Ruthless Angel (Gods of Ravencrest University #5)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

BLAZE

“What the fuck is that little shit trying to pull here? Why would her phone be off?” In a fit of temper, Daire threw his own phone across the room. It hit the living room TV before landing on the floor.

It had been well over two hours since we’d heard from Clover. Daire was losing his mind. My stomach felt ill with worry. Something wasn’t right. I felt it in my gut.

“She was with Raina, right? Maybe we should try calling her.” Cash pulled his own phone out of his pocket. “Does anyone have her number?”

“Do the Gods know they left the city?” I asked, having little else to offer. “Maybe we should contact them.”

Daire picked his phone off the floor, angrily smacking the screen until he’d opened the tracking app for Clover’s ankle monitor. “She hasn’t moved in a while. Looks like she left the concert venue. I think this is a motel or something. I knew it was a mistake for her to go out with Raina. That mobster bitch can’t be trusted.”

“Let’s try to stay calm here,” I said, knowing that when Daire got like this, there was no getting through to him. “We can’t start blaming Raina. We don’t know anything yet.”

“Maybe we should track Clover,” Cash suggested. “Head to her last known location.”

I nodded in agreement. “That’s probably the best plan for now.”

Daire’s neck veins were popping, his face reddened with anger. “When I get my hands on Clover, she’s going to wish she’d never tested me. Hell, she’s going to wish that she’d never met any of us. I’m going to teach her the meaning of the word torture.”

Grabbing his shoulder, I gave him a gentle shake. “This might all be some big misunderstanding. Let’s not get carried away.”

“You are way too calm about this.” Daire nailed me with an accusatory glare. “Shocking for someone who was kidnapped and tormented for days by our enemy. You’re missing a goddamn finger, man, and you think I’m overreacting?”

My gaze dropped to my hand and the missing digit. It still felt weird, like my finger should be there but wasn’t.

Daire was jumping to wild conclusions. Deep down I knew he was probably right. Something was up with Clover. Either she’d taken off on us or something had happened to her. It made me sick to consider either possibility.

“Come on,” Cash broke in, trying to keep the peace before someone threw a punch. “Let’s go to Fox Grove and look for her.”

No sooner had he spoken than the doorbell rang. Daire checked the doorbell camera on his phone, his expression souring. “It’s Raina and her dumb fucking boyfriends.”

“Pretty sure they’re her husbands now,” Cash corrected. When Daire threw a glower his way, he raised both hands in surrender. “Or whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

I launched into motion, trying to beat Daire to the front door. I managed to get there a split-second before him. Pulling the door open, I found a distraught Raina on the front step.

“Have you guys heard from Clover?” Her eyes were wide with fear. “We went to that concert in Fox Grove. I lost her in the venue. She just disappeared. I looked all over for her. When I called her phone, it was off.”

Daire shouldered his way into the threshold next to me. “No, actually, we haven’t heard from her. Thanks to you, she’s fucking missing.”

“Thanks to me?” Raina repeated. “Care to explain yourself, dick?”

“Happy to. She’s missing because you took her somewhere dangerous. We didn’t want her to go. You both knew that, and you went anyway.” Daire jabbed his finger in Raina’s face. “This is all on you.”

Gage reached around Raina to slap Daire’s finger away. “Watch your fucking mouth when you talk to my girl, unless you’d like me to knock your damn teeth down your throat.”

“Bring it on, motherfucker.” Daire raised both hands in invitation. “I’ve got a lot of pent up rage to unleash. I’ll gladly do it all over your smug face.”

I grabbed Daire and jerked him back as Knight pulled Gage away. Raina’s eyes filled with tears that she quickly wiped away.

“Can you guys beat on each other later?” She shot a scathing scowl at both Gage and Daire. “My best friend is missing. Nothing else matters right now but finding her.”

“Agreed,” Cash chimed in. “We were about to head to Fox Grove to look for her. We tracked her to a motel. Doesn’t look like she’s moved from there in a while.”

“A motel?” Raina frowned, gnawing her bottom lip in thought. “That’s so weird. She’d never leave without telling me. This is bad. Something happened.”

“Something like Brady,” Daire muttered, fisting a handful of his hair, pulling tight. He surprised all of us by punching himself in the face. “I should have known she was lying. I shouldn’t have let her leave this house.”

Daire was spiraling fast. He’d gone from blaming Clover to blaming Raina to blaming himself. I’d seen him in some pretty manic episodes. This felt bad, like he was on the edge of something very ugly.

“We need to look for her,” Raina said quietly. Her face had paled and her hands trembled. “We’ll come with you to Fox Grove.”

Daire whirled around to face her. “Like fuck you will. You’ve done enough. We don’t need you.”

Cash wrapped an arm around Daire’s throat from behind, silencing him. “We’d be happy to have your help. Don’t listen to him. He’s not in his right mind.”

“You better watch yourself, Daire,” Havoc warned, a deadly glint in his eyes. “I’ve been suppressing my urge to kill you for Raina and Clover. You’re starting to get on my last nerve. I may not be able to control myself much longer.”

