The ride back is faster. The desert wind doesn't cool anything. It sharpens my focus.
If the presence attached to her caught Malik's attention, then it's been awake longer than she realizes. Longer than Kai likely understands.
Which means —
It has been waiting.
By the time the compound gates come into view, the air around me already feels wrong.
Subtle.
But wrong.
The men at the entrance straighten as I ride through.
One of them hesitates before nodding at me.
That hesitation is enough.
I park.
The engine dies beneath my hand.
I head inside.
The energy shifts immediately.
Low murmurs.
Eyes tracking me.
Something happened.
I take the stairs two at a time.
Open my bedroom door.
Empty.
The bed untouched beyond where she slept.
Everything in the room is exactly where I
