I keep hitting. I keep demanding. I keep breaking.
Because the only thing more terrifying than what I’m becoming is the thought of failing her. Losing her and never hearing her voice again.
Behind me, Aloiki exhales. A low, heavy sound that carries both pity and fear. “Shoots, Brah… we need to find her fast, or we're not gonna recognize you when this pau kahana.”
I finally let the broken man fall and grab another by the shirt, hauling him upright so hard his teeth clack together.
“Where is she?”
He trembles so violently that he can barely stand. His eyes squeeze shut as if he can hide inside the darkness.
“I… I heard something… an old building… concrete… cages… they, they carved shit into the walls.”
My grip turns to iron. “What building?”
“A shelter,” he whimpers. “The old county animal shelter.”
“Where,” I say slowly, “is the shelter?”
The man stammers. “Old county animal shelter… outskirts… they say he… he marks the walls…”
“Who?” Trigger demands.
The Hellhound’s voice shrinks to a whisper. “Lattimer.”
A coldness sweeps through me so fast it steals my breath. Everything inside me goes eerily quiet, and then reignites with a steady, lethal burn.
I release the man so abruptly that he collapses onto his hands, shuddering with relief he hasn’t earned.
I turn toward the door.
“Wait, there’s more.” I stop and turn, glaring at the man, waiting for him to speak. “There’s a motel south of Long Beach you’ll want to check out.”
“Why?”
“A woman they called Pearl was told to wait there. Room twelve.”
Fucking cryptic, but I turn my gaze to Aloiki.
Aloiki straightens, eyes dark. “We going?”
“Yes.”
One twin cracks his neck. “Finally.”
The other grins. “Been waiting for the fun part.”
Trigger grabs my arm. Not hard, but enough to make me pause for the first time in hours.
“Tiny,” he says quietly. “Promise me you won’t lose yourself before we get her back.”
I stare at him. There’s no promise I can make that won’t be a lie. So I give him the only truth I have left. “I’ll lose whatever I have to,” I say. “Just not her.”
Trigger’s expression fractures into pain, fear, understanding, and brotherhood, all mixing at once. He steps away, letting me go.
Aloiki snaps his phone shut and steps beside me, adjusting his gloves. “Shoots, Brah. Lead da way.”
The twins fall into step like two shadows belonging to the same man. And we head toward the dark. Toward the shelter. Toward whatever monster is stupid enough to believe he can cage someone I love. If Lattimer has touched her, I’m not sure there will be enough left of him to bury.