The Black God - Page 77/187

Nothing on her list appealed to her. It all seemed so … normal. Boring. Unfulfilling. If she went to the Guardians, at least she'd have tons of training and an assignment somewhere in the field to occupy her.

Her thoughts drifted to Jonny, and she set her pen down. Instead of anger, she felt sorrow without really understanding why. The pleasure of their kiss was marred by the pain of his bite, and she began to wish he'd done one or the other but not both. It would've been easier to walk away if he told her he loved her once and not anymore or if he said he'd never loved her at all.

To say he cared but not enough to be with her … it was torture in every way.

"Boys are stupid," she murmured. She pulled out her phone to text Brandon and see what he was up to. With any luck, he'd bring her some donuts. She rarely indulged but it felt like a day to eat a dozen.

Something vibrated behind her, and she twisted. Brandon's phone was tucked between the couch and its back.

"Omigod," she said and dug it out. Her text popped up on the screen. "Brandon, you idiot."

Her phone vibrated next with another text from Brandon alerting her to the fact he'd left the apartment. Confused, she unlocked hers to look at the string of numbers that popped up. They were the same as the first text from him, a set of coordinates she could click on and a map would open to show her where it was.

"How are you texting me when I have your phone?" she asked herself. She touched the coordinates, and the customized app on her phone opened. It required a ten-digit passcode she never remembered and had pasted into her notepad on the phone. Brandon had a lot of security measures for everything. Ashley typed in the passcode and waited.

Brandon's phone unlocked automatically and a note popped up on his screen.

Just in case, try here first. Bring weapons. An address was pasted below the cryptic text. She recognized the generic phrasing of their mutual security code. When she hit the emergency app on her phone, it sent the same message to him and her location.

Her breath caught, and she leaned forward, staring at the phones.

Brandon hadn't left the apartment for donuts. He'd been taken by force and managed to trip the emergency app at some point before he was gone. She'd heard nothing last night and rose. Ashley searched the area for signs of a struggle and checked the doors and windows to see if someone had broken in. The door was locked from the inside, as were all the windows.