by Autumn Reed
Once she finished her story, I lay back on the mattress and closed my eyes, wishing the pain away. It was difficult to focus when it felt like a thousand tiny needles were poking into my head, face, and eyes. Still, I tried to put the pieces together. It sounded like my kidnappers were involved in some type of human trafficking, but that didn’t explain why I’d been taken. Apart from being female, I didn’t appear to have anything in common with the others.
All I knew was that I needed to take advantage of any opportunity to escape.
Rolling to my side, I asked Carmen, “Have they been giving you food?”
“Sí.”
“Three times a day?”
She nodded.
“You’ve had two meals today?”
She nodded again.
That meant the door would be opening within a few hours. I was too weak to wait in position, and they would likely notice me on the camera and expect an attack, anyway. Instead, once I was feeling a little better, I would sit up with my feet planted on the ground and be ready to spring into action as soon I heard the lock. Although there were a number of unknown quantities, I had to believe that taking a guard by surprise might actually work.
In the meantime, I grilled my cellmate about everything she’d observed and done since arriving at the house. She told me she’d seen three different male guards at different times of the day, all carrying guns. One would open the door at mealtime and slide food and a bottle of water in the room before escorting her to the bathroom. Thankfully, they allowed her to mostly close the door and waited outside, something I hoped would continue.
The rest of the time, she’d been stuck in this room, alone and incredibly scared. I watched her demeanor change as I coaxed information out of her. What started as despair was transforming into hope, little by little, and I didn’t want to let her down.
When I heard the distinct sound of metal sliding on the other side of the door, I jumped to my feet, cursing as pain shot to the back of my head, making my vision hazy. While the door inched open, I took a few deep breaths and quietly advanced.
As soon as a handgun came into view, I grabbed the guard’s wrist and knocked the gun out of his hand, just as I’d practiced repeatedly in training and later with Knox. My eyes tracked the weapon as it slid out of reach. Carmen called out in alarm, and I barely had enough time to duck out of the way before the guard’s fist barreled toward my face. I rushed him, tackling him to the floor. As I retreated, he caught my ankle, and I fell onto my side. Despite the pain coursing through my hip, I kicked out of his hold and desperately reached for the gun.
“Freeze!”
Looking up, I found a second guard standing in the doorway, his gun pointed directly at my head. Knowing I was out of options, I stilled and held my hands up, only vaguely aware of Carmen sobbing behind me.
The first guard lumbered to his feet and retrieved his weapon, glaring at me the entire time. “You’re going to regret that, bitch. Now, move.”
My entire body shaking, I silently followed their instructions as they directed me down a short hall to the bathroom. Guns were pointed at my back and front while they lectured me on not trying anything stupid. When I entered the bathroom, it was immediately clear that escape would once again be impossible. The only window was small and boarded up. Of course.
I quickly took care of business and studied my surroundings as I walked back to my “cell.” There were two other rooms with identical steel doors, so I had to assume that’s where the other women were being held. Down the hall, I could make out a living room with a television and couch and more boarded windows. Nothing else was visible from my position.
After giving Carmen a sad smile, I returned to my mattress, ignoring the distasteful scent of the TV dinner waiting for me. For the first time since waking, I allowed my thoughts to drift to the guys’ reactions once they discovered I was missing. They probably hadn’t even realized it yet, since they expected me to be in class. When I didn’t turn up at the loft, would they panic? Even worse, they might believe I’d decided to run again. After how I’d pushed them away, I wouldn’t be surprised if they jumped to that conclusion.
My chest ached. Would they even bother searching for me?
As soon as the thought entered my mind, I suppressed it. The guys would always come looking for me, no matter how badly I had treated them. That’s who they were. That’s how much I meant to them.
If there was anything I felt certain of, it was that Jackson, Liam, Theo, Chase, and Knox would find me. They would never give up, and neither would I.
19
Breaking
Jackson
I stared at the scratches in the Zenith conference table, unable to look up at the faces surrounding me. The sun was rising, and Haley was still missing. I’d let my team down. Again.
Not so long ago, I’d considered failure the worst thing that could happen to me. Now, I knew there was something exponentially worse—losing Haley. The first time she disappeared was akin to a punch to the gut. This time felt like being crushed by a double-decker bus. If we didn’t find her, there was no coming back from this. And I knew I wasn’t the only one thinking it.
“What’s the plan, boss?” Knox’s voice was scratchy with exhaustion, but when I finally let my gaze meet his, he appeared steady and alert. For once, I wished he was in charge instead of being second-in-command. I needed . . . well, something. Caffeine. A break. Or maybe to break something.
I took a long swig of coffee as I gathered my thoughts. The list. Before calling this meeting, I’d made a list. I merely needed to read it. Follow it. I could do this.
Glancing at the first item, I said, “I’m meeting Kenneth at his hotel in thirty minutes. Hopefully, he can shed some light on what might have happened. While I’m doing that, I want you all to pack up any equipment you might need and move to Uncle’s. We’ll make his house the official command center. I’m having breakfast delivered in an hour, and you all need to eat first thing.”
