Page 68 of Vengeful Devotion
Without saying a word, I stalk past them and into the kitchen. The kettle sits where Gemma placed it on the stove. There’s a knocked over mug next to it. The sight breeds anger. I allow myself a moment of insanity and throw the mug against the wall with a guttural yell. As soon as the moment passes, I straighten my jacket and turn back to my small audience.
“Balor!”
“Yes?”
“Has Alistair raided Lonny’s house yet?”
“No. It’s planned for tonight.”
I look over my shoulder at him. “Call him. I want it done now.”
“Okay.”
Dean comes barreling into the kitchen. “It was Danny.”
“What?”
“Juliette pulled the security cameras. Danny took her.”
“Show me.”
Dean grabs a tablet, jabbing at the screen before turning it to me. The video starts when Gemma comes into the kitchen. My heart squeezes when I see her. Her hair is still tied back, but it’s messier than it was this morning. Like she’s been playing with it out of worry. She grabs the kettle but stops to stare out the window. I see Danny move behind her. Every breath I take as I watch Gemma’s kidnapping unfold is like a stab to the heart. Her face twists in terror as Danny overpowers her.
My veins flood with rage and sadness. Knowing she’s gone and seeing it happen are two very different things.
“How long ago was this?”
“Almost eight hours.”
“Eight hours? She’s been gone that long, and no one called me?”
“We tried,” Dean says. “You weren’t picking up.”
I scrub a hand down my face. Fuck. I picked the wrong day to lose my head and disappear. Now, the woman I love is in danger, and it’s all my fault.
“Are you tracking Danny?”
“His phone is here, and he didn’t take his car or one of ours. Juliette is downstairs going through his phone to see if we can find out where he took her.”
“I want to know the second she finds something.”
Standing in the room from which Gemma was taken is messing with my head. Making her feel so close and yet so far from me.
“I’m going to my office. I’m not to be disturbed unless someone has found something,” I growl.
I turn and leave the kitchen, walking down the hall to my wing of the house. I go straight to the liquor, pouring myself a large glass of whiskey. I’m so angry that I can’t see straight. Might as well add a buzz. Watching Gemma like that was excruciating. It’s something I’ll never forget. The horror on her face or the way her body slumped against him when that syringe pinched her neck.
Finishing my drink, I throw the tumbler across the room. Pain surges through me. I thought I knew pain. I thought I knew grief. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Gemma missing is worse than a death by a thousand cuts. It’s worse than my father’s and my brother’s deaths. I can live without them; I have lived without them. But even the thought of living without Gemma is too much. Too painful. I can’t bear it.
The thought of someone hurting her sends me into a frenzy. Nothing is safe in my office. I smash the bottle on the floor, the amber liquid seeping in the rug. The glass coffee table shatters when I kick it over. I lose myself in the destruction, tearing through every object I can find for hours. I only wish it was Danny’s body that I’m tearing through. The warmth of his blood on my hands is a feeling I’d happily welcome. Bloodstains I’d happily wear. The blood of her uncle, too. I know he’s behind this. It’s the only thing that makes sense. What I don’t know is how Lonny and Danny found each other. At least, not yet.
A loud knock cuts through the haze of fury surrounding me. My head snaps up. I don’t know how long I’ve been in here. But it’s long enough for the first light of dawn to break through the windows.
“Enter.”
Balor opens the door. His eyes wander over the room, surveying the wreckage.
“I’d ask if you’re okay, but I think I know the answer to that already.”
