Warrior (Relentless #4)(52)

“You want me to head your way?”

“No. We can cover more ground this way. Is Roland still at the party?”

There was a short pause, and then he said, “His car’s still at the house. Unless he got a ride from someone else, he’s there.”

“Good.” If Roland thought Sara was in trouble, he’d go to her. So he must not have heard from her, which meant he expected her to show up there. “Let me know if he leaves.”

I spent the next thirty minutes covering every road, alley, and parking lot within a five-mile radius. I saw no red Mustang, though I did pass a black Escalade with tinted windows once. The driver wasn’t doing anything suspicious, but when I saw the SUV’s dented fender, my body tensed, and worry flooded me again. There was a chance that Sara hadn’t been involved in the rest stop incident, but with her track record, I wasn’t betting on it.

What are you messed up in, Sara?

My phone rang, and my pulse quickened when I saw Roland’s name. I didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Please tell me she is with you.”

“No, and they should be back by now.” Fear laced his voice. “One of the guys heard the cops were called to a fight at the rest stop.”

“I heard that too.”

“That’s where Sara and Pete went,” he confessed, confirming my fears. “I tried calling them, but they’re not answering their phones.”

“Where would they go, Roland? If you know anything, you have to tell me.”

“If Sara’s in trouble, she’ll go home,” he answered without hesitation. “I’m going there now.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

There was no sign of the blue Toyota when I got to Sara’s building, and I swore as I called Chris. “Where is Roland’s car?”

“One second. He’s headed toward the waterfront. No wait. He just turned into the parking lot next to their school. I think it’s the church.”

“Got it.” I did a U-turn and tore away from the waterfront.

I reached the church minutes later, and I sensed Sara as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. Relief and anger flooded me when I sped around the corner of the church and saw a red Mustang with Sara behind the wheel. I stopped the bike a few feet from the car, and my control slipped when I saw the damage to the front of the Mustang. Tearing off my helmet, I was at the car in seconds and pulling her out of it.

“Do you have a death wish?” I shouted.

“Hey!” she yelled, but I drew her closer, torn between the urge to shake her and the fierce need to hold her.

She twisted weakly, another reminder of how defenseless she was against the vampires and demons that hunted her. And now she could add humans to that list.

“Let me go,” she demanded.

“Forget it. You’re coming with me since it’s obvious you can’t be trusted to take care of yourself.”

Roland moved toward us. “Now wait a minute.”

I shot him a warning look. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect her, even if it’s from herself.”

“The hell you will!” Sara’s eyes blazed. “You don’t own me.”

I opened my mouth, but Peter cut me off. “Hey, this is not helping anyone. Before you all go off half-cocked, why don’t you let us tell you what happened?”

Reluctantly, I released her, but I didn’t move away. I didn’t think I could if I tried. I forced myself to calm down and listen as she told us what had happened.

“Peter and I went to Phil’s, and he dropped us off at the rest stop a few minutes before I was supposed to meet David. I went into the diner, and Peter stayed outside. David showed up and we talked, and then he left. That’s when the trouble started.”

“Who are Phil and David?” I asked.

“Phil is a friend, and David is a guy I know from online,” she said without looking at me.

It was even worse than I’d suspected. “You went to meet a stranger from the Internet?”

She crossed her arms. “I had my reasons.”

Roland exchanged a look with her. “Tell him.”

She finally looked at me. “I’ve been looking for answers about my dad’s murder for a long time. David lives in Portland and he had information for me, but we could only meet in person.”

I stared at her, afraid of what I’d say if I opened my mouth. She took advantage of my silence to continue her story.

“I went outside to call Phil to pick us up, and Peter ran into the diner to get a milkshake. That’s when the man grabbed me and tried to drag me to his SUV. And then the witch showed up.”

“Witch?” Roland and I said together.

“Yes. I think he was African, and he was covered in strange white tattoos.”

I froze. It couldn’t be. “You’re sure about him, what he looked like?”

I was close enough to feel the shiver that went through her.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that face after what he did,” she said.

“What did he do?” The thought of one of those bastards touching her made my skin crawl. She didn’t answer immediately, and my gut clenched. “Sara, did he hurt you?”

“No, not really. He tried to do something to my mind. It felt like something…awful got inside my head and took control of me. I couldn’t move or say anything.”