Chapter 30
Austin
Violet has been missing for half an hour and panic has started to creep into everyone’s faces. We have searched all of the nearby places: the parking lot, inside the school, every bathroom. She’s nowhere to be found.
I feel so useless.
I watch Josy hug Adrian and look away from the group, trying to hide her emotions and be strong for him.
“I think I’ll take Adrian home and wait there,” she says gently. “He would probably be better off at home in his safe space.”
“I’ll go with Josy,” Esteban says
"Good idea, Josy. Thanks for doing that, and Esteban, don’t leave either of their sides." Adrian looks up at me, his eyes wide with fear.
"Don't worry, buddy. We won’t stop until we find her, I promise," I say, hoping to reassure him. He nods, but I can see the doubt in his eyes.
Josy takes his hand and leads him to the car. Together, Josy and Esteban take Adrian home while I stand with Officer Miller and Noah, trying to keep my emotions in check.
Everyone at the game now knows Violet is missing, and the whole town is ready to help look for her.
I try to stay calm, but inside, I’m dying a little more with each passing minute.
Officer Miller lays out the search plan, but I can barely focus. I've checked with everyone who might have seen her, coordinated with the locals, organized search parties—it all feels like it's moving too slowly. Every minute without knowing where Violet is feels like an eternity.
My phone buzzes in my hand, and the name on the screen makes my stomach clench. It’s a text from Josy. With shaky fingers, I unlock the screen.
Josy: Did you check her GPS? I saw her wearing it at the game.
The words hit me like a freight train. My heart skips a beat, and then thunders painfully against my ribs. My chest tightens, and I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut.
“Fuck,” I mutter, my voice trembling. The phone nearly slips from my hand as the realization crashes down on me.
The necklace. The fucking GPS necklace. How could I forget? She hasn’t taken it off since the day I gave it to her. It’s practically become a part of her, a small gesture I thought would help her feel safe. And now, when it matters most, I didn’t even think about it.
How could I be so stupid?
I clutch the phone tighter, my knuckles white as I grit my teeth against the flood of guilt and panic. The thought of Violet out there—scared, alone, maybe worse—makes my chest burn like fire. My breath comes out in short, ragged gasps as the crushing weight of my failure bears down on me.
Noah steps closer, his voice pulling me out of my spiral. “What happened?”
I can barely meet his eyes. My throat is dry, and the words feel like acid as they claw their way out. “The necklace…the one with the GPS. She’s been wearing it. Josy just reminded me.”
Noah’s face hardens instantly. “Then why the hell aren’t we tracking her right now?”
The question slams into me like a hammer, and the guilt twists the knife deeper. “I didn’t think of it,” I admit, my voice cracking. “I was so panicked, so fucking terrified when I realized she was gone… I didn’t think.”
The weight of my own words feels unbearable. I want to scream, to punch something, to take back every wasted second I’ve spent in blind panic. Violet needs me, and I’ve been failing her.
Noah grabs my shoulder, snapping me back to the moment. “Then we fix it. Right now. Pull up the app.”
I nod, fumbling with my phone, my hands shaking so badly that I can barely navigate the screen. Noah stands beside me, his presence a lifeline in the storm of my self-loathing and fear.
As the app loads, I silently beg for it to work, for it to give us the answer we need.
“I’ll find you,” I whisper under my breath, the words a desperate promise to Violet—and to myself. “The fucking app is not working. Damn it!”
“Stay calm and call your friend. He should be able to help you with it,” Noah says calmly while I am a fucking mess.
I nod and call James hoping he can help. The phone rings multiple times until I hear James on the other side. “Hey, Austin.”
I don’t let him continue talking and tell him, "James, I need you to help me track Violet's GPS. The app's not working, and I don’t know what else to do."
James answers immediately, his voice calm and reassuring. "I'm on it, Austin. Give me a few minutes to see what I can do."
“Thanks, man. I need to find her, and I am so fucking worried. We were at a soccer game, and she went to the bathroom and never came back.”
“Let me look her up in the system. Keep your phone close. As soon as I know anything, I’ll contact you.”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “I will.”
Each second is a painful reminder that Violet is somewhere out there, possibly in danger. I pace back and forth, my thoughts a chaotic mess. I can’t lose her. Not now. Not ever. I haven’t told her how I feel. I haven’t had the time to finish my plan. And to think that we were joking about it earlier.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I yell out loud, pulling at my hair and kicking the grass beneath my feet.
Officer Miller tries to reassure me. "We’ll find her, Austin. We have the whole town looking."
I nod, but my mind is elsewhere. "Come on, James," I whisper, hoping for a miracle. My phone rings, and I answer it before the first ring is even finished.
"I got it," James says. "The GPS is pinging from a location outside town. I'm sending you the coordinates now."
Relief floods through me, but it’s quickly replaced by a renewed sense of urgency. "Thank you, James. I owe you."
"You just go find her, Austin," he says.
I show the coordinates to Officer Miller, who immediately alerts the search teams. "She’s located about twenty miles from town."
“Do you know this place?” I ask Miller.
“Yes. That’s part of the hunting area. If she’s there, then someone has a place nearby where they can hide Violet. In that area, there are only woods.”
“Do we know if there are any hunting cabins?”
