Damian knelt in churned dirt at the edge of a narrow ravine, fingers wrapped around a length of broken chain still warm from where it had lain against skin. Her scent clung to the metal, fresh enough that his chest tightened with something between hope and dread.
“She was here,” he said, low.
Kai stood a few paces back, arms crossed, his usual ease nowhere in sight. “No kidding. Maybe if you’d let me explain instead of assuming I let this happen, we’d already have her back.”
Damian rose slowly, the words landing like a struck match against dry wood. “You had one job. Watch her. Instead she’s gone and you’re the one they found unconscious a hundred yards from where she disappeared.”
“You think I staged that?” Kai’s jaw tightened. “I got hit from behind. I didn’t see who, I didn’t hear t
