Metamorphosis

Chapter 29

Eren's POV

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this angry. The emotion rolled through me like acid and dissolved everything in its path until there was nothing else left. I didn't do anything to stop it. I yearned for it to take over, because when I got my hands on Reiner, I wanted to burn our reunion into his memory. I'd show him that he made the wrong decision when he took Levi from the club. I'd make him wish he'd stayed as far away from us as possible. I would make him regret every single minute he'd spent planning this out, thinking he would get away with it.

He was never going to get away with this.

"Up ahead, Eren. Do you see it?" Armin pointed out an enormous brick building in the distance. It took me a moment to focus my attention on it long enough to notice all the windows were shattered. That indicated it was no longer in use, but that didn't mean it wasn't occupied. It looked like the perfect hideaway for a criminal hoping to stay away from the public eye. Reiner could achieve total isolation out here. There weren't any houses for miles. No one to see him come and go. "Do you think that's where Reiner is holed up? It has to be, right?" Armin glanced at me over his shoulder. "There's nothing else out here."

"That's where he is," I said. "I know it."

Without warning the others, I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal. The car pitched forward before the front end evened out. Then we were coasting toward the building at top speed.

"What the fuck!" yelled Jean. He hit the back of the headrest several times. "Slow the hell down!"

"No. I want Reiner to know we're here."

Connie leaned in between the front seats. "What if he has a gun on him, Eren? Have you even thought of that? He can come out and shoot at us." He grabbed my shoulder. "I have a wife waiting for me at home."

"I didn't ask you to come!" I gritted my teeth, pissed that they were interfering with my plans. I wanted to crash the car straight through the front door. Slowing down wouldn't achieve that, but I also couldn't let my friends get hurt because of this rage flowing through me. "Fucking hell." I let up on the gas pedal.

"Thank you," Connie said when we dropped down to a safe speed. "Levi wouldn't want you to get hurt, either. You know that."

The sound of Levi's name provoked other emotions other than anger to surface. One stood out above the rest. Fear. What would I find waiting for me in there? What would I do if Reiner had already done irreversible damage to him?

God, I just wanted Levi safe. That's all I cared about right now. Nothing else mattered.

"Well," Jean said, sitting up, "it's hard to make a quiet entrance when there's fucking gravel everywhere."

Armin tapped the steering wheel. "Park here. We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot."

"No." I turned into the parking lot. Gravel popped beneath the tires. "I want the car close, just in case we have to make a quick exit."

"Let me guess," Armin almost growled, "you want someone to stay with the car?"

"Yes."

"I swear if you ask me to stay..."

I sighed. "Armin, please."

"Why me? I'm not the only other person here."

"You're staying," Jean said. "If you go in there, I'll be all types of distracted, and we can't afford that. Okay? So you're staying here. Don't argue with me on this."