Chapter Thirty-Five
Cal
D on’t be a stalker.
Don’t be a stalker.
Don’t be a stalker.
Fuck this. I’m a stalker. She’s mine and if she wants to taunt the beast inside me, then so be it. Twenty minutes turned into thirty. I warned her I’d come for her if she kept me waiting. Knowing my fucking girl , she probably did that shit on purpose.
I can’t help but smirk as I throw on my coat, hat, and gloves before heading out. The snow is heavily falling, making it difficult to see. I take long strides from my cabin to Loden’s. At first, when she told me a while back that he wanted to move here, I was annoyed. And, at first glance, he always seems to be flirting with my girl. But, the more I get to know Loden, the more I realize he’s just needy as fuck. Charlotte is a good friend and a good person. Of course he’s drawn to her light. If he weren’t gay, I’d have a huge problem with his affectionate way toward her. Since I know he’s not trying to get into her pants, I deal with his annoying ass.
It will be convenient having him nearby, especially if she plans on hanging out with him a lot. I want my girl close. In fact, I’ve been wanting to keep her by my side permanently. Ever since the fire, something shifted between us. An unbreakable bond formed. I’m going to ask her to live with me, but I have to find a way to delicately propose it to her in a way she doesn’t think it’s just some possessive caveman reason to keep her safe and watched over.
I love her.
I want her.
I need to protect her at all costs.
I’m trying to imagine her sleek sense of decorating style taking over my cabin. Honestly, it makes my dick hard thinking of her permanently there, spending each waking minute with me. A grin tugs at my lips as I push into Loden’s cabin.
He’s sprawled out on his couch in nothing but his boxers looking like a fucking tattooed porn star. I admit it’s irritating that he’s glued to my girl all the time when I know he’s a good-looking guy. But seeing him in his fucking underwear around my fucking girl has me seeing red.
“You look awfully cozy,” I sneer, my gaze sweeping his cabin, looking for Charlotte. “She better not be naked and dripping with your jizz, or so help me I’ll beat you over the head with your guitar.”
“Charlotte?” Loden says, sitting up and placing the guitar down on the coffee table. His muscles flex, which, in turn, makes me fist my hands, ready to pummel this guy.
“No shit, Sherlock.”
He rises to his feet, displaying all his rock god glory down to the giant fucking dick he’s packing in his boxers. Yeah, I’m going to kill him.
“Dude, she left like thirty minutes ago.”
His words take a second to sink in. “What?”
“When I got out of the shower, she left.”
“Where the fuck is she?” I demand, my blood running cold.
“I don’t fucking know.” He picks up his phone and dials. “Not answering.”
“Maybe she went to see Mom and Dad,” I mutter, my mind racing. “Call her parents and her siblings. See if she’s with one of them. Get dressed and meet me back at my place in a few.”
I run out the front door, easily finding the path that leads to the old Campfire Chaos cabin that my parents took over. I dial her a few times on the way there, but she doesn’t answer. The lights are on at my parents’ cabin, and I hope like hell Charlotte stopped by to visit them. Mom and Dad adore Charlotte. Even after the fire, which she for some reason feels guilty for, they love her.
After stomping up the steps, I push open the door, my eyes searching for her. Dad’s in his recliner watching television and Mom is sitting on the couch reading.
“Where’s Charlotte?” I demand, my chest heaving.
Dad cranes his neck around to look at me. “Not here. What’s wrong?”
“She’s…” I scrub my palm over my face. “She was at Lo’s and then left thirty minutes ago to come to my place. Never arrived.”
Dad climbs out of his chair and starts for me. “She’s gone? Disappeared?”
“She wouldn’t just leave without telling me,” I croak out. “Dad, something’s wrong.”
“I’ll get dressed and head up to the police station. Keep looking for her,” Dad barks out. “Kate, start calling her parents and family.”
Mom leaps into action, grabbing her phone, while Dad rushes to his room. I bolt out the door and head back to my place. As I near my truck, I find her purse half buried in the snow.
Fuck.
Fuck no.
I scoop it up as Loden approaches.
“She dropped this,” I hiss out. “Someone fucking took her.”
