35. Luke
CHAPTER 35
Luke
I hooked my thumbs in the pockets of my jeans as I waited outside the women’s restroom. A knot of giggling teen girls went in and a mom with two little kids came out.
Melanie was taking her time, but I wouldn’t pretend I understood the inner workings of the female restroom experience. For all I knew, she’d run into someone she knew, and they’d be in there for a while chatting. That was a girl thing, right?
Guys would never do that. Dudes understood the iron-clad rules of the men’s room. In and out, no talking, and absolutely no eye contact.
The scent of popcorn wafted from the concession stand and the stadium lights lit up the field. It was a good game so far. Awesome to see Owen kicking so much ass. He’d been the first player in years to start varsity as a freshman, and as a sophomore, he was already their star running back. Theo was convinced he’d be college bound on a football scholarship.
I was a damn proud uncle. He wasn’t just a great football player, he was a great kid.
The group of girls came out, and my brow furrowed as the door shut behind them. Where was she? Maybe she was having digestive issues. That would suck. No one wanted that in a public restroom. I’d have to see if she needed me to take her home where she could be more comfortable. Maybe put a heating pad on her stomach the way my mom used to have us do when we had stomachaches as kids.
But seriously, where was she?
I didn’t want to make it weird, but I was getting worried about her. I was pretty sure she had her phone with her, so I sent her a text, asking if she was okay.
No answer.
That didn’t necessarily mean anything. If her phone was in her purse, she might not hear it.
I waited another minute, fidgeting a pair of high school girls went in the restroom. They came out and still no Melanie.
Screw it. I went to the door, opened it, and stuck my head in. “Mel, are you in there?”
No answer.
“Melanie?”
“Um, excuse me?” a female voice said behind me.
Letting the door shut, I stepped aside. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She was probably around my age, with a long brown ponytail, glasses, and what looked like flecks of paint on her shirt. “Are you looking for someone?”
“Yeah, my girlfriend. She’s been in there a little longer than I expected. I don’t want to embarrass her or anything, but I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“What’s her name?”
“Melanie.”
“I’ll check for you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“No problem,” she said with a smile and went in.
Less than a minute later, she came out, her forehead creased with confusion. “There’s no one in there. ”
My heart stopped dead in my chest. “What? Are you sure?”
“Positive. I checked every stall. They’re all empty.”
I barreled my way inside. “Melanie?”
“I’ll just guard the door, I guess,” the woman said behind me.
I ignored her, madly going from stall to stall, looking under each door, then opening them, as if somehow she’d be hiding with her feet out of view. But the woman was right, they were all empty. No one was by the row of sinks. I even checked the door to what was probably a supply closet, but it was locked.
There was one more door, on the far side, past the sinks. At first, I thought it must be another closet, but it opened. I stepped out and found myself on the other side of the building, facing a tall chain-link fence near the outskirts of the parking lot. There was an entrance to the lot, but not many people parked on that side since it was farther away from the bleachers.
My stomach dropped right through the ground at my feet, and I was seized with dread.
“Melanie? Are you out here?”
No answer. Nothing but the roar of the crowd behind me and the hint of popcorn in the air.
Fuck.
Half of me wanted to panic—to run through the parking lot shouting her name. But I knew I wasn’t going to find her that way. I had to stay calm and think it through.
I called Garrett.
“Yeah?” he answered.
“Melanie’s gone.”
“What?”
“She went in the restroom and didn’t come out. There’s a fucking door on the other side, leads out by the back parking lot. She must have gone that way. ”
“Are you sure?”
“I went in. Checked every stall. She’s not there. She’s not out here, either.”
“All right, stay calm. If she went out the other exit, she probably just walked around the building, and she’s on her way back here.”
It made sense. I didn’t believe him, but I jogged around the building anyway, looking for any sign of her.
“Come back this way,” Garrett said. “We’ll start looking over here in case she’s talking to someone in the stands. Don’t worry, man. She’s around.”
Forcing myself to a walk so I could look at every person I passed, I made my way back to the bleachers. The student section was packed with kids chanting with the cheerleaders. The rest of the stands looked like a chaotic mess of people—too many faces, too many colors.
Where was she?
I pulled out my phone again and called her as I scanned the crowd. Still nothing. It rang but went to voicemail.
Fuck.
I hurried over to my family, but there was no sign of Melanie there, either.
Garrett stood at the bottom of the bleachers, holding Isla with one arm. “Harper and Marigold went back to search the restrooms, just in case.”
“I told you, she’s not there.”
Josiah stood and made his way down to us. “We should spread out. She’s gotta be around here somewhere.”
Garrett’s phone rang and he put it to his ear. “Find her?”
By the look on his face, I already knew the answer.
“Okay, come back here. And stay together.” He ended the call and pocketed his phone while Isla chewed on her fingers.
“Asher,” Josiah called, and Asher Bailey looked up. He had his youngest, a girl, in his lap. “We can’t find Luke’s girl. ”
As if they were all a single unit, Asher and his brothers handed their kids off to their wives and stood.
“Where was she?” Asher asked as he came down the bleachers.
“Restroom,” I said. “I was waiting outside but she must have gone out the other door. I can’t find her anywhere.”
Krista’s eyes were wide, and Anton put an arm around her. Garrett started organizing an impromptu search, giving everyone an area to cover. He assigned Anton and our dad to stay in the bleachers and keep watch for her there—and keep watch over all the wives and kids. There might have been some protests from the women—mostly Logan’s wife, Cara—at being told to stay where they were. But we all knew the real threat was to them, not us.
If The Whisper was out there, he attacked women.
But I had the horrifying feeling he wasn’t a threat to any of them. Because he was busy with mine.
Rage and adrenaline pumped hot through my veins, burning away my fear. I wanted to scream at Garrett for being so calm and reasonable, reassuring everyone we’d find her. Assigning search areas, as if she was going to turn up on the football field or was simply chatting with someone near the concessions.
As if we wouldn’t have found her already if she were there.
When Harper and Marigold came back, Garrett passed Isla to her mom. Dad and Anton stood at the bottom of the bleachers, one on each side of the section, as if they were the last line of defense, protecting the women and children. I half expected Krista to freak out or push past her husband to look for her daughter. Instead, she caught my eyes and clasped her hands to her chest as if to say, ‘ Find her for me. Please .’
Garrett and I headed back toward the restrooms. The game continued, and I was vaguely aware of the announcer declaring another Timberwolves touchdown .
“We should have him make an announcement,” Garrett said, bringing out his phone again. “I’ll see if Harper can get him to do it.”
I knew we wouldn’t find Melanie inside the restroom building, so I veered around it to show Garrett the side door. He finished his call to Harper and started looking around. There wasn’t much to see, as far as I could tell. Just some shrubs around the building and a gravel path leading to the gap in the fence.
He stopped about halfway to the fence and crouched down. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he took a picture of something on the ground with his phone.
“What is it?”
“Syringe cap.” He stood and put his phone to his ear. “Sheriff, I have reason to believe The Whisper has another victim.”
I ran to the parking lot while Garrett gave Sheriff Cordero his report. I didn’t know what I was doing—she wasn’t there. How long had it been since she’d gone in the restroom? Ten minutes? More? If The Whisper had her, she was long gone, stuffed in the trunk of his car.
And he was going to—
No. No, he wasn’t. That disgusting psycho piece of shit was not going to hurt her. I’d burn down the whole fucking world before I let him touch her.
I was going to find them. And he was going to pay.