Page 127 of Lessons In Grey

With wide eyes and trembling hands, Jerry knelt over, opening the safe, pulling out the key to Emily’s loft, and sliding it over before lifting his hands in surrender.

I headed for the elevator, sliding the gun away before pressing the button, Ash and Syn at my heels.

I turned to them. “Stay here.”

Ash’s eyes widened. “Nofuckingway. I swear to God, if you don’t let me on that fucking elevator—”

“You will stay here,” I told her coldly.

Syn touched her arm, something in her eyes melting. “Sweetie, you need to let him go.”

Yes, let me go. Whatever happened would be between the two of us, Emily didn’t need onlookers when she explained to me exactly what happened this last week. They had to stay here. Just for now. Just until I knew Emily was going to be okay.

Ash shook her head, tears dripping down her face. “No, I won’t. He’s taking me with him. He’s taking me up there.”

If she didn’t let me go, I’d have to shoot her in the shin.

“Ash,” Syn said again, taking her face, forcing their eyes to meet. “You have to let him go,” she repeated softly. “We’re going to have to wait, baby. It’s for our own good.”

She was sobbing, trying to catch her breath, but something in Syn’s eyes must have clicked for her because her shoulders fell,and she nodded before turning to me. “You make sure she’s okay,” she told me as the elevator doors dinged, opening up behind me. “You make sure she’s safe.”

I nodded, giving Syn a look of thanks, before stepping into the elevator and closing the gate.

I slid the key in and pressed her room floor, the anger and fear growing with each floor I passed.

She had to be okay.

Eris was going to die either way, that much I knew for sure, but she had to be okay. She would be okay.

My heart wouldn’t still be beating if she wasn’t okay. I was sure of it.

The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and everything inside of me stuttered to a halt.

I shoved the gates open, creaking from nonuse, and took in the scene before me.

The curtains were drawn, save for the ones hanging above the balcony doors. Sirius’s toys were scattered everywhere, her food and water barely touched.

The sink was empty, the counters clean.

Growling sounded from across the room, a warning. Sirius. She was protecting her.

I turned to the couch where the noise was originating from, the smell of stale blood and vomit filling the air.

My heart thudded in my ears. I had seen some horrible things in my life. I have walked into and out of nightmares nobody would survive, and here I was, terrified of what I would find.

She had responded to my texts. She had. I swear to God, if that was someone else pretending to be her, I was going to snap. Malachi would never have to worry about Azrael again because there would be someone much worse haunting this world.

She had to be alive.

I slowly moved towards the couch, water bottles spread out everywhere, piled on the coffee table, thrown haphazardly acrossthe floor, surrounding the couch.

The cat’s snarls became louder, but she wasn’t making a sound.

A roaring sounded in my ears as I stepped around the couch, the pile of bottles enormous. She had been drinking her water, but she certainly hadn’t been eating.

Sirius was tucked under her arm, pressed against her chest, ears pinned, eyes glowing. She hissed like the feral rat she was, only to stop when she realized who it was.

She straightened, ears perked. “Mrow.”