Page 106 of Merciless
I followed after him, just in case Theo was feeling feisty and decided to push a few buttons on King’s way out. I wouldn’t put it past him to use King’s car as an ashtray for his kretek.
But as I stepped outside into the hazy, late-morning fog, I didn’t see him.
I glanced over at the chairs surrounding the firepit, expecting to see him smoking away with his legs kicked up, but he wasn’t there either.
Surely he wouldn’t have gone far, especially with visibility being so shit after a heavy rain last night.
“Theo,” I called out, checking the inside of the cars and then rounding them to head down the driveway. “You can come out now. He won’t shoot.”
“I didn’t promisethat,” King muttered, but he was already checking out the other side of the property.
A strange, sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, but I refused to give it any credence as we continued to call out for Theo…and got nothing back in return.
It wasn’t until I saw the still-burning kretek on the ground that I felt my panic begin to rise.
“Ty,” I called, but my voice came out strangled, my breath getting caught in my throat. My legs gave out on me and I hit the ground hard on my knees, but I didn’t feel any pain other than the sharp stab lancing my chest as my worst nightmare came to life.
King sprinted to my side, but I couldn’t hear anything he was saying, not with the blood ringing in my ears.
I looked up, my vision of him blurred as I choked out, “He’s gone, Ty. Theo’s gone.”
