\[Elise’s POV\]
I don’t stop moving until I am safely out of William’s line of sight before finally drooping forward while every fucking emotion I didn’t want to feel crashes into me. This was dangerous, so fucking dangerous. I knew that the best thing for me to do was leave, but in order to do that, the issue with my father and his goons needed to be solved quickly.
Making my way into the bedroom, I look down at my clothes from the previous day and decide to just leave them. I grab a shirt from the dresser.
Throwing it over my head, I gather my hair and busy myself, wrapping it in a bun on top of my head while heading to where Rosco, Denali, and Maria are waiting. When they see me, they wait as I settle on what needs to be done.
“Take me to Jose.” I say. “I’ll help him with whatever it is he needs under one condition.”
“A condition?” Rosco repeats. “And why do you think you…ugh?”
He doesn’t get to finish his grand exclamation before Denali is elbowing him and shooting him a look.
“What is it that you want?” She asks, giving me a gentle look. “Just name it.”
“Once this is over, I want to be free to leave.”
I knew that I was asking for a lot, but I couldn’t stick around. Not when William was involved. I could feel my walls crumbling, and I wanted to let him in, but I was too fucking scared to even attempt to do that.
“I object.”
Tensing, I slowly turn and watch as William, dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants with his wet hair dangling around his face, makes his way toward me.
Narrowing my gaze, I wait as he stops beside me and grabs my wrist, holding me in place while he looks at Rosco.
“Instead of letting her leave, let her come back to Crystal Fang with me.”
At his words, I feel my eyes widen as shock and utter disbelief slam into me.
Was he out of his fucking mind? He wanted to take me back to where the enemy was hiding? Did he want me to be the next death that he had to carry?
“You promised to help me.” He reminds me, causing me to freeze.
Shit. I did promise to help him figure out what exactly was going on behind Crystal Fang’s walls, but was I even needed when they had a pretty good idea of who was behind it?
“No thanks,” I say, trying to break free. “I’m no longer needed, and...”
“But you are.” He counters. “I need you to stand by me while I eliminate each and every enemy that is waiting for me.”
Opening my mouth, I prepare to argue, but stop as Rosco clears his throat, drawing all eyes to him.
“Could we focus on one issue at a time? We still have three weeks left before William goes back to Crystal Fang, and we aren’t any closer to figuring out where the ones responsible for freeing Denali’s father are located.”
“Actually,” I say slowly, remembering the cathedral. “I may have an idea.”
At my words, Rosco’s eyes widen in disbelief, and rage flashes in them.
“And you didn’t say a fucking thing?” He snarls, attempting to jump up but stopping as Denali grabs him.
“Listen here, hot head.” I huff. “I just got a glimpse at where they’re hiding when...”
Stopping, I remember that I didn’t even explain how I ended up hurt.
“When I sustained my injuries.”
Shivering, I find myself beginning to spiral as I realize just how much danger I am actually in when I have visions. Up until this point, I thought I was only spectating, but now I knew I could be hurt or killed. This opened up so many more possibilities.
“Are you saying you got hurt while having a vision?” William hisses. “Is that what happened?”
“Yeah,” I respond. “So, in order to keep it from happening again, I really need to see that tracker, Jose.”
No one else argues after that, and it doesn’t take long before we are leaving William’s private penthouse to head back to Emerald Moon. When we arrive, Jose is already waiting for me, which I’m happy about since I wanted to get this done and over with as quickly as possible.
Even if there was a strong chance the enemy had already relocated, their energies would still remain, even if someone tried to hide them. That was the perk of energy. If it wasn’t a person’s particular aura, there were still hints of magic, and if a tracker could get a read on that magic, it could lead us to the casters.
“Color me surprised,” Jose announces as I walk straight to him. “Our little runaway is finally willing to cooperate.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a kid.” I warn. “Just do whatever it is that you need to do.”
“Even if what I have to do is going to be painful?” He challenges.
“What?” I growl, taking a few steps back. “No one said that I would have to deal with pain!”
“I’m just joking,” Jose chuckles. "Goodness, if you could have seen your face.”
“Stop fucking around.” William warns, coming up to stand beside me. “Do whatever it is you need to do already. When you get a read on where they may be, I’ll go personally to get rid of them.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Rosco huffs. “You can’t go alone. The enemy is strong, and they have supernatural beasts working with them. Do you have a death wish?”
“Hm? Maybe.”
Rolling my eyes, I grab Jose’s wrist and begin to lead him back into the packhouse.
“It’s too noisy here.” I say when he gives me a look filled with curiosity. “Let’s find somewhere more private.”
“Okay,” Jose grins, causing a jealousy growl to escape William. “Sorry, but the lady wants me and not you.” Jose continues, shooting William a look. “You snooze, you lose, pup. Now be good while we adults do adult things.”
I don’t bother countering what he has said as I lead Jose through the building and to my room. When we arrive, I take a seat and wait as he examines me.
“What?” I ask, purposely spreading my legs. “Are you enjoying what you see?”
“Sorry, sweetie, but I’m strictly dickly.”
Eyes widening, I let a bark of laughter escape me over how bold Jose was.
“Is that so?” I manage between giggles. “That’s such a waste. RIP to all the ladies who will never get a piece of such a handsome man.”
“I know it really is a shame.” He sighs, flicking his hair. “But isn’t it a bonus for all the men who love dick? They get to have their way with such a fine specimen.”
“True,” I say, getting comfortable. “And as much as I’d like to continue with this conversation, we have business to attend to.”
“Right,” Jose agrees, sobering up.
Growing quiet, he moves forward until he is standing right in front of me. When he stops, he reaches out and touches my temples while his eyes become glazed. Before I can ask what he is doing, I feel my consciousness being tugged, and soon I find myself spiraling in a tunnel of blinding light. When I am finally deposited out, I find that I’m standing in front of a large cathedral, and immediately I understand where this must be.
We were getting an outside view of the cathedral where my father and his goons were staying, and as we watched on, they quickly evacuated.
“Got you.” Jose murmurs in my head. “Now let the chase begin.”