by S. M. Shade
A keyboard hangs by its cord from one of the desks, dangling above a puddle of blood. Bloody footprints are smeared across the floor, and droplets decorate the nearby wall. Even in my panic, I’m careful not to step in the blood or touch anything. “Landon!” I yell, desperately hoping he’ll walk in and explain what happened. There’s nothing but the sound of the wind whipping around the house.
I run to check every room, but he’s gone. My hands feel numb and it takes me two tries to press the right buttons to call Dare. He answers on the second ring.
“Zoe?”
“Dare! He’s gone and there’s blood. And a monitor is broken, but his car is here.” I ramble on, talking so fast it’s a wonder he can even understand me.
“Zoe! Listen to me.” The way he barks my name makes me stop and listen.
“I-I’m listening.”
“Don’t call the police. I’m on my way to you right now. Lock the front door and only open it to me, do you understand?”
“Yes, please hurry.”
“Five minutes,” he says. I take Dare’s advice and lock the door, though it seems unnecessary now. I doubt whoever did this is coming back. It’s a good thing Landon has hardwood floors instead of carpet since I’d have worn it away pacing back and forth throughout the house, a million possible scenarios running through my head, each one worse than the last.
There’s a lot of blood, but that doesn’t mean he’s fatally wounded, right? Head injuries bleed a lot. Hell, Ethan has had nose bleeds that scared the shit out of me. He could’ve gone to the hospital. I should call the hospitals!
The fact that his car hasn’t left the drive doesn’t occur to me until I’ve already called the two main hospitals in our area and been told he isn’t there.
True to his word, Dare shows up five minutes later with Justus and Jeremy in tow. They scan the scene for a moment before Justus and Jeremy jump on the two undamaged computers. “What are they doing?” I cry. “We need to find him…or call the cops, or something!”
“They’re looking for him. If this is someone who figured out who he is and what he does, the evidence will be there.” His eyes meet mine. “We’ll find him. When was the last time you heard from him?”
“A little after ten. He said he was coming over.”
Dare produces his phone and tries to call Landon’s. When he gets sent to voicemail, he hangs up and starts touching the screen again. “We have an app where we can track each other, just in case there’s an emergency.”
“There’s nothing here,” Justus announces. “Nothing to suggest he’s been doxed.”
“Everything appears to be secure,” Jeremy agrees.
“Shit. I almost had a track on him. It lead to the woods beside Cowler Lake, but then it failed. It’s possible the phone is off or the battery is dead.”
“What now?” I ask.
“Now, you go home and we’ll find him,” Jeremy replies.
“You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’m not going with you. It’s nearly dawn. What if he can’t get out of the sun?”
Dare slides his hand under my jaw. “You want to go with us, you do what I say when I say it, do you understand? If I tell you to run or hide, you fucking do it no matter what’s going on. Landon will never forgive me if I put you in danger.”
“Whatever you tell me,” I promise.
Jeremy holds up Landon’s sun proof suit and Dare nods. “Then let’s go find him.”
Dare and Jeremy ride in the front seat of Dare’s SUV while I sit on the edge of the back seat, chewing my nails to the bone. Justus follows behind us in his truck. Jeremy keeps trying to track Landon’s cell, but it must be turned off.
Or destroyed. Tossed in a river or shallow grave with him. A few deep breaths help me get a grip on the panic lurking just under the surface of my calm demeanor. I can’t think that way. I shouldn’t jump to those conclusions, but I can’t help it. Other than Ethan, Landon is the only person to ever love me. We planned to spend the rest of our lives together, and now I don’t think I could function without him by my side.
Jeremy gives up trying to track Landon and calls Mason Reed, the same man who Landon called when Colin needed help. After a curt conversation, he hangs up and goes back to trying to get the tracking app to show Landon’s whereabouts.
“It shows him traveling through Rockville, then taking a left on County Road Five. That road circles Cowler Lake. There’s nothing out there but campsites and summer cabins,” Jeremy tells Dare.
