Page 198 of What We Become

“He won’t watch another second.” Knox’s voice rumbles against my cheek.

Milo twists around in the middle row to look at me, and his face is doing something I’ve never seen it do. “We’ll find him, kitten. I swear to God, we’ll find him, and when we do⁠—”

“I’ll break him,” Knox finishes.

Holden has Odin on speakerphone. “Someone took over the room’s screens and speakers. Old footage from Sage’s apartment, then Stephen’s voice. Get Fenrir on it.”

“The club’s gone into lockdown,” Odin says. “Fenrir’s checking the access now.”

“What about last night’s warning?”

“We don’t know whether it’s the same route yet. Where are you?”

“Heading home. All six of us.”

In the middle row, Milo’s face goes blue from underneath. He’s already typing. “Logged,” he says, to nobody in particular. “Route’s bouncing through⁠—”

A blaring horn punches through the air, sharp and sudden, ripping my focus from Knox’s chest and Holden’s phone call. My head snaps up just as headlights explode into view—too close, too fast, a wall of white-hot light barreling straight at us.

“Eli!” I scream, but there’s no time, no space, no chance⁠—

The truck hits us broadside.

Metal screams. My seatbelt locks as Knox’s arm clamps across me, the force punching the breath from my lungs. The window beside him turns white with cracks but holds. Milo’s cursing tangles with Micah’s shout. Somewhere ahead, Eli yells my name.

We’re spinning.

Tires shriek against wet asphalt, headlights sweeping across the road, the curb, a blur of buildings. Something explodes between the seats and windows, filling the car with pale fabric and a bitter, powdery smell.

“Fuck—hold on!” Eli shouts.

The wheels catch at the edge of the road. The SUV tips, and for one extended second I’m staring down at Knox instead of across at him.

Then the world rolls.

My head strikes something hard. Pain bursts behind my eyes. The seatbelt bites into my ribs, and Knox’s hand cups the back of my skull as another impact tears through us. Milo screams.

“No! No, no, no!” I claw at Knox. His arm is still around me. I hold on to that because nothing else stays where it belongs.

The roof slams into the road. The window beside Knox wrenches loose from its buckled frame, and cold rain lashes through the gap. We slide upside down, metal grinding against asphalt, the roof folding closer with every jolt.

Then we stop.

And there’s nothing.

No engine. No voices or crying.

Just the thin, terrible ringing inside my head.

Am I dead?

But then the pain seeps in. Deep and sharp and everywhere. My head screams where it slammed into something hard, and my ribs burn with every tentative breath. Beside me, Knox shifts with a low groan. We’re hanging against our belts, his arm still hooked around me.

“Fury,” he rasps, his voice raw and broken. “Say something. Fucking say something!”

Pain lances through me. Sound ringing in my ears. I try to move. But the pull is too strong.

“Knoxie, I⁠—”