Chapter Twenty-eight
Victor
I t’s been two days since we brought the emails to the police, and still nothing.
I’m not sure how much longer the four of us can hold it together. Jason is trying his hardest to mother hen us, but I can tell it’s wearing on him.
The night we showed up at the station, we were informed they’d found Dani’s rental on the opposite side of town from Gary’s place with her phone and purse still inside.
The phone was dead, but they assured us they were trying to get records from her mobile provider, but that takes time.
They also promised they would look into Gary and get eyes on him.
Then yesterday, Officer Ellsworth showed up to let us know Gary had an alibi for the night Dani went missing.
Something about a poker game at his neighbor’s.
She also told us she’s not sure about Gary—that something seems off with him.
The detectives on the case wanted to pull the men off Gary, but she went to the chief to voice her concerns.
Somehow, she was able to convince him to keep eyes on the asshole.
But we haven’t heard a damn thing from anyone since then, and I’m going stir crazy.
I know I shouldn’t have, but I looked up Gary’s address online. I know where he lives. All I would need to do is slip out of the house quietly, and then I could go over there and find my girl.
No, that’s not right. She’s our girl.
And that’s the only reason I’m not in my car right now. I know all four of us want answers, that we’re all going crazy.
But I’m keeping it in my back pocket.
Although with the luck we’ve had over the last few days, she probably wouldn’t even be there. He could be keeping her anywhere.
“Fuck,” I curse, running my hand through my hair.
“What’s going on?” Jason asks, blinking open his eyes, and I curse myself internally.
I barely got the three of them to lie down an hour ago, and now Jason is awake and the other two are stirring.
“Why aren’t you asleep, Vic?” Jason asks with a yawn, rubbing a hand against his bleary eye. “Did something happen?”
I shake my head, urging him to be quiet as I watch Maya and Andrés, who are wrapped around each other as they sleep. “No. I just couldn’t sleep. I can’t seem to get my head to turn off.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised I could. I didn’t think I’d fall asleep.” He tugs on my hand. “Just come lie down with us. Maybe your body will just give in like mine did.”
I scoff, knowing just how unlikely that is, but let him drag me down beside him. He hums as he cuddles into my chest, and he’s asleep in seconds.
Fuck, I love him so much.
Glancing at Maya and Andrés once more, I realize just how much I love all of them—even Maya. Sure, the love I feel for her is more familial than with the others, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
When Dani makes it back to us, I don’t care what I have to do. I’m keeping my damn family together.
Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to rest my eyes for a bit, I let them fall shut as I wrap myself around Jason.
At some point, I must fall asleep because the next thing I know, I’m being jerked awake by the sound of my phone.
I roll away from Jason, grasping for it on the bedside table and answering it without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Victor Ackland?” The voice on the other end sounds vaguely familiar in my half-asleep state.
“This is him.”
“Oh, good. This is Officer Ellsworth. We’ve recovered Danielle Williams.”
That has me shooting up in bed. “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?”
Her laughter travels down the line. “We found Dani, Victor. She’s okay. A little worse for wear, but she’s going to be fine. She’s on her way to the hospital now.”
“Which hospital?” I ask, already climbing out of bed.
“Victor?” Andrés sits up with a frown, but I hold my hand up as Officer Ellsworth gives me the hospital information.
“Was it him? Was it Gary?”
There’s a moment of hesitation. “The abductor is in custody.”
“Come on, Officer Ellsworth. Don’t start holding back on me now.”
“Fuck. You’re trying to get me fired, aren’t you?
” She curses again. “Fine. Yes. It was Gary Monroe. He had her tied up in his spare bedroom with a gag in her mouth. The walls were plastered with pictures of her from early in her life, leading up until now. Victor, he’s extremely off in the head.
There were pictures of her when she couldn’t have been older than six or seven. ”
“Fucking hell. So he’s been stalking her that long?”
She sighs. “I can’t say for sure, but it looks like it’s possible. Look, when the detectives come to inform you of this, you need to pretend like you don’t already know.”
I nod even though she can’t see me. “We’ll keep your job safe. Plus, I’m sure Dani will tell us most of this.”
“Yeah. Maybe. I have to go. She’ll be arriving at the hospital in about five minutes.”
“Thank you,” I tell her genuinely before ending the call. When I look up, I see three hopeful faces staring back at me.
Relief courses through me as tears fill my eyes. “They found her. She’s okay. She’s on her way to the hospital.”
Maya immediately bursts into tears. Andrés and Jason wrap their arms around her. I climb onto the bed and join them as all four of us cry tears of relief.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Maya chants repeatedly, although it takes me a while to figure out what she’s saying.
I pull back so I can see her face. “Who are you thanking?”
“God? The universe? The fates?” She snorts. “I have no idea. I’m thanking whoever made sure she came back to us.”
I laugh, running my hand over my face. “Okay, we need to get to the hospital, but I’m sure it’ll be a while before we can see her. They’ll need to check her over first, and I’m not going to lie—we all smell like shit. We all need a shower before we leave.”
“What are you talking about?” Jason shakes his head. “We need to get to her.”
Maya laughs. “No, Victor is right. We need showers. We might as well take them now. I’m definitely not showing up to apologize to Dani smelling like this.”
That causes us all to laugh as we climb out of bed. I drag Jason into our shower while Andrés leads Maya toward one of the guest baths.
Not long now, and we’ll be able to hold our girl in our arms.
This is the happiest day of my life.