Cooper

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  I ran back toward my room, but went past and turned right down the hallway just past our room and ran for the escape hatch. I wasn’t supposed to know about it, but I overheard the ladies talking about how they made their escape at Christmas, and took my chance. Except, when I got to the room with the hatch, I realized that I was in a world of shit because there was a hand scanner and a code that needed to be entered. Taking a deep breath, I hoped that the scanner worked for all entrances and that the code was the same as the one I had been given.

  When the green light came on, I almost squealed in delight, but then quickly stifled it for fear of being caught. I had no idea where I was going when I slipped into the dimly lit tunnel, but it couldn’t be too hard to figure out. I set off down the tunnel, regretting my choice when I realized that the air flow in here sucked and I was starting to sweat. That was not going to make a good impression on Liam. God, this really sucked. After ten minutes of jogging down the tunnel, I finally came to an opening that was filled with Reed Security vehicles. I was in awe, just staring at the bat cave. Seriously, that’s what it was like. There was everything anyone would ever need down here from gear to weapons to car seats. It was freaking amazing.

  Forgoing the vehicles, I ran past them all for the large door that would lead me to freedom. Entering the number for the exit, I pushed the hatch open and climbed outside, then stopped in my tracks. I was in the middle of freaking nowhere. There were trees all around me, and no road anywhere in sight. I supposed that made sense because this was supposed to be a hidden exit, but still, how the hell was I supposed to get out of here?

  I looked back at the hatch I had just climbed out of and then back to the trees. A warning churned in my gut, telling me to turn around and go back, but I steeled my spine and shook off the bad feeling. I was not going to be ruled by anyone else anymore. I was going to that club, even if it took me all night. I pulled out my phone and called Jamie to let her know that I was going to be late.

  “He-o?”

  “Jamie? Can you hear me?”

  “What? I c-hear yo-”

  “Shit, Jamie, I’m running late. I’ll meet you there, okay?”

  There was more static and then the call dropped. “Shit.” I stared down at the screen and tried to call her back, but I was now getting no service. I chewed my lip as I looked around at the trees. This was probably a bad idea. It was going to get dark soon, and if I didn’t get to the road, wherever that was, I would get stuck out here in the dark. But going back felt like defeat. It was like saying that I would stay and live my life according to my dad’s terms.

  Glancing around the trees again, I decided to just start walking and get the hell out of here. I pulled up the app on my phone for maps, but since I wasn’t getting service, the app wasn’t working. With one last glance at the hatch, I turned and started walking through the trees in the opening where vehicles would drive, if there was a road out here. It didn’t take long for my feet to start aching from walking in my high heels.

  I grimaced every time my heels sank into the soft ground. They were already covered in mud and my hair was already coming loose from the cute updo I had done. All around me, the forest creaked and groaned, letting me know that I wasn’t alone. I tried to ignore the noises. I was determined to make it out of here and have some fun. But as the sky started to darken, I wondered if this was all one huge mistake.

  The further into the forest I walked, the clearer it became that not only was I lost, but this was by far the stupidest thing I had ever done. A rustling off to the right had me jolting to a halt and searching for whatever animal was out there hunting me, but when some squirrels ran out of the trees, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  You’re so stupid. Seriously, what were you thinking? You’re not even dressed for hiking and you really thought you could find your way out of here?

  Slipping off my shoes, I turned back around and immediately slipped in some mud and fell flat on my ass. Grimacing, I pushed myself off the ground and wiped the mud on my now filthy outfit. I wasn’t even sure what I had been thinking buying it. I only bought it because I thought Liam, this guy that Jamie introduced me to, said that he liked stuff like this. It wasn’t even my style. Not that I really had a style. I didn’t even know what was in style because the only experience I had with kids my age was from the short time that I worked at the ice cream shop with Jamie. She was literally my only friend, and I wasn’t even sure that she liked me all that much. It was more a friendship of convenience for both of us, since neither of us had many friends.

  Night fell quickly, much faster than I had anticipated. The moonlight through the trees cast an eerie glow around me, making my heart beat out of control. I picked up my pace and started rushing through the trees. The branches poked at my face and the smaller ones scraped at me, leaving little trails of blood all over my skin. My harsh breathing sounded like strong winds to my own ears.

  I could hear the panic in my own voice as little sounds of fear escaped my lips the further I ran. I pushed faster, wishing that I had never had the stupid idea of going out on my own against Dad’s wishes. I just wanted to get back home and slip inside and pretend that I had never attempted to leave. But the problem was, in the dark, everything looked different and I couldn’t find the hatch. I stopped where I was, my head swiveling in every direction as sounds filled the night. The terror rushing through me was almost enough to send me into a full meltdown.

  I almost slapped myself when I remembered that phones had a flashlight feature. I quickly pulled it out, fumbling with it as I fought the panic to pull up the app. I shone my phone around the wooded area, trying to find out where I needed to go. My breath came out in fast gasps now as I stared off into the darkness. Everything made me jump, even just the trees that stood in my path.