“Someone has him and is taking him to a deserted lake,” I clarify, my voice barely above a whisper.
Jeremy and Dare’s eyes meet for a moment before Dare looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Or he took care of whoever attacked him and needs to hide the evidence.”
“I don’t care what he did. I don’t care if he’s leaving a trail of bodies behind him, I want to see him. I have to know he’s okay.” My eyes scan the skyline as the sun breaks over the horizon. If he’s outside, our time is running out.
The lake isn’t exactly massive, but when it comes into view, some of my hope drains. It will take hours to search this area. The woods are dense and only broken here and there by cleared trails leading to nearby cabins and campsites. “We have to call the cops. They can get a search party. Find him quicker,” I plead.
“And take him to jail if he’s burying a body,” Jeremy grumbles.
Dare shoots him a warning look before parking alongside the lake. “We’ll find him. And we have more help coming. Mason is friends with an officer and can make sure only the right people show up.”
“Let’s circle the lake first,” Jeremy suggests. “You take right and I’ll go left. If he’s in the woods, he’s better protected from the sun. If he’s exposed, we need to find him quick.”
Dare nods and tosses me a knitted hat. “You stay with me.”
Despite the damage the sun could be wreaking on Landon, it sure as hell isn’t making it any warmer. It’s probably the coldest it’s been this year, with the highs predicted to be around twenty degrees, and while I’m too emotionally numb to feel it, I know it adds to the danger of the whole situation. We don’t know how long he’s been out here, if he’s here at all. They could’ve just shut the phone off here to throw us off and kept driving. He could be anywhere.
Dare and I make our way along the tree line, calling Landon’s name into the still, icy air. We pick our way through sticker bushes and climb over fallen logs, scaring scores of small animals from their early morning sleep. My face is frozen and wet from the silent tears I can’t control.
A few minutes after we start the search, I hear an unfamiliar voice calling Landon’s name as well, and Dare turns to me. “Mason has arranged for some of his security and bodyguards to help.”
The more the better, but I can’t help but wonder. “What does he do that he has men like that at his disposal?”
“He runs a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Houses them and protects them from disgruntled exes.”
It finally comes clear why he was able to help Colin so quickly. “But not with the law’s blessing?”
“Not always. Mason is a powerful guy with a lot of people in high places on his side.”
“I’m glad he’s on Landon’s side, then.”
The longest hour of my life passes and my stomach is one giant knot. The sun has been up for nearly two hours. I hope Landon is in the woods, in the shade somewhere, but even then, if he’s hurt and unable to move, hypothermia is a possibility.
Dare’s phone rings and he pounces on it, listening for a second before barking, “We’re on our way!”
His fingers wrap around my arm. “They found him. He’s alive.”
“Thank fuck!” I exclaim, my legs working overtime to keep up with Dare’s speedy strides. It occurs to me he said “he’s alive” not “he’s okay”. “Is he okay? Where is he? What happened?”
Dare shakes his head at my rapid fire questioning. “All I know is what I told you. He
’s on the other side of the lake.”
When we make it back to Dare’s SUV, he floors it back onto the road, circling the lake at breakneck speed. There’s a small crowd gathered around a large cedar tree. I recognize Justus and Jeremy, but two more men and a woman block my view of what they’re looking at.
I’m out of the SUV before it comes to a complete stop, and Dare’s command to stop falls on deaf ears. Whatever happened, I need to know. I need to see him. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the view I’m presented with when Jeremy takes a step back.
A rolled up tarp lies at the base of the tree, the outline of a body clearly discernible. Landon’s dark hair is visible at one end, standing out in all directions. My legs go weak at the sight, and I see his face in my mind, laughing when I told him he needed a haircut. That was two days ago. How the hell did we get here?
I fall on my knees beside him, in full panic mode and pull back the tarp. “Don’t do that!” Justus exclaims, and grabs me by the waist, pulling me back a few feet. Jeremy throws the tarp back over him, but I’ve seen enough.
