Malo - Page 30

I slide out from underneath Malo’s arm, and plant my feet on the floor. I don’t even know what I’m planning to do. I just need to do something…

I wander through the warehouse, which is quiet now. I guess everyone is resting up in preparation for what’s ahead. And I should be, too. But I know I won’t be able to rest until I know my father is okay. I don’t need to get him out, I know I can’t do that by myself, anyway, but I just… need to know he’s alive.

I make my way back to the room we were in earlier in the day, where there is still a map laid out across the table with a few places marked on it. I peer down at the locations, trying to figure out if any of them might be where my father is being held. I trace my finger along the roads, trying to picture the trip I took out there myself, piece together something that might tell me where he’s been trapped all this time. I can recall seeing two large towers out of the window of the car just before we arrived, as though they might have been close to a factory or something.

My finger stops when I see it, a factory marked on the map. I peer a little closer, trying to figure out if that might be the one that was close to my father. Casting my mind back, I do my best to carve out the shape of the ride we took, as I move my finger along the road. Yes, there was a right there, then a left, then…

This has to be it. My heart flips in my chest. For a moment, my good senses get the better of me, and I try to tell myself that I need to go back to bed with Malo, that I need to tell him what I’ve figured out so we can take it from there together.

But I know I’m not going to be able to rest until I’m sure my father is okay. It’s just not possible. I need to lay eyes on him, at least, make sure I’m not running some crazy fool’s errand by coming all the way here and trying to get him out.

I tiptoe back to the room and grab the phone I got when I was staying with the Kings, a hoodie, and a bag—nothing much, just enough for me to get where I need to go, and then get back again. Malo is still asleep, and I hesitate for a second before I drop a kiss on his temple and whisper a silent apology to him. I’m hoping to be back long before he wakes up, the last thing

I want to do is cause him more worry.

I slip out of the room, toward the entrance, and past the front door. It’s not as well-guarded here as it is back at the Kings’ compound, so I don’t have to worry about getting stopped. I have maybe a few hours until dawn, and if I play my cards right, I should be able to get there and back before anyone even notices I’m gone.

I just pray I don’t run into any trouble in the process. Because I’m not exactly equipped to handle it.

CHAPTER 23

MALO

Iroll over, stretching my arm out over her side of the bed, so I can pull Maria close, but, I soon realize, the space next to me is empty.

My eyes fly open, and I bolt upright and look around, panic gripping me. Where is she? I know she might have just gone to the bathroom or something, but I get the feeling something is seriously off. I run my hand over my face, trying to pull myself together, and swing my legs out of bed so I can go in search of her.

Blue is already up, in the room we were planning in the day before, when I find him. He hands me a coffee, and looks me up and down.

“What’s wrong?” he asks bluntly. I take a long sip of the coffee, glad for the caffeine to help me shake a little of the sleep from my brain.

“Maria,” I mutter. “Have you seen her around? I woke up this morning, and she just wasn’t there.”

“Nope,” Blue replies, shaking his head. “Any idea where she might have gone?”

“None,” I admit, and I curse under my breath. I should have kept an eye on her. I could tell last night there was something up with her, but I had been too distracted to ask her about it.

“Shit,” he replies, shaking his head. “You don’t think she’s done something to risk the operation, do you?”

“I don’t know,” I confess. “We need to find her, that’s all I know. Will you help me look around the compound?”

Blue and I search the place, but she’s nowhere to be seen. I try to keep calm, but at the back of my mind, panic has started to kick in. I don’t know if she would have left of her own accord, or if she’s been made to go. What if she’s been double-crossing us this whole time, still working for El Serpiente?

No, I don’t believe that, not for a second. Not with what happened last night. She was so vulnerable with me, so open, and I know she couldn’t have faked that. Not a chance in hell.

I call up Beast an hour later, not even sure what I’m going to say to him. No doubt he’s going to be pissed as all hell when he finds out we’ve let her slip through our fingers this easily. Beast snatches up the phone in a matter of moments, like he’s been waiting by it this entire time.

“What is it?” he barks down the line.

“It’s… Maria,” I reply, wincing as I say her name out loud. “She’s gone. We can’t find her anywhere.”

“Shit,” Beast mutters. “This is exactly what I was worried about. You think she took off herself?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I just woke up and she was gone.”

He pauses for a moment before he responds, and I realize what I’ve just given away—talking about us waking up together like that. But that’s not the problem right now. No, what matters is getting her back in one piece before she can do anything that might compromise the operation.

Or her own safety.