“Not that I’m aware of. There are only woods in that area. I will tell the search teams to look for abandoned cars, deer stands, cabins, anything they notice in the woods.”
“We need to hurry,” I snap, fumbling through my pockets for the keys. My hands are shaking so much that I can barely grip them. My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out every other sound.
Miller places a firm hand on my arm. “Let me drive,” he says, his tone steady in a way I can’t match. “You keep your eyes open for anything suspicious.”
Violet has been gone for over an hour now. An hour too long. The thought claws at my chest like a wild animal, refusing to let go. I’ve faced life-and-death situations before. I’ve been trained to keep my cool—always steady, always calm, even in the chaos of war. But now? Now, at the thought of losing Violet, all that discipline, all that calm I once prided myself on, has vanished into thin air.
It’s terrifying.
“Let’s go,” Miller says, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. His voice is firm, determined. “We’re bringing Violet home.”
The drive to the GPS location feels endless, like every second is stretching out to mock me. I try to focus on the road ahead, scanning for anything—any clue, any sign—but my mind keeps spinning. My leg bounces uncontrollably, my knee hitting the dashboard, a nervous energy I can’t shake. My palms are slick with sweat, and no amount of wiping them on my jeans helps.
I’ve been under fire, outnumbered, outgunned. And yet, I’ve never felt this helpless. Never felt this out of control.
“Anything?” I ask Noah, my voice tight and desperate.
“Not yet,” he mutters, his eyes locked on the GPS tracker blinking in his hand.
I swallow hard and grip the seat, trying to keep my mind from going where it wants to go—picturing her hurt, scared, broken. God, I can’t lose her.
When we finally stop, the forest looms around us like a suffocating wall. The air is heavy, damp, the faint smell of pine mingling with the overwhelming fear that hangs in my chest.
Miller’s team moves out in practiced formation, but I can’t focus on them. All I can think about is Violet—where she is, what’s happening to her. Noah and I push through the underbrush, calling her name into the suffocating darkness.
“Violet!” I shout, my voice breaking. “Violet, answer me!”
Nothing. Just the mocking quiet of the woods.
Then Miller’s voice cuts through the silence. “Tracks!”
I sprint toward him, my heart hammering so hard it hurts. He points to the dirt where a trail leads deeper into the trees.
“Let’s move,” he says, but I’m already ahead of him, my boots crunching through the leaves. My mind races faster than my feet. Every step feels like a lifetime, every second another chance lost.
In the distance, a faint light flickers. A cabin.
My heart seizes at the sight. Relief and dread flood me in equal measure.
Miller motions for us to slow down. “Careful,” he whispers. “we don’t want to tip anybody off.”
Careful? Careful is the last thing I want to be. I want to tear that door off its hinges, and…
I take a deep breath, forcing myself to listen. But the calm that used to come so easily, the steady focus that got me through hell in the Army, is nowhere to be found. It’s gone, stripped away by the fear of losing the woman I love.
When we reach the cabin, Miller stops me with a hand on my chest. “Austin, stay calm,” he says, his voice low.
“How the fuck do you expect me to stay calm?” My voice trembles with rage and fear, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dig into my palms.
“We can’t just go in there guns blazing,” he says firmly. “You know better than that.”
“I know, but she’s been in there for almost two fucking hours, Miller. Do you know what that means?” I hissed trying to speak low enough so I don’t alert whoever has Violet.
“Yes,” he snaps, his tone sharp. “And that’s why we’re doing this right. We’ll get her back safely, but not if you go in there and make it worse.”
He’s right, and I hate him for it. I hate standing here, helpless, while Violet is in there with that monster. I turn away, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Noah and I circle the cabin, scanning for another way in. There isn’t one. Just the single door at the front, a tiny light swinging gently in the breeze. The sound of it creaking grates on my nerves.
Then I hear it. A faint noise. A shuffle.
Noah stiffens beside me, his eyes meeting mine. “Did you hear that?”
My chest tightens. It’s her. It has to be her.
“I’m going in,” I say through clenched teeth, taking a step toward the door.
“No, you’re not,” Miller says, stepping in front of me. “Let my team handle this.”
Miller motions for his team to move in, and Noah and I reluctantly fall back, knowing that this is the best chance to get Violet out safely. The officers move swiftly, surrounding the cabin, their weapons ready.
"On my count," Miller says, his voice low but steady. "One, two, three."
The door bursts open, and the officers rush inside. I follow closely behind, my eyes scanning the dim interior for any sign of her. My breath catches when I see the cabin is empty. No sign of Violet.
“Clear!” one of the officers calls out.
I wrack my brain, thinking of every possible spot they could be. This doesn’t make sense. They should be here. I try to call James again to verify the GPS location, but my phone has no signal. Frustration boils over, and I start pacing the cabin, looking for any clue.
That's when I notice the floorboards. They look different, almost as if there could be something hidden beneath them. I kneel down and start to pry at the boards; they give way surprisingly easily.
With the boards removed, we can see a tunnel that goes underneath the house. "What the fuck?"
Miller comes over and sees the tunnel and then snaps his head back at me. “We have to get my guys down there as soon as possible.”
Another officer approaches us. “Miller, I found this near the wall.” Miller grabs the earring and hands it to me, asking if I have ever seen it before. I become breathless while rolling the red ruby earring between my fingers.
"Fuck. It's Violet’s. She was here."