“I’m not hungry,” Theo muttered, and my eyes snapped to his face. His usually immaculately-styled hair was disheveled, and he was in desperate need of a shave. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume he’d been sick for the last week.
“I don’t care. We have to keep our strength up if we have any chance of being productive. That goes for sleeping, as well. After breakfast, you and Liam will make use of the guest rooms. I don’t want to see or hear anything from you for at least four hours.” Liam opened his mouth to argue, but I interrupted him before he could speak. “That’s an order.”
I snuck another peek at my list, hating that I felt so rattled I couldn’t even keep my thoughts in order. “Chase, your first priority is to set up as many searches and alerts as possible. I’d also like you to take a closer look at Haley’s phone, in case we missed something.”
He nodded, his typically clear blue eyes appearing shadowed, something that would only get worse as the hours dragged on. I turned my attention to Knox. “For now, I want you to assist Chase. I’ll update your instructions after my meeting.”
I expected him to argue, but he agreed with a jerk of his head, and I let out a relieved breath. I knew he’d rather be out in the field, doing something, anything, but we were completely devoid of actionable leads. There was nowhere to send him.
Without giving them the opportunity to object to my instructions, I grabbed my phone and left the room.
Uncle intercepted me in the hallway. “Ready?”
“You don’t need to go.”
He moved into step next to me and squeezed my shoulder. “I’d like to be there. Besides, you’re in no condition to drive.”
My fingers tightened on my phone as I attempted to ignore the tremble coursing through my hand. He was right. I shouldn’t drive, but I wasn’t about to admit it. “You haven’t slept either.”
“No, but I’m not on the verge of a breakdown.”
“I’m not having a breakdown.
His expression was one of
compassion mixed with concern. “Maybe not, but I’ve never seen you this on edge.”
I didn’t reply, and we walked in silence to his car. Just when I thought he was going to let it drop, he said, “Being worried isn’t a character flaw, you know. It’s perfectly understandable for you to be emotional.”
“Being worried and letting it show are two different things. I’m supposed to be above all that.”
He chuckled softly. “Even you are human, Jax. I would be a hell of a lot more troubled right now if you were completely in control.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face, secretly grateful he had insisted on driving. “Regardless, I have to get it together. Now, more than any other moment in my life, I need to be able to focus. I need to lead. Everyone is counting on me.”
“Just remember,” he said as he pulled into the valet circle, “you’re not alone in this. You’re part of a team—lean on them as they lean on you. They’ll thank you for it.”
I nodded, even if I wasn’t sure I agreed, then readied myself to question Kenneth. There had been something off about his explanation of events last night, and I intended to get to the bottom of it.
He sat in the back corner of the hotel restaurant, looking exceedingly rested and relaxed in comparison to Uncle and me. As we approached, a waiter placed three steaming plates with oversized omelets, crispy potatoes, and toast on the table.
“Perfect timing,” Kenneth said with a smile while we took our seats across from him.
Irritated with his jovial manner, I reached for the carafe of coffee and poured until my mug was almost overflowing. When I took a drink, it burned my tongue, and I just drank more. Who cared about a little pain at a time like this?
“How much longer are you staying in San Jose?” Uncle asked.
“I’m scheduled to fly out Monday morning, but I can stay longer, if you need my help running the office during this crisis.”
“Thank you. I’ll let you know.”
I picked at my eggs, the smell making my stomach churn. For all of my insistence that we needed to keep our strength up, I could barely force myself to swallow more than a bite. Eventually, I gave up on the omelet and ate a few potatoes and a slice of dry toast.
“Do you have any idea why Haley left her phone at the training center?” I asked Kenneth, not wanting to put this off any longer. “She’s usually very diligent about carrying it.”
“Well, that’s actually my fault. I collected the trainees’ phones before sending them on their assignments.”
My fork clattered against my plate, and Kenneth’s sheepish expression did nothing to curtail my rising anger. “You did what?”
“I thought it would be an effective training tactic. This generation is too attached to technology. They need to learn how to complete assignments without relying on their smartphones. Anything can happen in the field. You should know that better than anyone, Jackson.”
Was he seriously bringing up the shooting right now? It took everything in me not to reach across the table and slap the superiority off his face.
Thankfully, Uncle spoke up before I had a chance to. “That’s against Zenith policy, Ken, as you well know.”
He nodded then hung his head, finally appearing regretful. “I’m sorry. I never imagined something like this would happen.”
I tamped down my frustration and considered the implications of what Kenneth had said. Haley didn’t choose to leave her phone behind, which made it even more unlikely that she’d disappeared on purpose. As much as I hadn’t wanted to believe that she’d left us again, part of me had been hoping that’s exactly what happened, despite finding her purse in the Jeep. At least that explanation would mean she was probably safe. Now, I had as much proof as I needed that she’d been taken . . . or worse.
Likely sensing I was even more unsettled than before, Uncle took over the questioning. It was quickly apparent we were wasting our time, though. Kenneth didn’t have any idea why Haley’s Jeep ended up in such an undesirable area of town, and he hadn’t noticed anything odd about her behavior yesterday. He promised to let us know if he thought of anything, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath. Like the Jeep, Kenneth was merely another dead end.