All Daire could do was glare at Havoc. The tight hold Cash had on his throat kept him from speaking. I half expected Cash to choke him out. Only when Daire hung limp in his grasp did Cash release him.

Daire hit the floor, landing on his hands and knees. He gasped for breath, blinking furiously. “Fuck all of you.”

Raina frowned down at him with disgust etched all over her face. “We’ll follow you there.”

She turned away from the house, ushering the Gods along to the gold Lexus in the driveway. As much as I hated to admit it, Raina and the Gods could be valuable allies. She cared about Clover. She would do anything for our little Rainbow. We needed her help.

“Get up.” Nudging Daire with his foot, Cash pulled car keys from his pocket. “Let’s go look for Clover. I’ll drive. I don’t trust you behind the wheel right now. You’re too fucking unhinged.”

Muttering beneath his breath, Daire shoved to his feet and slammed out of the house, throwing the door against the wall. Cash and I exchanged a look before following. I understood Daire’s mood. There was part of me that wanted to blow my top and release the pressure building inside me.

After what I’d endured, the thought of Brady getting his hands on Clover made me sick. Melting down wouldn’t help Clover if she was in danger. Keeping a level head and thinking this through was the best option. For now.

The drive to Fox Grove was tense as hell. Daire was in a real mood. He swung from being certain that Clover ran from us and wanting to throttle her to being convinced that Brady had found her. That we would never see her again.

I did my best to focus on my breathing. Staying calm was a challenge. Daire’s intense energy didn’t help. My mind played horrible scenarios. I pictured Brady hurting Clover the way he’d hurt me. It made me want to throw up.

The Gods followed behind us in Havoc’s car. Daire had flipped them a middle finger when they’d pulled up behind us at a red light. Thankfully, he’d ignored them otherwise.

The closer we got to Fox Grove, the more my stomach ached. I had a sinking feeling that I couldn’t shake. Clover hadn’t run out on us. Something bad had happened to her.

We were almost there when Daire swore and punched the seat beside him. “Bad fucking news. I just got a tamper alert for Clover’s ankle monitor. It’s been removed.”

Nausea swelled, making my mouth water uncomfortably. I turned the vent so the AC blew straight into my face. Deep breaths weren’t helping anymore.

We followed the map on Clover’s tracker right to a seedy little motel on the side of the highway outside the city. Well, this was definitely not looking good. Clover would never willingly come to a place like this.

All of us gathered outside the motel room. Havoc stopped anyone from entering, wanting us to be prepared for anything first. It took Cash using his larger frame to keep Daire from rushing in like a maniac.

“I don’t want to risk you if there’s someone in there.” Havoc took Raina’s arm, steering her toward the front office. “Let’s see what we can find out about anyone who’s recently been in this room. The others can go inside and check it out.”

Raina’s face fell. She opened her mouth to argue but ended up shrugging, letting Havoc lead her away. The rest of us didn’t wait around. We rushed the door, guns in hand.

Daire shoved to the front, eager to be the first through the door. He tested the knob, finding it locked. Without hesitation, he kicked the door open. It crashed against the wall. Disappointment weighed heavy in my chest when I saw that the room was empty.

I followed Daire inside, taking a good look around the small room. The place was a dump. Old furniture and a boxy television with a rabbit ear antenna. A yellow flower covered comforter hung partially off the bed.

Clover’s ankle monitor sat on the comforter. It had been cut off. A few drops of blood sprinkled the blanket next to it. There seemed to have been a struggle.

“She’s not here,” I said, stating the obvious. Panic engulfed me. How would we find her now?

“Brady took her. He fucking took her.” In a fit of rage, Daire picked up the broken ankle monitor and whipped it at the TV. When that failed to break the television set, he picked it up and smashed it on the floor.

“I’m sure that will help you get her back,” Gage quipped, leaning against the door frame.

Daire whirled to face him, raising the gun he held. “This is not a good time to lip off, asshole. I have no problem blowing your brains out right here and now.”

Ever the cocky bastard, Gage merely raised a hand in invitation. He regarded Daire with a fearless expression. I wasn’t sure which of them was more fucking deranged.

“Daire, don’t,” I snapped, ready to lose my own damn mind. “We have to find Clover. This is not the time for personal conflict. We’ll never find her if you idiots kill each other. We have to get moving.”

When Daire didn’t lower his weapon or even so much as blink, Cash stepped forward. He placed a hand on Daire’s wrist, forcing it down.

Raina and Havoc returned before things escalated further. The disappointment on Raina’s face said everything.

“A man rented the room. He paid with cash. They didn’t even take his name. I got a basic description.” She described the man as having short buzzed hair and a lot of skull tattoos.

“Definitely Brady,” Cash confirmed, ready to tackle Daire if he did anything crazy.

The nausea that had plagued me all the way here became too much. I rushed out into the parking lot to unleash the contents of my stomach. I’d rather have had Brady kill me than ever get his hands on Clover.

A moment later a gentle hand patted my back. I glanced up to find Raina standing next to me, her eyes shining with tears.

“We’ll find her,” she vowed. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”