Loden gasps when I thrust the purse at him. “Find Penny. See if she can figure out where she might have gone to. You have my number. Call me if you find anything out.”
I rush back into the house, hunting for my baseball bat. Trey is in his room with the door shut.
“T!” I bark out, banging on the door. “Someone took Charlotte. We gotta find her!”
He flings open the door, his eyes wild with confusion. “Took?”
“It has to be that fuckface Cuntingham.”
All five of us are crammed into my truck—trying to find out where the fuck Charlotte could have gone. I’m up front with Trey while Roan, Hollis, and Jordy are squeezed into the back. We went by Michael’s house, but she wasn’t there. Neither were Michael or Ryan. Now we’re headed to Tyler’s apartment.
Once I pull into his complex and park right up front, on the curb, Roan and I jump out. The others are on their phones, calling people to see if they can find her. Roan and I both walk into the lobby of the complex, baseball bats in our hands, on a mission. After we shake down some dork in the hallway, we learn where this dude’s place is. A few minutes later, Roan kicks the door in like the motherfucking badass fireman he is, and we storm in.
The apartment is dark. I stalk through the halls until I find the bedroom. Tyler is talking to someone in bed, asking if they heard a crash, when I flick on the light.
“Where’s Charlotte?” I bark out.
Tyler sits up in bed, face white as a ghost. “W-What?”
Another guy cowers under my fury, clinging to Tyler like he might save him.
“Answer the fucking question,” Roan rages, rushing over to Tyler. He holds his bat up in a threatening manner. These two have beef and Tyler knows it based on the wide-eyed stare he gives him.
“I-I-I d-don’t know,” Tyler chatters out.
“Where’s Ryan?” I bark.
Tyler blinks several times. “He’s not here. I don’t know.”
“Liar!” Roan booms, making Tyler flinch.
“Man, I swear,” Tyler cries out. “He and Dad don’t talk to me anymore. I’m sorry.”
“Where could he be? We know he’s back in town and took my fucking girl , so where the hell could he be?” I demand.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
Unfortunately, I think he’s telling the truth.
“Come on,” I grunt to Roan.
Roan lingers for a beat. “Stay the fuck away from Hollis.”
Tyler’s eyes are wild with confusion. I grab Roan’s arm and haul him from the room. On the way back to the truck, I call Zayne.
“Whuddup,” he answers in a lazy tone.
“Where’s Ryan Cunningham?”
“Time to cut his dick off?”
“He took my fucking girlfriend, man. Is he there?”
“No,” Zayne says, sobering up. “I haven’t seen him in a few weeks. I think he quit school. Sorry, bro, but I don’t know where the fuck he went.”
“Call me if you hear anything.”
“I’ll ask around his douchebag friends.”
“Thanks, man.”
I hang up and climb into the truck. It’s still fucking snowing, which only adds to my stress. Everyone is quiet, worry clouding the air around us. This is really fucking bad. Ryan took her, I know it. And I’m positive it was him who set my parents’ house on fire. He is an unhinged psycho who takes joy in hurting Charlotte. Now that he’s taken to kidnapping, there’s no telling what lengths he’ll go to.
Be strong, English.
I’m going to find her and put her back together again. No matter what that motherfucker does to her. Because there’s no doubt in my mind, he will try and do his worst.
I just have to find her before he does it.
My phone rings and I hit the answer button on my steering wheel. Zayne’s voice booms through the speakers.
“I don’t know if this is something, but one of his friends mentioned a gun range there that all the cops go to. Ryan’s dad is good friends with the owner, so he has free rein whenever he wants. Seemed like a fishy thing for him to know. I beat his ass just in case he had more info he wanted to offer up, but now he’s passed out. Called Baker’s or Barker’s. Something like that. I’ll keep digging.”
As soon as I hang up, Hollis leans forward, his phone glowing. “Across the river. There’s a Barker’s Range. Trey, plug this address into his GPS.”
I gas it, driving like a bat out of hell, uncaring that it’s fucking snowing. Hollis calls his dad while Roan calls mine to update them. Jordy makes a call to Fitzgerald. Fuck, I hope we find her. I need to find her. I will find her.
My heart rate speeds up.
Charlotte, beautiful, we’re coming for you.