Painful Lengths – Ryder
Painful Lengths
Ryder
My Heart
Thank you for letting me leave the estate with Miss Jane today!
I had a lot of fun.
You’re welcome… But don’t get used to it.
I know. Love you.
Love you more.
I slide my phone into my pocket and stare at my parents.
They’re staring back at me from a glittering gold locket, their eyes helping me calculate my next move.
This is one of few family heirlooms that I keep locked away in a bank’s security box; it’s the only place other than the cemetery and my basement where I can pay them a visit.
“One day, our empire will be yours, son… And you better not fuck it up…”
“Is everything alright in here, Mr. Rochester?” A bank employee clears her throat from the door.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
She disappears as quickly as she came in, and I lock the box and slide it into place. I check the other boxes, the ones that feature photos of my brothers, aunts, and uncles, and then I return to the bank’s main lobby to handle what I really came here for.
Checking in on everyone who owes me.
“You can come on up here, sir,” the teller smiles at me. “How may I help you tonight?”
“Check these twenty accounts,” I say, sliding her a sheet of paper and my signature card. “Verify that each one has made a deposit within the past week.”
“Do you need to know the amounts or balance on each?”
“No.”
She nods and takes the paper, typing away on her screen. “I think it’s really cool that you help so many local businesses. It’s very inspiring.”
I arch a brow, confused.
You must be new here…
“Okay, well, um—looks like they’ve all made deposits this week except for one.”
“Which one is that?”
“The one ending in 7685.”
Nate Taylor’s… “Are you sure about that?”
“Very sure.” She nods, lowering her voice. “But um, between you and me, he’s probably struggling to keep it all together these days. He was beaten so badly that it made the news… We sent him a care package.”
“That’s very nice of you.” I take the sheet back. “Maybe I should do the same.”
I return to the safe deposit room, preparing to take notes, but my phone buzzes. Gunnar.
“Yes?” I answer.
“The power is out at the estate, sir,” he says.
“The backup generator should kick on eventually.”
“It hasn’t.”
“Is my gate open?”
“No, sir.”
“What about the security cameras around the perimeter?”
“They’re not working.”
“Does anyone have eyes on my heart and the nanny?”
“No, sir…” He pauses. “No one has seen them since they returned from the mall this afternoon…”
“How long has the power been out?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“And you’re just now fucking telling me?” I rush to the door. “Get the team over to search the grounds.”
I rush outside and slide behind the wheel of my car, speeding onto the highway.
Memories I’ve locked away since I was fifteen years old suddenly flood my brain—carnage, death, bloodshed—and I refuse to drown in them. I refuse to accept that I’ve put Adeline at risk.
Autumn, too…
If she’s okay—if I find her and she’s fine, she has to return to London after this, no matter how she feels. No matter how much it may hurt.
Until I’m done.
I speed down my driveway and enter the house.
“Adeline?” I call her name.
No answer.
I take out my gun and scan the hallways, opening the doors to every room I near.
“Adeline!” I call her name again, trying not to sound upset, but it’s no use.
Approaching her bedroom door, I barge inside and am met with nothingness. The sheets on her bed are gone, save for the fitted one, and there’s no trace of her in the bathroom suite either.
I continue checking all the rooms on the upper level before I force myself to call in reinforcements.
“Get me all the footage on the road cameras for the past hour,” I command. “And I want clear-ass pictures of the license plate from every car that drove by this week.”
“Right away, sir.”
The pain in my chest is unbearable—all too familiar to the pain I felt when I lost every member of my family on the same night. And if the past is truly prologue, I’ll never come close to getting over it.
“The garden grounds and guest grounds are clear, sir.”
“What about the pool?”
“We’re checking now.”
Unwilling to take their word without checking myself, I wander through the grounds myself, but there’s nothing.
I call Adeline.
No ring. Straight to voicemail.
Autumn, next.
Same.
Thinking of where else they could be, I head down the tree-lined exit of the estate, where the underground wine cellar stands.
When I’m halfway there, I spot a soft light flickering in the distance. Following it, I notice that it’s coming from a guest villa I stopped using years ago.
Drawing my gun, I move closer and closer, until I’m staring right at the light’s source: a standing candle near the window.
Since its mountain of wax is blocking my view, I move to the side of the villa and peer through the window.
The pain in my chest dissolves, settling into relief.
Adeline is leaning against Autumn’s shoulder, smiling as they stare at something in a book. They’re bundled together in the sheets from Adeline’s bed, completely clueless about the havoc their run to safety has caused.
Seeing them together is a glimpse of something I wish I could give to Adeline forever, but… at the rate things are going, that may be something that never comes true.
“You can call off the search,” I call Warner. “I found them.”
“Copy, sir. Will you be joining me in your office at the estate now?”
“No,” I say. “I’ll let you know when I’m en route.”
“But… You were followed by four cars at a distance tonight,” he says.
“I’m aware.” I keep staring through the window. “Two black BMWs, a white Elantra, and a grey Audi.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Were they FBI or men with Banks?”
“I don’t know.”
“Call me back when you do.”
“The Audi had Miss Jane’s full name written in the dust on its back windshield,” he says. “Whoever it is, is sending a message… Please return, sir.”
“I’ll be right there.”
End of Episode 21