It’s too early for this shit.

“She’s sleeping. I’m sleeping. Now leave us both the hell alone,” I mumbled with a face full of pillow.

“Check your phone.” It was all he said before he left the room.

Ignoring him, I concentrated on picking up where my dream had left off. A moment later, I rolled my eyes when I heard Rich grabbing his phone from the nightstand. I was starting to drift off again when I heard his sheets rustling as he got out of bed.

If she’s really gone, I’m going to wring her neck.

“Get up,” Jericho ordered, confirming my worst fears. “Houston wasn’t fucking kidding. Check your texts.”

Heart pounding, I frantically searched the sheets. The last time I recalled having it was before I fell asleep texting her. Not a single message had been delivered since she’d blocked my number. It only gave me the courage to pour my heart out and let loose my anger since I knew she’d never see them.

By the time I found my goddamn phone, Rich had already thrown on a white T-shirt and sneakers since he’d worn basketball shorts to bed. When I finally saw the texts, my reaction was different than Houston and Rich’s.

I smiled.

I loved the balls on this kid.

She wasn’t predictable or needy like Houston and Rich preferred in that order. She made us play the games we liked her way.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I shook my head at the responses Houston and Rich had sent, telling her to bring her ass back. Underneath my excitement, I admit I was pissed too. It wasn’t even five in the morning yet, and she was out there in a strange city alone and in the dark. Not to mention she no longer had the luxury of obscurity. If someone recognized her, who knows what they would do.

The upside to overthinking everything is that you’re smarter than the people who don’t think at all. I knew nothing I said would make her obey. The only way to ensure no one got to her first was to find her as quickly as possible, so I’d play.

We could get our pound of flesh after we found her.

I’d never gotten dressed so quickly in my life. I’d also never stepped foot in public looking quite so disheveled. It was a first for me and yet another reason to return the favor to Brax when I got my hands on hers. I’d take my time unraveling her.

I had my shoes on and met my friends at the door just as they were storming through it.

Ten minutes later, we’d reached the park.

“What the hell is that supposed to be?” Rich griped as he stared at the last photo Braxton had sent. She’d been giving us “clues” for which direction to head once I assured her that we were up for the hunt.

I shook my head as I smiled to myself.

She’d really lured us into the city to chase her unruly ass at five in the goddamn morning.

“It’s clearly an arch,” I snapped back. “What else could it be?”

I really wasn’t a morning person.

“But where is it?” Rich questioned, unbothered by my crankiness. He only had his mind on finding Brax.

“How would I know?” I tossed my head toward Houston. “He’s the map.”

Currently, we were standing in front of the Alice in Wonderland statue as the smell of horse shit clung to the air.

I wasn’t an outdoors person either.

And we only had ten minutes tops left to find her.

“There’s something called a Ramble Arch half a mile from here, but she won’t be there. She’s already gone.”

“She hasn’t sent us another clue,” Rich pointed out.

Houston shook his head. “The clues are only meant to point us in her direction. She’s not going to wait around for us to catch up.”

“She had maybe a twenty-minute head start,” I surmised out loud. “How far could she walk in that amount of time?”

The three of us huddled around Houston’s phone as we stared at the map of Central Park. After only a few seconds of trying to guess, I felt more of my patience slipping. “This is pointless. We won’t know for sure which direction she’s gone until she sends another clue.”

Just then, Houston’s phone chimed with another text from Braxton. I hurriedly tapped the banner before it could disappear from the top of his phone.

It was a picture of her standing against the railing of what must have been a bridge. It was still dark, but I could just make out the still water in the lake behind her and the leaves from the trees reflecting on the surface.

“That has to be here,” Houston said, pointing at something called the Bow Bridge.

“There are two directions she could go once she crosses it. I say we haul ass and cut her off here,” I suggested, pointing at Bethesda Terrace.

She was probably expecting us to be off our game and actually retrace her steps. By the time we caught up, even though we were faster, it would be well after sunrise.

Who knows if or when Braxton would give us another shot. I shuddered to think of what other trial she’d feel the unneccssary need to put us through.

“And if she heads in the other direction?” Rich questioned.

“One, it’s why I said we should haul ass. Two, she won’t. She wants us to find her.”

Neither of them wasted time trying to argue. Pocketing his phone, Houston took off for Bethesda Terrace with Rich and I hot on his heels.

I didn’t realize I’d been cut off and cornered until I stepped off the paved path and onto the red brick at Bethesda Terrace. Purple had begun to give way to orange in the sky while just ahead, three brooding figures waited for my arrival. I’d been too busy admiring the fountain to notice them closing in from the other side.

Looking around as if nothing was amiss, I took in my surroundings, secretly plotting my escape. To my right loomed grand staircases leading to the upper terrace and an arcade offering access to the shadowed lower half. Both provided passage to the rest of the park.

To my left was the lake.

I never realized before how tall they were until now. Standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the fountain now, they were a reckoning force united in anger and blocking my only other escape.

It was Houston who broke the silence first. “You really should be careful who you toy with, Braxton Fawn.”

I knew better than to get too close, so I stayed where I was a few paces away. Centered in the fountain behind them was a bronze, eight-foot statue of a winged angel blessing the water cascading into the upper basin before spilling into the pool that surrounded it. Looking on underneath the angel’s feet were four cherubs—Temperance, Purity, Health, and Peace.

I had the feeling all of mine were about to be tested.

“How did you know I’d be here?” I asked to keep them talking and distracted. The last clue I sent them had been the bridge, so it really wouldn’t have been all that hard to figure out. It wasn’t their intelligence I’d underestimated, though. I hadn’t counted on their eagerness to get to me. Sunrise was only a few moments away. I thought I’d be long gone before they ever made it here.

Keeping my face unreadable, I quickly ran through my options. Obviously, the path behind me was the only viable one. Maybe they wouldn’t notice if I started inching away? I could run, but then what? They’d definitely catch me.

“You made it too easy,” Loren quipped as he pulled a stick of gum from his pocket and unwrapped it. “Lucky for you.” He slipped the gum between his lips.

“I—”

“Come here,” Rich commanded before I could utter another syllable. His gaze and his tone were so flat I didn’t know if it was caution or surprise that made me step back. He was supposed to be the sweetheart of the group—the even-tempered one. Right now, he had my heart racing more than the others.

“I believe we were promised five minutes of your undivided attention,” Loren reminded me.

“Yes,” I agreed, gulping as I folded my arms. If I couldn’t beat ’em, I’d bluff like hell. “It started two minutes ago.”

“Well, then,” he returned with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I guess we better not waste any more time.” Tossing down his gum wrapper, Loren shot forward with a gleam in his eyes that said I’d bitten off more than I could chew.

Despite me knowing how useless it would be, I turned and ran anyway. I could hear Loren’s feet pounding the red and white brick as I rushed back the way I had come and under cover of trees. It wouldn’t make a difference. At least not for me.

The thick brush kept the rising sun from lighting the path, so I was led by instinct alone as Loren chased me. I was too afraid I’d trip over a rock if I looked behind me to see if he was alone, so I kept going. Loren toyed with my mind by letting me think I’d get away, and just when I was about to round the first bend, he deftly swooped me off my feet.