“We have to keep the sun off him, Zo,” Justus explains in a soft voice while I struggle to free myself. “Don’t move the tarp, okay?”
“I won’t, but it’s too late! You saw him! We’re too late!” I sob.
Landon’s voice stops my hysterics. It’s faint and sounds like he has a throat full of sand, but it’s him. “Okay, Zo, baby. I’m here.”
Keeping my hands locked together to ward off the temptation of lifting the tarp, I sit beside his head and run my fingers through his hair, the only part of him I can reach. “I’m here, Landon. Please hold on.”
“An ambulance is on its way, man,” Jeremy adds. “Do you know who did this?”
“Heather George. Arlen George’s wife and some speed freak. Knocked me out. Tied me here.”
My eyes travel to the tree beside us and the thick ropes at the base. They tied him to a tree facing the sunrise. Tears begin to pour again. I only got a glimpse of him, but that’s all I needed to see the big picture. They stripped him to his boxer briefs, and every inch of skin I saw was an angry red color, not from the cold, but the sun. They used his disease against him.
“Get security to watch Colin. She’s crazy. Blames him too. Been following me.”
My gaze jumps to Dare. “Ethan is with Colin at my house.”
“Call them. Tell them someone from Striking Back will be there,” an unfamiliar blond man orders. Dare nods at me, and I comply.
Ethan answers the phone and agrees to let the security guy in. “Is Landon okay?” he asks, quietly.
“Yes, but we’ll be at the hospital for a while. Just stay inside and call 911 if Colin’s mom shows up there. No matter what Colin thinks, understand?”
“Yeah, I will.”
The ambulance shows up just as I hang up. The paramedics have been briefed on his condition and assure me a light tight room has been arranged once we arrive at the hospital, and Landon’s dermatologist and immunologist will be there.
They won’t let me ride in the ambulance with him, so Dare follows it to the hospital. “Have you ever seen him like this before? How long have you known him, anyway?” I fire the second question before he can even answer the first.
“I’ve known Landon since we were kids.” His hand leaves the steering wheel and runs through his hair. “And I’ve never seen him like this. He was diagnosed really young. I don’t think he’s ever been in the sun for more than a minute or so.” It’s clear he’s as worried as I am.
We arrive at the hospital and Landon is whisked away before I can see him. Dare, Jeremy, and I are lead to a small waiting room, where we’re joined by Justus and Mason Reed. Mason approaches me. “Two of my security guys are at your house and everything is fine. They’ll stay there until the attackers are caught.”
“Thank you,” I murmur.
He looks at Dare. “Alex is going to stay here while I go put some things in motion. We’ll catch the bitch.”
A few minutes later, I’m introduced to Alex, Mason’s brother, and another member of Striking Back. I recognize him as the blond from the lake. “They’ll let you go to him soon,” he says, speaking in a low tone. I’ve never met this man before today, but he sits beside me and takes my hand.
“How do you know Landon?”
“He’s done some hacking for me. I don’t know him well, but my husband, Ian, has worked with him before.”
A slim nurse dressed in scrubs steps in and asks for the family of Landon Clark. “I’m his wife,” I lie, getting to my feet. “How is he?”
“The doctor is with him now. I can take you to see him.”
As much as I want to run from the room, I glance around at the four men seated and eager for news. “What about them?”
“Family only.”
“They’re family. Brothers,” I argue.
With a look of disapproval, the nurse replies, “You can visit two at a time.”
Jeremy and Justus both nod at Dare, who joins me on the endless walk down the white sterile hall. “You can’t touch him,” the nurse cautions.
All the way down the hall, I tell myself that I won’t lose it when I see him, no matter how bad he looks, I’ll be strong for him. Still, tears fill my eyes as soon as I walk into his dimly lit room. A sheet is thrown across his groin, leaving the rest of his body bare. His skin is an angry red, almost purple in some places, and there’s a gash on the right side of his forehead. The whites of his eyes match his skin, but those eyes land on me as soon as I enter and a smile spreads across his face.
“Zoe. Don’t cry. I’ll be all right. Tell her, Doc.”
