Page 61 of Bloom in Darkness

"Service hallway," Astra says. "Past laundry. Second storage door."

I repeat it once so Bryn hears too. Bryn stops tearing at the tape the second he hears the location.

"I took too much," Astra whispers. "Caelan, I don't know how much I took."

"We'll deal with that after we get you out." Bryn starts toward the door, and I catch the front of his shirt. "Nobody has touched you?"

"No. Sabine said Silas and Rourke were asking for me. I got scared."

Bryn's chest expands beneath my hand as I tell Astra, "We're leaving now. Keep the phone with you. If anybody tries that door, you tell me."

Bryn is already pulling off his gloves with his teeth. The younger fighter starts to say something from the mat and stops when Bryn looks at him. I end the call only after Astra promises again that the door is locked. Bryn is on me immediately.

"What did she do?" Bryn asks the second the call ends.

"We don't know yet." I keep one hand against his chest. "Astra used too much Bloom. He's overheated, scared, and he can't remember how much he used. Sabine told him Silas and Rourke were asking for him. He ran and locked himself in a storage closet. Nobody has touched him."

Bryn closes his eyes for one second. When he opens them again, his scent has gone almost completely sharp and aggressive. "We’re going."

"Yes," I tell him, and he starts toward the exit. I catch his wrist before he gets three steps.

"Bryn." He turns before he reaches the door, already halfway out mentally. "I need you with me, not six blocks ahead ripping the club's front door off its hinges."

His hands curl into fists at his sides while I move closer until I can lower my voice without losing him. "You are getting Astra. That is your job. You find him, you get him out of that closet, and you walk him straight to the car."

“And Sabine?” he asks, his scent sharpening again.

"Mine," I tell him. I tighten my hand around his wrist. "You get Astra."

"Caelan—"

"Please, babe. Let me do what I'm good at so you can do what you're good at."

Bryn looks toward the exit, then back at me. After a long second, he nods once.

The drive to the club is eight minutes on a normal night. Bryn takes the corners hard enough to send my hand to the dash while I call Forrest and tell him we’re leaving the Forge. He says he will cover everything and hangs up. I do not call Sabine.

The staff entrance is locked. Bryn hits the buzzer once, hard enough to rattle the metal housing. The guard opens the door and blocks the entrance when they recognize me. "You aren’t allowed in here."

"Astra called us." Bryn is already through the doorway. I keep moving when the guard starts to step in front of me, and by the time I am through, Bryn is halfway down the service hall.

"Second door past laundry," I remind him. "Get Astra. Straight back out."

"I heard you," Bryn says. I squeeze his arm once and let him go.

I smell Astra before we reach laundry. Astra’s scent is painfully sweet in the warm hallway, fear sour underneath it. Bryn growls and lengthens his stride. I catch his arm.

Sabine steps into the corridor before we reach laundry. Sabine takes one look at Bryn’s bloody mouth before turning to me. "I told you that you were no longer welcome here."

I step into Bryn's path before he can shoulder past Sabine. "Where is he?"

She folds her arms. "If you mean Astra, he ran away from his shift."

Bryn moves, and I catch him with one hand against his chest. "Go," I tell him without looking away from Sabine. "Second door."

Bryn stares at her for one hard second before turning toward the storage hall. Sabine watches him disappear around the corner. "This is ridiculous."

"Is it?" I ask.