyson doesn’t seem surprised. Why would he? This is what they do. They see someone in a vulnerable position and use it against you. Only the strongest get to wear the crest. Only the ones they deem worthy get rewarded.
“One thing at a time,” Tyson speaks. “Send Gunner the address to the house.” Then he picks up his cell to make the call we need.
_______________
I’M PACING THE living room of the house with Gavin. He works for the Lords. Tyson called him to meet us here. Thankfully he was closer than we were and was already waiting for us when we arrived. Tyson stands over in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out into the dark woods.
The front double doors open and I rush to them, thinking it’s Gunner with Elli but it’s Chance. I go back to pacing.
“I got the text,” he states at our silence.
I don’t have time to think about that right now. Her loyalty won’t matter if she’s already dead when Gunner arrives.
“Where do you want her?” Gunner calls out, rushing into the house with an unconscious Elli draped across his arms. A crying Sarah enters behind them.
“In the bedroom,” Gavin commands, pointing to the hallway. I hurry in front of him to lead the way for Gunner where Gavin is already set up for her.
Gunner places her on the bed and her head rolls to the side. I don’t miss the fact that she’s still dressed in her jeans and a T-shirt. Which makes me think that whatever Holland planned on doing with her wasn’t sexual. He didn’t want to fuck my little demon, he wanted to kill her.
“Elli?” I demand, grabbing her face. It’s clammy and cold, her skin is pale, lips blue. “Elli?” I shout her name, shaking her, but nothing. No response at all. It makes my chest tighten.
“What did she take?” Gavin asks, running his knuckles up and down her chest bone, but still nothing. She moves like a rag doll with his harsh movements—lifeless.
Gunner holds on to a sobbing Sarah who stares down at Elli. “I don’t know. I found her that way.”
Gavin looks at me and then to Chance who has followed as well. “What does she normally take?”
Running a hand through my hair, I say, “Uh, ecstasy, cocaine…” I try and think of everything I burned and have seen her have in the past. “She had some benzos.” Chance doesn’t know. He’s not around her enough so he stays silent.
“Fentanyl?” Gavin questions. “Opioids?” He lifts her eyelids and I get a look at her beautiful ice-blue eyes; the pupils are constricted.
“No.” I shake my head. “She wouldn’t—”
“Tyson, hand me the Narcan that’s in my bag,” he interrupts me, not believing my answer.
Tyson rips open the package and hands the nose spray to Gavin. I hold her clammy hand while he tilts her head back. Placing it into her left nostril, he pushes the plunger into her nose.
“Help me turn her over,” he orders, stepping back from the bed.
I grab her shoulder, rolling her toward me.