Once we were in Kat’s house, she made herself a cup of hot chocolate, and we sat on the couch, legs crossed, facing each other. I was keeping my head empty at the moment, not letting myself really think about what I’d done back there. Not allowing myself to ask if…if killing them had been necessary, if there hadn’t been another way.

Kat’s hands tightened around her steaming cup. “Daemon…are you okay?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

She took a sip. “What was inside the building?”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I briefly closed my eyes. “There wasn’t anything in the first couple of rooms. Just empty office space, but it’s obvious the place is used a lot. There were empty coffee cups, filled ashtrays everywhere. The farther I got in, there were…cages. About ten of them; one looked like it was used recently.”

She blanched. “Do you really think they were keeping people in there?”

“Luxen? Yes. And maybe others like you.” I dropped my hands onto my legs. “One of the cages had dried blood in it. All of them had chains and manacles encased in this dark red stone I’ve never seen before.”

“I saw something outside the building, above the doors. It was shiny, looked black to me because it was dark.” Leaning to the side, she placed the cup on the coffee table “And he put something against my cheek, and God, that hurt like hell. I wonder if it was the same thing you saw.”

Anger flashed through me, turning the corners of my lips down. “How are you feeling now?”

“Perfectly fine,” she said. “Did you see anything else?”

“I didn’t have time to go upstairs, but I had this feeling that something…something was up there.” I stood, clasping my hands behind my neck. “I need to get back in there.”

“Daemon, it’s too dangerous. People are going to realize that the officers are missing. You can’t go back there.”

I whirled, facing her. “My brother could be in there, or something that will tell me where he is. I can’t just walk away because it’s too dangerous.”

“I understand that.” She rose, clenching her hands at the sides. “But what good are you to Dawson—or to Dee—if you get caught?”

I stared at her for several long moments. “I have to do something.”

“I know, but it needs to be more thought-out than any of your plans have been so far,” she pointed out. “Because you could’ve been captured tonight.”

“I’m not worried about myself, Kat.”

“Then that’s a problem!”

My eyes narrowed, and the worse possible thing came out of my mouth. “I wouldn’t have involved you in this if I knew you were going to wimp out.”

“Wimp out?” For a moment, I thought her head was going to spin. “I’m the one who involved you. I saw Bethany.”

“And I agreed to let you come with me the first time.” I ran my hand through my hair. “If you’d stayed in that car, I could’ve had time to check the floors above.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You would’ve been caught inside. I got out of the car because you didn’t respond to my text! If I’d stayed in there, we’d both be in those cages.”

Heat hit my cheekbones. What the hell was I saying? None of this was her fault, and she was right, but that didn’t change what I’d done back at that warehouse and I couldn’t just walk away from this. We’d discovered the first real link to Bethany and Dawson, and the lives I took… “Okay. Both of us are aggravated right now. We should just let it drop for tonight. Get some rest. Whatever.”

Kat stared at me a moment and then crossed her arms. “Fine.”

Grabbing my cap from the coffee table, I slipped it on. I started for the door, but my feet turned into cement. I couldn’t walk forward. The anger festering in me caused my shoulders to shudder. When I spoke, my voice was nothing more than a whisper. “I’ve never killed a human before.”

I felt Kat place her hand on my arm. “It’s okay.”

Okay? Ending a life was never okay. Killing Arum was one thing, something I’d grown used to over the years. Wasn’t easy doing it or dealing with it, but a human? No. My jaw clenched. Deep down, I knew those two men were horrible people and if they had captured Kat, they would hurt her in ways that disgusted and enraged me. The fact that they had done it before, in my opinion, had been enough reason to snuff them out.

But it wasn’t okay.

It wouldn’t be okay. Not for a very long time.

Chapter 24

Kat would be proud. Over the next couple of days, I didn’t bum-rush the warehouse. I could be a huge, impulsive asshole, but I wasn’t stupid. Once the anger and the adrenaline faded, I knew I had to stay away for a bit. Freaking killed me to, but with the two officers on guard now missing, more eyes than normal would be on the place.

And the officers had definitely been reported as missing, according to the headline on the Charleston Gazette.

Two Department of Defense Officers Missing After Last Seen Near Petersburg.

Officer Robert McConnell and Officer James Richardson were their names—the names of two men I’d mowed down without hesitation. That was something I still hadn’t allowed myself to really focus on. Guilt accomplished nothing.

So instead of razing the warehouse to the ground and getting myself caged in the process, I focused my attention on William Michaels, a potential link. The only way it would make sense was if Will was what Blake had called an implant. Major coincidence though, if he was.

Stranger shit had happened.

A quick search of the good doctor revealed that he’d once been diagnosed with leukemia, and while that sucked, all it confirmed was what we found in Bethany’s house. Maybe he was writing himself prescriptions to deal with the pain or the treatment. Couldn’t blame the guy for that. The walker and cane also made sense, along with the Ensure. I wondered if she or her mom knew, considering how her father had died. Nothing shady could be found on the internet, so I ended up tailing him. Other than going to the hospital or out with Kat’s mom, he kept a low profile and a residence in a new subdivision with large, overpriced homes.

He’d been at Kat’s house earlier, and when he’d left, I followed him on foot back to his house. Then I patrolled until it was close to midnight. Not going to the warehouse was making me stir-crazy. Tomorrow, I was going to check it out. See what the activity was around it. I couldn’t wait any longer.

Snow was starting to come down heavier, and since I hadn’t sensed any nearby Arum, I headed back. I got home a little after midnight, I saw that Kat’s car was gone. What the hell? It had been there when I’d left. Where would she…?

It suddenly hit me.

Would Kat have gone to stake out Vaughn’s house alone? Where else would she be? Dee was inside with Adam. Blake the Douche Bag was still off visiting family, hopefully never to return. There was nowhere else she could’ve gone. Fear punched a fist-sized hole in my gut.

Instead of staying on foot, I fished the car keys out of my pocket and walked my ass over to the SUV. I climbed in, cursing up a storm. Halfway to Vaughn’s house, I saw Kat driving along as the snow started to fall in sheets. Yanking on the wheel, the SUV’s tires squealed as I spun it around, rushing up behind her.

I followed her back to the house and the moment she parked the car, I was out of mine and opening up the driver’s door on hers. “Where in the hell were you coming back from?”

She climbed out of the car. “Where were you going?”

Glaring down at her, I resisted the urge to shake her. “I have a feeling it was the same place you were coming back from, but I’m telling myself that you can’t be that stupid.”