  “You’re so stupid. Why did you come out here? You should never have snuck out.”

  I looked at my phone again, but I still had no reception. I couldn’t even call Dad and tell him I had fucked up. I would take his anger right now if only I could feel safe in the panic room. I typed out a text message and hit send, hoping that when I found service, it would go through. I wasn’t sure if it worked that way, but I could hope.

  Taking a deep breath, I held the light up again and looked around the trees, trying to find some hint of where I was. Four eyes startled me and I jumped back with a squeak. As I looked closer, it was clear that those eyes were not from animals. They were human. One of them stepped forward and a chill raced down my spine. He didn’t try and talk or anything, but the devious look that appeared on his face had me stumbling back. They weren’t looking at me like they wanted to help. The body language was all wrong. These men were predators. Swallowing hard, I quickly hit the button on the light app and plunged us into darkness. I turned and ran, dropping my heels. I wouldn’t need them out here.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Coop

  I listened to Storm ramble on about how he had fucked up with Jessica again. Something about sex, but I didn’t really want to know. They had weird sex and I wasn’t really interested in hearing the details. I glanced down the hall, trying not to make it obvious that I was looking for a way out. Looking at my watch, I realized that if I didn’t get ready, I was going to be late for my date with Becky.

  “Hey, I hate to cut you off, but I have a date that I have to get ready for.”

  “Well, what should I do?”

  “About what?”

  He looked at me incredulously. He leaned in after looking around and whispered, “About my problem.”

  Shit, I hadn’t actually heard what his problem was. I scrubbed a hand over my mouth and came up with the first thing that might make sense. “Go to the mattresses.”

  He reared back and jabbed a finger at me. “You’re fucking sick.”

  He stormed away, giving me the opportunity to get ready. After showering and getting dressed, I knocked on Kayla’s door, but there was no answer. I opened it, but it was empty. I pulled out
my phone and called her, but there was still no answer. I quickly left to go look for her so that I could let her know that I would be late tonight, but she was nowhere to be found.

  “Have you seen Kayla?” I asked Tony.

  “Not since this morning. Why?”

  “She wasn’t in the room and she’s not answering her phone.”

  “Shit, do you think she slipped out again?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t see how. Rob put up all sorts of precautions for me.”

  He slapped me on the shoulder and jerked his head. “Well, let’s go find her. I’m sure that she’s around here somewhere.”

  We both checked the panic room again, but came up with nothing. Then we went to the training center, but it was dark. Everyone had gone home for the night. I headed for the IT room in the main building. When Tacos and I walked in, Rob cursed.

  “What the fuck is wrong now?”

  “I can’t find Kayla. I need you to find out if she left.”

  He looked at me strangely, shaking his head. “I haven’t had any alerts of anyone coming or going since everyone headed home. Unless she slipped out in someone’s back seat again,” he muttered under his breath.

  I started pacing the room as Rob looked through all the different feeds, trying to find any sign of my girl. It was taking forever, and the longer it took to find any hint of her, the more worried I got. I pulled out my phone and called her again, but I still didn’t get any answer. I dialed Becky next.

  “Hey, I’m on my way.”

  “I’m gonna have to cancel. Kayla disappeared again.”

  Silence met me and an uneasy feeling filled me. “Um…I helped her get out.”

  I stood there in stunned silence for a minute, not sure what to say. She had helped Kayla get out?

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  I felt Rob and Tony stiffen, but didn’t worry about them right now.

  “Look, I’ll be there in two minutes and I’ll explain everything.”

  “You’d better. How could you do this to me?”

  “Two minutes,” she said before hanging up the phone.

  “What the fuck happened?” Tacos asked.

  “Becky helped her get out.”

  “Why the fuck would she do that?”

  I didn’t have an answer for him. Rob went back to looking for any sign of her, but he wasn’t having any luck. Five minutes later, Becky walked into the IT room and took a seat at the bank of computers, like she fucking belonged there.

  “I gave her a special code so she could get out when she really needed to.”

  “Why the fuck would she need to get out? I told you why I didn’t want her going out on her own.”

  She spun around in her chair and glared at me. “You treat her like a misbehaving child. She’s almost eighteen and she’s not allowed out unless you know her every move. I would understand if you needed to know where she was going and who she was with, but you track her every move. You haven’t let her out since that night. You’re suffocating her. You have to trust her.”

  “Obviously, I can’t since she went behind my back and left the property. Why didn’t the code come up in the system?”

  “Because I masked it. She enters the code to leave, but it doesn’t show as anything in the system. It basically makes her invisible unless she’s caught on camera.”

  “And you didn’t think this could cause a major security breach?”

  “Only the person with the code can come and go. I made it very clear that she couldn’t give the code to anyone.”

  “Well, I’m glad you had so much faith in her.”

