47. Marcus
47
Marcus
It’s like an animal in pain, the low, emotional sobbing that hits my ears as the front door gets thrown open in front of me. My heart sinks to the floor of my stomach as I meet Gabriel’s worried expression.
“Mom,” he explains, stepping aside.
I enter his townhouse to find Charlotte curled up on the couch, her body shaking as she cries. Sam is sitting beside her, his hand making soothing circles on her back. He looks just like I feel: terrified.
“Anything?” Gabriel asks hopefully behind me.
“Not yet.” I rest the laptop bag on the dining table. “I tried logging into her Google account, but it seems she recently changed the password. I couldn’t hack it while driving, so…”
My voice trails as I flip the laptop open and get to work. Charlotte’s sobbing fills the entire room, but I tune it out. If it’s what we suspect, if somehow, those criminals have organized nabbing Lauren from inside their jail cells, then she’s in deep trouble. I doubt they took her for a kumbaya. The cops won’t do much until the FBI gets involved, which could take hours. We don’t have hours .
“I’m so sorry, baby,” Charlotte cries. “I should’ve been here for you. I’m sorry!”
It’s hard to keep a level head, but I can’t afford to fall apart. Lauren needs me. She probably hates my guts, but she needs my help. If she never talks to me again, I’ll live with that, somehow . I just need her alive. I need to know she’s okay.
My vision goes blurry as I swipe my finger across the touchpad. Fuck . I swipe at my face, tears wetting the back of my hand. I can’t recall the last time I cried.
The doorbell suddenly rings, making us all jump. Noah rushes in as Gabriel opens the door. “Anything?” he asks.
“Marcus is trying to get into her account. No luck yet,” Gabriel replies behind him.
A flash of pink catches my attention, and I glance up as Zyon comes down the stairs, bewilderment stamped on her sleepy face, head twisting from left to right. “What’s going on?” she asks.
She bursts into tears while Gabriel fills her in, and I know she’s triggered right now. Zyon had been kidnapped twice by a monster who sexually assaulted her a few years ago. Gabriel slips his arms around her as she cries.
“I thought she was going to see you,” Zyon sniffles, pulling from Gabriel’s arms. “That’s what she said before leaving earlier tonight. What changed her mind? None of this would’ve happened if she was with you.”
“You didn’t mention she was with you, Marcus,” Gabriel says. I quickly glance up at his frowning face. Zyon stands beside him looking as guilty as I feel.
Lauren told her.
I glance back down at what I’m doing. My fingers rattle on the keys. “She didn’t stay.”
“It doesn’t matter. Why wouldn’t you mention she’d stopped by? ”
“I, uh, need to check on Liam,” Zyon says hurriedly.
Gabriel grabs her arm, pulling her back. “Oh no you don’t.” You look guilty as hell. What’s going on?”
“Can we focus on finding Lauren and handle this later?” she argues.
“Zyon’s right, Gabriel. Let’s not distract Marcus,” Charlotte agrees, sitting up.
Silence on Gabriel’s end, yet I sense his eyes on me.
My attention remains locked on the screen as I finally break past the barrier. “I’m in.”
About a minute later, I push to my feet. “I know exactly where she is.”