But this girl…she was good and grace. If there was anyone who would believe in me, it was her.
I breathed out in relief and anticipation when I finally took the last right into her neighborhood. Picturesque and quaint, light shined down through the lush leaves on the trees, like the sun was pitching daggers of warmth and faith.
I pulled up at the curb in front of her house and cut the engine. Jumping from my car, I rushed toward her door.
My footsteps slowed when I noticed the door was wide open. A knot of apprehension tugged at my gut, and my heart kicked an extra beat.
Breaths going shallow and quiet, I edged forward, angled to the side so I could peek inside. A frozen hush echoed back, everything completely still.
Too still.
I gulped around the panic that tried to work its way out.
“Alexis,” I called, nudging the door open a fraction wider as I took a single step through her door, eyes darting everywhere.
Silence answered back.
A shiver of dread raced down my spine, and that was all it took for me to shoot into action, rushing for her kitchen, gaze frantic as I took in the area.
Quiet. Calm.
Completely opposite of what I felt.
I threw open the back door to her backyard.
Nothing.
I raced back inside, heading straight for the single bedroom tucked in the back and the bathroom attached.
Empty.
Panic tightened my chest, my tongue a rumble with the plea. “Oh God. God…Alexis…where the hell are you?”
I ran back down the short hall and into the living room, headed for the door. I stopped short when something on the floor, right up against the wall, caught my attention.
Alexis’s cell phone.
The back was busted open and the battery had fallen out. Like it’d been dropped, shattered on impact.
And I knew. I fucking knew.
I rushed for my car, dialing 9-1-1 as I went. I shouted out Veronica’s address, shoved the keys back into the ignition, and threw my car in gear, jamming on the accelerator. The tires squealed on the asphalt as I spun the car around and peeled off down the road.
Whatever was going down? No question, Avril was involved.
Had no idea how seriously they took me when I said I thought my girlfriend had been abducted, that I had no proof whether she was actually at this address or not.
It was nothing but a hunch. A hunch that felt a whole lot more like a premonition.
Ending the call, I dialed Anthony. He answered on the second ring. “Pretty sure we have proof of where Veronica has been funneling the money,” he said before I had the chance to say anything.
Right then, I didn’t give a fuck about the money.
“They have her.” It scraped from my throat. There was no missing the fear. The fury.
I could feel his confusion. “What?”
“Alexis…I went to her place because I couldn’t get in touch with her. I needed to explain to her about Liam. Was going to tell her everything. I got there, and her front door was standing wide open, her phone in pieces on the floor. She’s gone, man.”
“Shit,” he hissed. “Did you call the cops?”
“First thing…gave them Veronica’s address. I know she’s involved, one way or another.”
“Where are you?”
“On my way over there.”
“Goddamn it, Zee. You can’t go running in like some kind of white knight. If what you said about Alexis’ sister pans out, that guy is dangerous.”
My laughter was sharp. “We already know that piece of shit is dangerous. He proved it the first night in that alley. Whatever happens, make sure Liam is taken care of.”
“Don’t talk like that, Zee. Just…step back. Take a breather and figure out the right way to handle this before you go in there with guns blazing.” Anthony sucked in a breath when he realized what he said.
“I appreciate everything, Anthony. You’ve had my back on this the whole time. Took care of the situation and, in turn took care of Liam. You don’t know what that means to me.”
Without a parting word, I ended the call and tossed my phone to my lap, clenching the steering wheel in fists as I swerved and careened through traffic.
Panic and rage ricocheted through the cabin of my car. Every pass growing stronger. That energy a fucking blaze of blinding light.
Alexis.
She was mine.
And I’d gladly die before I let anyone hurt her.
Just like I would’ve done that night.
I got it. What my spirit had already recognized in her. That goodness that was meant to be a part of this world.
A huge SUV blared its horn when I swerved in front of it to take a sharp left turn. But I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t slow.
My phone pinged with a text message just as I was turning onto the last street before I got to Veronica’s.
It popped up on the touchscreen.
New text message from Unknown.
I pressed the button for the text to voice. The canned voice rang through the speakers.
You want to see Alexis again, bring the kid and $20,000.
An address came in behind it.
What the fuck?
This dude was insane. No question it was him, Veronica his goddamned pawn. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had been all along.
Quickly, I punched the address into the navigation and made a second call to 9-1-1, praying they would listen and not think I was leading them on some kind of wild goose chase. I probably sounded like a lunatic.
God knew I felt like a madman.
Took me all of three minutes to come to the address. The same damned street I’d been walking when I’d found Alexis.
My heart roared so loud I could hear it in my ears when I fumbled out of my car.
In front of me was a deserted building, two stories high that looked like it used to be some kind of retail store. The bottom floor was a wall of windows that were cracked and splintered and littered with the evidence of bullet holes. Graffiti marked its exterior walls in despair and hate.
A tremor of violence shivered all the way to my bones. I edged forward. Anxiety clamped down on every cell in my body, the fear I felt fuel for the desperation to get this girl back, safe where she belonged.
I peered toward the second floor windows, wondering just where the fucker was. If he was watching. Waiting for me.
There was no doubt in my mind this bastard had me walking straight into a trap.
But if money was his end game, wiping me out would be about the fucking dumbest mistake the asshole could make. Problem was, I didn’t know just what I was dealing with, had no clue the lengths he would go.
Daylight slowly slipped away, casting the heavens in pinks and grays that glittered through the air and tumbled across the ground. It darkened against the cracked, fractured windows. Darkness spilled inside its walls like the pour of a river, filling it up with the intent to desolate and drown.
I edged closer, my boots crunching on a piece of broken glass on the sidewalk. It rang out like a warning.
Caution slowed my steps, and I did my best to bide my time, to be rational, to find reason, a solution while I silently pled with the cops to show.
A muted whimper echoed from deep within the walls.
My chest tightened to a fist.