31. Maddox
Maddox
Istare at the phone for a few moments before passing it back to Bain.
I hate hearing Cherry’s sad voice. Especially when it’s caused by us not being there with her.
Closing my eyes, I feel her sadness, and I take a few deep breaths, trying to breathe through her pain.
After a couple of minutes, it starts to ease up and I’m finally able to take in a full breath again.
“I suggest we try to bury her emotions while we deal with Jahan,” Gage says, obviously feeling the same as me. “Otherwise, it will be a distraction.”
I nod, taking a second to compartmentalize that part of my heart and push it down so I can focus on our task at hand.
“I think we need to go inside,” Gage says as our attention shifts to Jahan’s house. “We promised Cherry we’d be back tonight, and even if we left right now, it’ll be after midnight by the time we get home.”
I sigh, staring at the dark home. “I think you’re right. You stay here and keep watch for us. Bain, you’re around back, and I’ll look for a window.”
They both nod, then Bain and I silently get out of the SUV and creep across the street, avoiding the light from the street lamps.
I test the front window, but it’s locked, so I move around the side. “Bingo,” I whisper when I see a window open a couple of inches on the second floor. But how to reach it?
I’m pretty sure it’s out of my reach, but I stand below and jump anyway, shocked when I’m easily able to grab the ledge and pull myself up. I push the window up then step inside.
“I’m in, second floor office,” I tell the other two through the bond.
“I’m entering through the back door now,” Bain tells me.
“You look for anyone down there, and I’ll check up here.”
I sniff the air, but all I can smell is Bain. The doctor could have some scent blockers, though, so I quietly make my way through each room, checking every hiding spot I can find: under the bed, in the closet, behind the curtains.
“There’s nobody up here,” I tell Bain when I’m sure I’ve checked everywhere. I can smell what must be Jahan’s scent but it’s old, like he hasn’t been here in days.
“Same down here. I don’t think he’s been here too recently.”
My ears perk up at the sound of a car engine, and I move to one of the front windows.
“Gage?”
“I hear the car too,” he replies instantly. I peek out from behind the curtain and wait as the sound grows louder. When it finally comes into sight, I hold my breath, my eyes widening as it turns into the drive.
“He’s back,” Gage yells through the bond.
“Let him enter, we’ll take him down inside,” I tell them as I find a spot to hide beside the bedroom door, where I can get the jump on him if Bain doesn’t get him first.
“He’s out of his car,” Gage says, as he gives us the play-by-play. “He’s heading to the front door. He doesn’t seem to notice anything strange.”
I hear his key in the lock before Gage tells us, “He’s opening the door and stepping inside. The door is closed now.”
“He’s mine,” Bain says, his voice filled with anger. I don’t bother telling him to be careful. He knows what he’s doing, and I know he won’t accidentally kill the man before we can confirm his identity.
I hear the floorboards creak under Jahan’s feet. Then light floods the hall as he switches on the downstairs light. I hear the fridge open, then the sound of him choking.
“Got him,” Bain says gleefully through the bond.
As I make my way downstairs, I hear Gage enter through the front door and lock it behind him. I double-check all the curtains are still drawn before I join Bain in the kitchen. He’s just finishing tying Jahan to a kitchen chair that he’s pulled into the middle of the open space.
There’s duct tape across his mouth, and he’s squirming around trying to scream and break free. He redoubles his efforts when he sees Gage and me approach.
Bain and Gage stand at his sides as I stand right in front of him, my hands relaxed in my pockets as I assess him. He looks ordinary. Not how I would expect a psychopath to look. Then again, don’t they say they’re often the people you least expect?
Looking at Gage, I nod, telling him through the bond, “Take the photo and send it to the others in the group chat.” He immediately pulls out his phone and snaps a shot before he starts typing.
I stare at the guy as I try not to fidget.
When Cherry confirms this is him, that’s when the fun really begins.
Bain has already laid out in detail the things he wants to do to this man.
I’m not one for torture, but after what this man put our mate through for ten fucking years, he deserves everything coming to him.
My fingers twitch with anticipation. And as seconds turn to minutes, I finally turn to Gage. “Haven’t they answered yet?”
He shakes his head, frowning at his screen. “No. I’ll send another message.” I watch as he types and hits send, and we all stand there, silently waiting for his phone to ping. But nothing happens.
