Let them go

Chapter 48

Theo POV

I was just about to take a sip of my coffee, when I heard the doorbell ring.

“I got it.” Noah mumbled as he walked away from the kitchen.

I wondered who the fuck was bothering us at 7 am.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

I barely slept. I couldn’t get the image of that fucker touching Riley. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and watch as the life in his eyes slowly disappeared.

He touched Riley. He dared to touch Riley.
I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen, and I looked toward the door.

“Where is she?” I heard his voice before I saw him.

It was Mike.

How the fuck did he get here so soon?

“She is still sleeping.” Noah told him. “We didn’t want to wake her up yet. She is exhausted.”

Mike and Noah walked into the kitchen.

“Hey, Theo.” Mike said as soon as he saw me.

“How the hell did you manage to get here so soon?” I asked him.

“Are you kidding me?” he said, raising an eyebrow at me. “When Lucy told me what was going on here, I left everything and boarded the first flight to Chicago.”

He sat down on one of the bar stools opposite me.

“Coffee?” Noah asked, and Mike nodded.

“Is Riley okay?” Mike asked me. “I saw Lucy’s message that the police found her.”

I clenched my fists and tightened my jaw.

“Define okay.” I mumbled, feeling the anger inside me grow.

“What did he do to her?” Mike asked worriedly.

He liked Riley a lot. He liked everyone who loved Lucy.

“Punching, cutting, and touching.” I mumbled, making Mike’s eyes widen.

“Did he…?” he asked quietly.

The anger had me seeing red. If the fucking police didn’t find her when they did, he definitely would have. He touched her. He fucking touched my friend. He touched my…

“No.” Noah answered, interrupting my thoughts.

Noah placed a cup of coffee in front of Mike and sat down next to me. He looked at me worriedly and placed an arm around my shoulders.

“Thank God.” Mike sighed.

I wasn’t sure who to thank, but I was so fucking thankful. I didn’t know what I would have done if he had fucking done it.

“Where are Liam and Ezra?” Mike asked.

“Liam is sleeping.” Noah said. “Ezra is with Lucy. We aren’t risking anything anymore.”

That was another thing that had me seeing red. When I found out who was working with that fucker, I would rip them apart limb by limb.

“I can’t believe that those fuckers were trying to get to her again.” Mike mumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“They still are.” I mumbled angrily.

Mike looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

“Didn’t they catch the fucker?” Mike asked.

“He had a helper.” Noah said, making Mike gasp.

“What?!” Mike mumbled, staring wide-eyed at Noah.

“He had help.” Noah repeated. “They don’t know who yet.”

Mike’s wide eyes snapped to me. I nodded.

“She is still in danger.” I mumbled.

Those fuckers hurting my friends and family were really testing my patience. I was so fucking close to exploding.

Mike clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. His eyes narrowed.

“I am going to fucking kill them.” he said, gritting his teeth.

“Join the club.” Noah sighed.

I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen.

Lucy walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“Please tell me there is coffee.” she mumbled.

Mike turned around abruptly.

“Lucy!” he exclaimed as he jumped off the barstool and rushed toward her.

Her head snapped up. Her eyes widened.
Mike grabbed her and picked her up.

“Oh, my God.” Mike mumbled as he buried his head into her neck. “I missed you.”

I didn’t like the way he was holding her.

I frowned. I tried to get up to take her from him, but Noah slammed his elbow into my ribs. I looked at him angrily. He just rolled his eyes at me.

“I missed you too.” Lucy said, making me look back at her and Mike.

Mike raised his head and smiled at Lucy.

“You want coffee?” he asked her.

She nodded and smiled at him.

He placed her down and kissed her temple.

I rolled my eyes. He was way too affectionate toward her.

I reached out for Lucy, and she walked over to me.

“Where is Ezra?” I asked as she sat down on the bar stool next to me.

I pulled her closer and looked up at Mike.

He rolled his eyes and sat down opposite us.

“He is taking a shower.” Lucy said, looking at Mike. “When did you get here?”

“15 minutes ago.” Mike said, reaching over the kitchen island and taking Lucy’s hand in his. “I boarded the first flight to Chicago.”

Lucy smiled at him. Noah placed a cup of coffee in front of her and kissed the top of her head.

“How did you sleep?” Noah asked her.

“Okay.” Lucy said as she looked up at him. “You?”

“I was so tired that I basically just passed out.” Noah sighed as he sat down.

“When did you get home?” Mike asked.

“Around 4 am, right?” Noah said, looking at Lucy and me.

We nodded.

“When did they find Riley?” Mike asked.

I looked at Lucy’s hand in his. He was rubbing small circles on her palm. I wanted to roll my eyes so hard.

“Thursday afternoon.” Noah mumbled. “Thankfully, he had her for a few hours only.”

And he managed to do so much damage in so little time. I was afraid to think about what he would have done to her if he had more time.

A wave of nausea hit me. I couldn’t even think about that.

“Are you going to go see her today?” Mike asked.

“Yes.” Lucy answered. “You can come. I’m sure that she would love to see you.”

Mike smiled and nodded.

“How long are you staying?” Lucy asked Mike.

“Until the fucking helper is caught.” Mike said angrily. “I need to stay until I know for sure that you are okay.”

Lucy sighed and looked at Noah and me.

“They don’t know who it could be.” Lucy mumbled. “They may never even catch him.”

I didn’t like the idea of that.

They needed to catch the fucker.

“They will, Lucy.” Noah said softly.

“They have to.” I added.

Lucy wanted to say something else, but the doorbell interrupted her.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked toward the living room.

Who the fuck was here this early?