The doctor who is coating his legs in a thick white cream peeks up at me. “He’ll recover from the burns and dehydration, but you both need to be hypervigilant, especially for the next few months. Any new growth—even a freckle—or any change in current freckles or moles need to be checked out immediately to reduce the chance of skin cancer.”
“What are the chances that he’ll develop a cancerous growth?” I ask.
The doctor shakes his head. “I can’t give you a percentage. This is a rare disease and it acts differently in each patient.”
I sit beside Landon’s bed, and he reaches to take my hand, carefully because of the IV running into the back of his hand. “Your hands aren’t burnt?”
“They were tied behind me,” he replies.
Dare steps forward. “We’re on her trail, and the asshole with her.”
“She’s been following me. Bragged about it. Going through my mail. I had a flyer from the XP convention in Vegas next month. That must be how she found out what I have.”
Dare leans close to Landon and murmurs something that sounds like “pig food”.
Landon shakes his head. “No. Let the cops deal with them. Tell Mason. He’ll make sure they get the right judge.”
The doctor seems to turn a deaf ear to their conversation, and I remember that he’s been Landon’s doctor since he was a child. After slathering Landon’s body in the cream, he shows him how to hit a button to self-administer a pain med, then tells him he’ll check back in on him the next day.
“That ass wants to keep me a week,” Landon complains, but I can see the agony in his eyes.
“You’re hurting. Push the button, babe. Get some sleep. We aren’t going anywhere.”
“Don’t like drugs,” Landon gripes.
Instead of arguing, Dare marches to the side of the bed and presses the little red button. “Asshole,” Landon grumbles, but the lines in his face smooth out as he starts to relax.
“Love you too, dickhole,” Dare replies, pushing the button again.
Landon’s eyes flutter closed and his hand goes limp in mine. “Sit on this side of the bed. You can hit the button for him when he’s too stubborn.” His gaze sweeps over Landon’s body. “I can’t imagine how much that hurts.”
It’s the first time I notice how devastated he looks, and I wrap my arms around his bulky bod
y. He returns the favor and we stand there, holding each other for a moment. “He’ll be okay,” I whisper.
“Yes, he will.” He steps back and wipes his face. “I’m going to go make a few calls and let the other guys come see him.” He leaves, and I take my place in the chair where I’ll be spending my week. Beside my future husband.
Not two hours later, Mason’s brother Alex enters, a wide smile on his face. Landon is still asleep and I hope he stays that way for a while. He’s in too much pain when he wakes. “We got her. And her meth head partner. Our guy in the police department assures me they’re both being charged with assault, kidnapping, attempted murder, and anything else the prosecutor can think of.”
“Did she say why she did it?” I ask, running my thumb over Landon’s hand. I can’t seem to let go of him.
“She knew Landon was the one who called the cops when Colin was brought in for the suicide attempt. She said it was his fault Arlen killed himself by jumping off that bridge.” Intense eyes study mine from beneath a mop of blond curls. He knows the truth and is trying to discern whether I do.
“That son of a bitch got what was coming to him.”
Nodding, he hands me my phone. “You left it in the waiting room. Your brother is trying to reach you. I told him everything is fine. Everyone’s safe.”
“Thank you, I’ll call him.”
Chapter Fifteen
Landon
Ten days I was stuck in that hospital. Between the agony of feeling like a lit match was being held to every inch of my body and the mind altering drugs being pumped into my arm, the first few days are blurry. One thing I remember, every time I pulled myself from the sludge of unconsciousness and managed to force my eyes open, Zoe was there. Sometimes with a book in her hand, or her tablet, sometimes lying on a cot beside me, often just gazing at me with a heartbroken expression.
I’ve never felt so loved or cared for in my entire life. I was in and out of hospitals as a child, but other than a random visit from my mother, I was left to the care of the doctors and nurses. A chronically sick kid wasn’t going to put a damper on their travel plans. I didn’t begrudge them, after all, why should my disease screw up everyone else’s life as well as my own?