Chapter 6
People don’t just vanish. Our line of work would love to make you think they do, but we know better. Someone always knows something. It’s just a matter of finding out who and getting that information from them. Until last week, I thought we were pretty good at it. Now I’m not so sure.
Jade put a wrench in just about everything. I knew she was trouble from the moment I saw her in that pit.
Her leaving should have been a good thing.
It’s what I’ve wanted, but not like this.
No, her leaving like this has sent us all into a frenzy.
The others are worried about her, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, even if I refuse to admit it out loud.
But more than that, I’m worried about who could keep her.
I might not like Jade, but I don’t think she would do this to them if she could help it.
Kratos and Jade have a long history. This isn’t like it used to be.
She didn’t leave; someone took her, and the fact that she hasn’t reached out or come back yet screams red flag to me.
It doesn’t help that she called me out of everyone. She could have called Kratos or even Rick, but she didn’t, and I can’t figure out why. There has to be a reason. She doesn’t do anything just because.
We found Tobias with his brains blown out in the Thompsons’ backyard, with no sign of Dom or Charlotte.
The police found Randall about half an hour away in the old warehouse district.
Trent just got the reports from forensics about the bullet and some DNA they scraped from under his nails.
The gun—a Glock 19—is literally the most common on the market, so it doesn’t do much good.
The DNA is that of a female not in the database, which I can only assume is Jade.
We already knew they were together, though, so none of that was helpful.
Everything else is the problem.
The old district is pretty much unused, but that doesn’t mean it’s without security.
When Rick’s old man took over as chief of police, he made a lot of changes in an attempt to help the city.
One of those being posting cameras in places like that and other abandoned places in the city as a way to help lower crime rates, namely, girls getting snatched up off the streets.
We took up the same idea with Vengeance, but we do a much better job, usually.
We have eyes all over the city through cameras, manpower, and connections.
So far, our connections and people on the streets have been useless.
People often are, which is why I put so much time into learning about computers and technology.
Data doesn’t lie, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who can make something disappear completely.
It’s possible, but most people don’t cover their tracks well enough.
“Fuck!”
I can’t contain my rage as yet another scan comes back useless. I’ve run the cameras through every recovery software, even the one I made my damn self, and still nothing.
Whoever we’re up against knows their shit.
Every possible lead we find is a dead end, and the more dead ends we hit, the more it feels like this is personal.
Vengeance is well known, but we don’t exactly plaster our strengths around town for everyone to see.
Whoever did this knew exactly how to keep us in the dark.
I’m starting to wonder if they were after Jade at all or if she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
My eyes burn as I look at the screen, reading over the logs again, hoping I missed something. Just a scrap of information would be better than this, better than nothing.
The house has been quiet for the last few days, as everyone scatters to do what they can. I’ve been working the cameras on the buildings and around town since yesterday, after the attempt to track Dom failed. We found his phone just outside of town, run over on the highway.
Something about it rubbed me wrong, though. If someone had grabbed him, they should have checked him earlier. I would’ve. The fact that he and Charlotte magically vanished at the same time Jade did doesn’t sit well with me.
I don’t believe in coincidences. Rick seemed to get what I was saying when I brought my suspicions to him, but he didn’t want to bring more shit to the surface until we knew for sure.
Pointing a finger at Dom is pretty serious, and until we had exhausted every other possible option, it wasn’t something we wanted to touch and risk Kratos going off the deep end about.
I got it. I don’t know that I would take it well if someone suggested Rick or Zan were responsible for something like this if I were in his shoes, but facts don’t lie.
And right now, a lot of things are pointing to the possibility that this is more than just a simple kidnapping.
My desk is littered with coffee cups and empty energy drink cans.
I’ve been known to push myself to exhaustion for things less than this.
Last night, I passed out waiting on a scan and probably got four hours of sleep before Kratos called for an update.
That should be more than enough to get me through the rest of the night, so long as I keep caffeinated.
I grab my mug and head back out to the kitchen, more importantly, the coffeepot.
At this rate, I should really just move the damn thing in there with me.
It’s not like anyone else is here to use it, anyway.
I set the pot to brew and grab a banana while I wait, knowing I need to eat something, despite my lack of appetite.
I run over anything I could have overlooked or places I might still be able to get valuable footage from as I wait.
A creak from upstairs sounds through the kitchen, hardly loud enough to be heard over my coffee brewing. I almost don’t even pay it any attention, and I blame my racing thoughts for how long it takes me to remember nobody else is here right now.
I’m headed to the stairs without a second thought, leaving my half-eaten banana and coffee behind.
Things are fucking crazy enough as is. I’ll be damned if I let some fucker in here to mess things up further.
I grab my gun from the entry table next to my keys, where I left them a few days ago, and head up the stairs to the second floor.
Nobody should be able to get in here.
Nobody should be able to wipe those cameras like this.
Nobody should be able to hold Jade.
I shake the thought from my mind to focus on my surroundings as I creep up the stairs, careful to avoid the areas that creak.
People can do all the research they want; some things you only know from experience.
I know this house like the back of my hand, which gives me an advantage.
An advantage that I intend to use to put a bullet square between the eyes of whoever thinks they stand a chance in our home.
When I reach the top of the stairs, I press myself against the wall to peek around the corner and down the hall. The kitchen is mostly underneath the bedrooms. Based on where I was in the kitchen when I heard the noise, I assume our intruder is either in Zander’s room or Ja-
I cut the thought short. It’s a guest room, not her room. Only a room she happens to be using. I stand by the wall for a minute more, listening, but hear nothing. The longer the silence stretches, the more I wonder if I’ve only imagined it.
Maybe my lack of sleep is getting to me.
Either way, better safe than sorry at this point.
I creep down the hall, passing the guest room and making my way into Zander’s.
Pushing the door open, I find his light still on, his things scattered around the room just the same as they always are.
Nothing appears to be out of place, but I still sweep the room just to be sure, checking the bathroom and closet and even under the bed.
I find a few water bottles and what I think used to be an orange peel, but nothing unusual.
Zander’s always been a bit of a slob. It’d be weirder if the room were clean.
Heading back into the hall, I contemplate heading back down to my coffee and getting back to work. Trying to convince myself the sound was simply the house settling.
I don’t want to go into that room.
Jade and I had our differences, but she didn’t deserve this, whatever this is. Being taken after her first genuine taste of freedom is one of the lesser evils. Who says she’s even alive at this point anymore?
Fuck.
I shake my head at the thought, trying to dislodge it. It won’t do me any good.
Heading down the hall, I’m unsure where I’m going until my feet stop in front of the bedroom door. There's no way I’ll be able to get anything done knowing I didn’t check. Taking a deep breath, I steel myself before pushing on the door that sits slightly ajar.
The room is pitch black, but I don’t need to see it to know what it will look like. Jade made herself at home during her short time here. Regardless of how well we got along, I somehow found myself in here often enough to remember it.
Her pomegranate scent fills the room, and I almost stumble back to leave as a wave of regret hits me.
We were supposed to keep her safe.
I push myself forward, fighting against the urge to turn and leave as her scent makes my head spin.
Flipping the light on, I blink against the sudden harshness of it, half expecting someone to jump out at me.
Nothing happens, though, and I’m left standing in her room, looking at the memories of her scattered about as if she’s still here, her space frozen in time.
Her room is full of things that make up who she is. Her knives that Zander gifted her sit displayed on top of her dresser, along with a bag of sweets that Rick bought her, and I can’t help but smile.
She’s got them so wrapped around her finger, and she doesn’t even know it.
Stepping further into the room, I look around, stopping next to her bed.