Chapter Thirty-Seven - Rachel
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Rachel
Present
I pull into Meredith’s driveway in record time, having broken every roadway law on the ride here. My phone is blowing up with calls from Elli, Kade, Alec, and even Moreno, but I ignore them all.
I race from my car to her front door and take the spare key from under the potted plant by the porch stairs. I don’t even consider knocking—I just unlock the door and throw it open in one motion.
“Meredith!” I scream, not holding out hope that this is all in my head.
It isn’t.
Though I have no idea what her motives are, I know she’s the one who’s been embezzling from the base, likely for years now. Did she know who I was when we met? Was our meeting even a coincidence? Was any of our friendship real?
But none of that matters right now. I can’t feel the sting of our lost friendship over my fear for Ryder’s safety. Nothing matters aside from him.
“Meredith!” I scream, but there’s no answer again.
I search the house—going through the kitchen, living room, and dining room, then making my way upstairs. I check Meredith and Dominic’s room with no luck, and I’m starting to second-guess myself.
But then I get to the basement door.
I often forget Meredith has a basement—it’s unfinished and only used for storage—but now, I can’t tear my eyes from the door that seems to be taunting me.
It’s the first time I’ve slowed since stepping foot in the house, but I can’t help it. The chill creeping upward goes bone deep, and I’m genuinely afraid of what I’m about to find.
I open the door, and the click of the knob echoes off the narrow walls.
Flipping on the light switch, I force my feet to descend the stairs even when nausea slams into me as the room comes into full view. I’ve been in this basement only a few times, but this isn’t what it looked like before.
The stained-fabric armchair with restraints on the arms and legs sits beside a metal table littered with discarded needles. There’s an empty glass on the other side, but other than that, the concrete room is bare.
My hands clutch my chest with the crushing realization that Ryder—my Ryder—was kept in these conditions. He was strapped to this chair and injected with who-knows-what for an entire week.
And now he’s gone.
Am I too late?
This is all your fault. The voice comes with its usual hiss and a rush of guilt that nearly knocks me to my knees.
I’m about to turn on my heels to leave this nightmare of a room when the half-full glass on the table catches my eye.
Or rather, the condensation on it.
I force my legs forward, brushing my fingers against the cool moisture.
They must have just left.
I run up the steps, phone in hand, and dial Moreno’s number. I know he’s going to be furious with me for taking off without explanation, but I couldn’t reveal Meredith’s potential involvement until I confirmed it. If I’d been wrong, it could’ve meant dire consequences for her and Dominic.
But I’m not wrong, and the consequences have long surpassed dire.
“I swear, I’ll put a hit on you if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on,” Moreno practically growls the words.
“Meredith Ashford,” I tell him. “My friend—Dominic’s mother—she’s the one who took Ryder.”
“And why the hell didn’t you just say that?” he asks before murmuring her name to someone, likely Kade.
“I had to be sure, and I am now. I’m at her house, but it’s empty,” I tell him, and steady my voice so it doesn’t break as I tell him the rest. “I-I found a chair in the basement… it has restraints attached to it, and there’s a bunch of needles on a table…
I think he’s been drugged this whole time. ”
“He isn’t there now?”
“No, but they couldn’t have left long ago.” I tell him about the condensation on the glass.
“Is there anything else you can tell us? What she drives, license plate number, anything?”
I know the make and model of her car but nothing else, so I give him that information, and Kade has the license plate number in a matter of seconds.
“Do you have any idea why she’d do something like this?”
“She has to be the one who’s been embezzling from the base. Maybe she thought he was onto her? But that wouldn’t explain why she kept him alive.”
There’s a long pause before he asks, “In that basement, did you see any evidence that he’d been tortured?”
Stomach acid crawls up my throat, and I strain to speak. “No. Just the needles.”
“That’s good,” he mutters. “If money is what she’s after, she’s likely planning to sell him to an enemy family.”
“What would happen to him then?”
Moreno doesn’t answer that.
“I’ll call Elise’s brothers to get the Consolis on this. If other families are involved, we’ll need all the help we can get.”
“Hey!” I hear Kade’s muffled shout from somewhere behind Moreno. “A traffic camera just caught the car on Kilkenny Street. The GPS is taking her to a parking garage off Six and Sycamore. Do we have soldiers in the area?”
“No soldiers,” Moreno grunts. “If this gets out, other families might take advantage of our crisis. And we still have no idea who is aligned with Mason. We can’t risk it.”
I type the address into my phone. “I’m only twenty minutes from there. I can—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Moreno clips. “Get in your car and go home to your daughter.”
“How far away are you?”
He hesitates. “An hour.”
“That’s too late.”
“I’m serious, Rachel. You will get in your car and go home now. This is family business, and you have no right getting involved.”
“Ryder is my family, too, and I could be our only chance of reaching him in time. I’m sorry, Moreno, but I have to go.”
I end the call before his protests come through. My phone is ringing again within seconds, and I put it on silent, not wanting it to be off in case I need them to track me.
I turn to leave, but for some reason, a white envelope gives me pause.
It sits on the table, a normal place for mail to go, but not for Meredith. She has a basket in her office where she meticulously organizes all her mail. Besides, this doesn’t look like any regular letter. There’s no address or stamp—just one word written in fine script across the front.
Dominic.
I don’t feel the slightest hint of guilt as I take it with me when I run to my car.