As Uncle and I walked into his house twenty minutes later, he casually said, “I called Stephen Jones.”
I froze mid-step. “What? When?”
“First thing this morning.”
“And you’re just now telling me this?”
He gave me a hard look. “I didn’t think you needed anything else on your plate until after the meeting with Ken.”
I rolled my neck to work out the kinks and cringed when it cracked loudly. “When will he arrive?”
“This afternoon. I’m going to offer him the pool house, and he’ll want to help with the search.”
“Great. Because my life isn’t already difficult enough.”
“This isn’t about you, Jax,” Uncle admonished. “He’s Haley’s father, and he’s a good detective. We need all the help we can get. In fact, I want to bring several members of Team Falcon on as well, if you approve.”
“Kara and Tyler. Not Scott.” The last thing I needed was to deal with that egomaniac on top of everything else. “Logan is okay, too.”
“Good. I’ll brief them first thing tomorrow.”
Tomorrow. He was already assuming we wouldn’t find her today, which I would have agreed with if I wasn’t so damned determined to end this nightmare. Since we had zero hints as to her whereabouts, it wasn’t likely she would randomly appear. We needed a new lead, and fast.
When I made my way into Uncle’s home office, I was relieved to find it empty apart from Chase, who was sitting at a corner desk with three oversized monitors up and running. He was so fixated on his work, he didn’t notice me enter the room and walk up behind him. I started to say something but closed my mouth when I realized what he was doing.
Chase held Haley’s phone and was scrolling through her photo album. He flipped past several landscapes before pausing on one of her sticking her tongue out at the camera, and I smiled in spite of myself. If I had to guess, Theo had taken that one. He bypassed more random photos, only stopping when one of Knox filled the screen. It was clearly an intimate moment. Knox was in his bed, shirtless, and Haley had caught an expression I’d never seen from him. His half-smile was wholly satisfied, making me instantly jealous. Not because I didn’t want Knox to have her in that way, but because I couldn’t fucking wait for my chance to finally show her how I felt.
I cleared my throat and Chase jumped, dropping the phone on the desk in front of him. His guilty expression didn’t tell me whether he was upset at being caught pausing on the photo of Knox or because he’d been caught snooping.
“Where’s Knox?”
“He went for a run. Needed to clear his head.”
Good. “Does that bother you?” I tilted my head toward the phone, knowing he would understand my meaning. Jealousy was inevitable, at least to some degree.
He grabbed the back of his neck and stared at the floor. “Not like I thought it would. It mostly reminds me of how happy all of us were.” His head lifted, and I saw the unmistakable glimmer of building tears. “I never thought this thing with the six of us could work, but I’d actually started believing it was possible. Now—”
“Stop,” I practically roared. “Don’t even go there. We’re going to find her. She’ll stay with all of us. We’re going to live happily ever after. The end.”
“How do you know?”
“It’s who we are. We find people. We make everything okay.”
If only I could find a way to believe my own words.
20
Watched
Haley
I stayed awake for hours after Carmen cried herself to sleep, keeping a vigilant watch on the door as I racked my brain for ideas. Plagued by her distress, as well as the sobs emanating from the other side of the wall, where some of the other women were being held, it was no wonder I struggled to sle
ep. I must have dozed off at some point, because I woke with a crick in my neck and the distinct feeling of being watched.
Rubbing my eyes, I looked around the wretched room. The camera blinked from its perch in the corner, an ever-present reminder that we were being monitored. The overhead light was still on, but that didn't mean anything since it remained lit twenty-four seven.
I glanced down at my watch, not surprised to discover it was a little after six. On a normal day, I'd be climbing out of bed, or one of the guys would be tugging me back under the covers. Knox and I would go for a run, we'd eat breakfast with Chase and Theo, and then I'd get ready. It was all so easy, so . . . nice.
Thinking about the guys had me swallowing past the lump in my throat. By now, they had to realize I was missing, and I hated that our most recent interactions had been fraught with tension. All those doubts and fears seemed insignificant in comparison to my current predicament.
I thought back to the day when Theo showed up at Percolate, shocking me with a scorching kiss and persuading me to come home. This time, I hadn't left by choice, and I wished on all the stars I couldn't see that they would know.
Carmen rolled on her side to face me, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “Buenos días.”
“Good morning.” I stood from the bed, stretching my achy limbs. Pain shot down my hip, and I sucked in a deep breath. Reminded of my confrontation with the guard last night, I wondered if they would punish me.
“You okay?” Carmen shifted to a seated position, her voice tinged with concern.
I nodded. Whining about my persistent headache, the giant bruise probably forming on my hip, and the lack of an escape plan wouldn't accomplish anything. I needed to stay focused. It was up to me to get us, and the other women, out of here safely.
From what she had told me, there were four other women, bringing the group to six total. Apart from occasionally passing one of them on the way to the bathroom, Carmen hadn’t seen them since arriving here.