  “Look, I’m sure she was just meeting her friend, Jamie. Why don’t you call her and I’ll find out when she left.”

  She gave me the name of the friend and Rob looked up her information. Two minutes later, I was calling the number.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Jamie Hutton?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Jamie, this is Daniel Cooper, Kayla’s father. Do you know where she is?”

  “Uh…”

  “Jamie, don’t fuck with me right now. I need-”

  The phone was yanked out of my hand by Tacos with a glare. “Jamie, my name is Tony. We know that Kayla snuck out and we need to know where she is…Uh-huh….Okay, please call this number if you hear from her.”

  He hung up and handed me the phone. “Well?”

  “She called Jamie about an hour ago, but the line was cutting in and out. She couldn’t understand her, and when she called back, it went right to voicemail.”

  “Shit! Rob, can you track her phone?”

  “I already tried. I’m not getting anything.”

  My jaw clenched in anger and it took everything in me not to walk over to Becky and fucking strangle her for doing this. I watched as her fingers flew across the keyboard and then she sat up straight. “I’ve got it. She went out the escape hatch.”

  “What?”

  Becky shook her head slowly, her brows furrowed as she concentrated, pulling up the footage. An image of Kayla slipping out the hatch and into the woods filled the screen in front of me. She glanced around and then took off walking through the woods, dressed in a provocative outfit that I didn’t know she fucking owned. When she was gone from the screen, Becky fast forwarded, looking for her to come back, but she never did.

  I swallowed hard and stumbled back a step. My little girl was out there in the woods right now, all alone. There was no way of knowing where she went or if she was in trouble.

  “Sensors aren’t showing that she left the property,” Rob informed me.

  “Send out an alert to anyone available,” I said quietly. “I need everyone here to help me look for her.”

  Becky stood slowly, tears in her eyes. “Coop, I’m so sorry. I never thought-”

  I cut her off with a glare. I didn’t have time for her apologies right now. I was so angry that I could ring her neck. And if I didn’t have to worry about finding my daughter, I just might do that. She put Kayla in danger, and no amount of tears would make up for what she had done.

  “We’re through. Help me find my daughter and then we’re done. Understood?”

  She nodded slightly, tears slipping down her cheeks. She sat back down and got to work, her fingers flying over the keyboard. It fucking hurt like hell to walk away, but I couldn’t be with a woman that went behind my back and knowingly put my daughter in danger. She knew why I had to keep Kayla safe, but she didn’t listen. She didn’t care. She thought she knew best, and now my daughter was out there, alone and wandering the woods. She’d better pray that my daughter made it out of there alive.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “Alright,” Cap shouted over the noise. “You all have your orders. Let’s move out! If you find Kayla, call it in right away.”

  We were all in the room with the escape hatch, preparing to go out to look for my daughter. Half of us would go out on foot, while the other half were going to take the SUVs out to drive along the perimeter. It was the best position to start from. She was on foot in high heels, where-as we were all prepared for a situation like this. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too hard to track her.

  Cap walked up to me and gripped my shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine. We’ll find her and then you can give her the third degree. But trust me, you’ll just be so fucking happy that you found her that none of this will matter.”

  Right. I’d be fucking thrilled and I’d suddenly forget that my daughter lied and the woman I loved went behind my back. I moved for the door that would let us all out and slipped out into the night. All the lights outside the property were on, allowing us to see for about a quarter mile away from the hatch.

  My team moved quickly, searching for any sign of her. It wasn’t hard to follow her tracks through the woods, but there was no sign of her other than her footprints. We moved through the forest for about a half hour before we came across a turn in her prints. She kicked off her heels and continued bare
foot. She must have thought she was heading back to the compound, but with it being dark, she probably didn’t realize that she was heading in a different direction, just slightly off course. As she continued walking, her tracks veered even further off track. The rest of the guys were spread out on either side of me, mostly as support since we knew where she was going.

  “I’ve got tracks over here,” Ice said over coms. “Two sets of prints. Looks like men’s boots, size thirteen, I’d say.”

  I kept following Kayla’s tracks and hoped that those other footprints were older or had nothing to do with her. But then her prints very clearly stopped, and her shoes were laying on the ground. My heart jumped to my throat and felt like it was choking me. I stood in place, but followed where she very obviously started running.

  “I’ve got her phone,” Burg said to my right. “You’re gonna want to see this.”

  Shaking off the feeling of dread, I followed her footprints over to where Burg was standing. Her phone laid on the ground and there were large indentations where she had fallen or had been tackled to the ground. There was obviously a struggle and then lines from where her feet dragged through the mud on the ground. I started running, following the tracks through the forest, praying that what I was thinking had happened wasn’t true. She had to be alive still. She had to be holding on. There was no other option at this point.

  My heart thundered in my chest and my vision went white for a second as I let the fear take over. Shaking it off, I focused on finding her. That was all I could do right now. I couldn’t waste my time thinking about the “what ifs”.