Consumed (Blood Ties Book 9)

“What the fuck?” Riven muttered as the sound of the front door closing gave a heavy thud.

I lifted my head, my lips burning from Hunter’s raspy four-day growth. His hands were on my hips, pulling me harder against him as I straddled him on the sofa.

But the sound of the front door closing drew all our focus. Riven pushed up from the sofa across from us, his focus no longer on the way I fucked his brother. None of ours were. I pushed backwards, letting Hunter’s hands slip free.

“Riven, where the hell is he going?”

“Hell if I know,” he snarled as he headed for the front door.

I followed as the faint thud of the car door could be heard. Hunter and Kane were right behind me. Riven unlocked the door and stepped out, letting the cool night air rush in. I wrapped my arms around myself as fear pushed in.

“Did you piss him off?” Kane asked, glancing at Riven.

“Who the fuck knows?”

Headlights blinded us as Thomas turned the wheel, backed out of the driveway, and headed through the towering gate as it rolled open.

“Call him,” Riven murmured, sounding desperate, and glanced my way. “He’ll answer if it’s you.”

I turned around, pushed through the front door, and ran to the kitchen. Where the hell are you going, Thomas? My mind raced. Had I pushed him too hard the other day in his bedroom? He’d been acting strange since then.

Idiot!

I snatched my cell from the counter as heavy footsteps came behind me. My hands shook as I pulled up the contacts and swiped, calling his number.

It rang…

And rang.

Then went to voicemail. I spun, meeting Riven’s dark stare. He gave a nod. “Call again, maybe this time he might answer?”

But that sinking feeling took hold, gripping me tight as I swiped and called again.

“The same.” I shook my head as it was answered by that recorded message once more.

“Riven…look at this,” Kane called from the living room.

We left the kitchen behind and rushed to where Kane stood in front of the TV. He turned as we neared. “I saw this on before, Thom seemed mesmerized by it, muttering to himself.”

I focused on the image of a man. A Priest.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Cassius.” Riven glanced at Kane.

“He’s from St. Augustine’s.”

Riven turned back, his eyes widening. “Now, that’s not good.”

We all lifted our gaze to the floor above and Thom’s bedroom. Riven was the first to move, heading for the stairs.

“Riven, wait!” Kane called. “Let’s not invade his space.”

“Fuck his space.” Riven threw over his shoulder, taking the stairs two at a time.

He was right. This was no time for niceties. Not when the safety of those we loved was on the line. But what the hell did all this have to do with a missing Priest? And from Thomas’s own church.

Riven pushed open the bedroom door and stepped in, expecting us to follow. The room was neat, neater than I’d seen it in a while. A quick scan of the space and Riven opened the door to the bathroom and flicked on the light. He was barely gone a second before he returned, then stopped suddenly, his head jerking to the corner. He stepped over to the wastepaper basket, reached in, and turned, holding his brother’s black trousers and a white shirt…splattered with blood.

I swallowed hard at the mess, then moved closer to lift the shirt free. It wasn’t just light spots of blood you might get flicking a cut hand…it was drenched.

“You want to fight about invasion of privacy now, brother?” Riven lifted his gaze to Kane.

Kane moved closer, reached up to grasp the edge of the shirt, and stared at the mess. “Fuck no.”

“Someone must know where he’s headed.” Riven snapped.

My mind was racing, remembering the cagey way he’d acted when I’d caught him talking to Caleb. I’d known something was going on, something he didn’t want me to know about. Was it London? Had London said something?

“I saw him with Caleb when we were at London’s. They were talking, it looked serious,” I said. “When I asked him about it, he got all cagey and secretive. Maybe London knows something?”

Riven looked pissed as he lifted his cell. “If that bastard knows what my brother has done, I swear to God, I’ll ruin that square fucking jaw of his.”

But the moment the call was answered, we knew something was very wrong.

“What is it, I’m dealing with a problem here!” London barked as Riven put him on speaker. Vivienne’s worried tone slipped through in the background. ”It’s okay, Wildcat. We’ll find him.”

“What the hell is going on?” Riven snarled.

“Colt’s missing. Took off about fifteen minutes ago, wouldn’t tell us why. Vivienne is stressed.”

Riven’s eyes widened as he lifted his gaze to mine. “Us too, that’s why I’m calling. Thomas took off just now, not saying a damn word.”

Suddenly there was silence on the other side. “And you think Colt has something to do with it?”

“I think he’s meeting Thom.”

“Tell him about Caleb,” I urged.

“Helene caught him talking to Caleb. We know he’s been secretive lately.”

“Benjamin goddamn Rossi’s name has come up more than once and I saw him talking to Caleb. We know the Rossis have gone to ground. If he’s using my goddamn son, I swear to God…” London growled into the phone.

“He needs to come back, London.” Vivienne paced the floor. “It can’t be like before. We almost lost him. We almost…”

London’s voice deepened. “I’ll make some calls. If he’s with Caleb or the Rossis, I’ll find out.”

“We’ll start tracking his cell from our end.” Riven glanced at Hunter who gave a nod. “Call if you find anything.”

“Will do, and Riven…”

Silence as he waited.

“I assure you, I had nothing to do with this.”

“Just find my goddamn brother, St. James. Find him and bring him home.”

He swiped and ended the call. I clenched my fists, trying to still the shakes, but there was no stopping whatever this was.

“If he’s in trouble…” I whispered.

Riven stepped closer. “He’s smart and capable, even if he is a little quirky. He’ll be okay, just you wait and see.”

But there was no truth in those words. Only the false ring of desperation in his tone. He didn’t believe that, which only made me shake harder.