“Call them,” I tell him impatiently when another minute goes by. He presses a button and brings it to his ear. By the frown on his face, I already know what he’s going to say. “No answer.”
“Maybe they went to sleep,” I say, but it seems unlikely. Even if it is close to midnight. But that’s the only reason I can think of why they wouldn’t be answering.
Bain, clearly done with waiting, steps forward and starts checking the man’s pockets. He pulls out a phone and a wallet, tossing the phone to Gage and the wallet to me.
Opening it up, I find his driver's license.
“Dr. Jahan Jovanek,” I read aloud. “And what’s this?” I say, pulling out a metallic card, the same size as a credit card. It’s dark green with a small yellow symbol in the corner of a honeycomb grid, every hexagon identical except for one darkened cell at the center.
I hold it up for Gage to see. “The one she described was navy,” he says through the bond as he pulls his phone away from his face.
I nod as I ask him, “Does that mean this isn't him?”
We all turn to Jahan as I think about what to do next.
“First things first,” I say, glancing at my pack mates. “Let’s make sure Cherry and the others are okay. Gage, can you pull up the camera feeds on your phone? I’ll check her tracker.”
Bain moves to my side, where he can look at my phone and watch Jahan at the same time as I start clicking on the app.
“What the fuck?” Gage says in complete shock.
“What is it?” I ask as he steps up to my side and shows us his phone. Offline is written on the box that should be showing the camera feed. He scrolls down and every camera on our property says the same thing. Offline.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he says as he shakes his head. “I should have been alerted to anything going down or any tampering.”
Panicking, I close my eyes and look inside, seeking the bundle of emotions tied to Cherry that I had shoved down so they didn’t distract me. I’m now cursing myself for such a stupid mistake. But all I find is quiet, as if she’s asleep.
“Can you guys sense her emotions at all?” I ask in case it’s just me.
I watch as they take a second to feel for her, just as I just did, then frowns cover their faces.
“She’s probably sleeping,” Gage says, but I can tell he doesn’t believe that. “What does the tracker say?” he asks, turning to me.
“Right,” I say, lifting my phone and clicking the app. My eyes immediately widen in horror. “We gotta go,” I tell them as we all stare at my screen, where it reads signal not found.
“Fuck,” Gage hisses before looking at Jahan. “What about him?”
“Right, shit,” I whisper as I stare at the man who’s been watching us with wide, terrified eyes this whole time.
I pull up a photo of Cherry on my phone, then step forward and rip the duct tape from his mouth.
“See this woman?” I growl, losing all patience as I shove my phone in his face. “Do you know her?” He looks at it, then shakes his head.
“What do you people want? I have money, it’s in a safe under my desk.” I stand back up, my nostrils flaring with anger and repulsion at this pathetic excuse for a human.
“We don’t care about your money,” Gage snarls as he steps up beside me. “We want to know about the facilities you’ve worked at.”
I hold up the key card and raise an eyebrow in question. “We know who you are,” I tell him. “What we want to know is if you are the same Dr. J who experimented on her?” I jab my finger into the screen as Jahan shakes his head.
“N-no, Dr. J, he works at a different lab.”
“So you do know him?” I ask as he nods. “What’s his full name?
“Dr. Eric J.”
“But what does the J stand for?” Gage asks with an annoyed growl.
“I-it’s Jay, as in J-a-y.”
Dr. Eric Jay. At least we have a full name now.
“We gotta go,” I tell them, my hands clenching into fists with the urgency to get home. “What should we do with him?”
“We know he works at a facility. We should kill him,” Bain says as Jahan’s eyes widen in horror.
“We need to make sure he’s actually one of the bad guys before we do that,” Gage insists.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep breath. “We don’t have time for this. We need to get back to Cherry and we’re wasting time.” Turning to Bain, I instruct, “Gag him, tie him up tight, and put him in the back of the SUV.”
Gage goes to get our vehicle and reverses into the driveway as I help Bain secure our prisoner. After tossing him in the back and tying him down, I climb in the driver’s seat as Bain sits beside me, and Gage jumps in the back.
Gripping the steering wheel tightly, I press my foot down on the pedal, eager to get home as fast as possible.
“Hang on, baby. We’re coming for you.”