Chapter Twenty-One
Before
Amirah
I slam my bedroom door shut as hard as I can.
It rattles, and I want to scream. I spoke with Gage when we got back from the docks, and he gave me literally none of his time.
Jewel has been moved from the docks. I’ve googled Bill’s Freight, and nothing interesting comes up, so I’m at a dead end.
That was my only lead, and I’ve blown it.
Then there was a huge explosion at town hall that took so many lives and left Freya in the hospital! I have to get this all out. I need a release.
I race over to my bed and pull out my journal from under my pillow. After grabbing the pen from its holder, I start writing. Words fly onto the paper. I can’t keep up. My hand shakes, but I push down on the pen harder, letting it all out.
Men are so predictable, and Gage is such an asshole. I went to him for help, to have more power within The Brotherhood so I could dig deeper into Jewel’s disappearance and those shipping containers.
What did my brother say to that? I’ll tell you.
He told me to go paint my fucking nails.
What a dickhead. I tried to tell him about Jewel and the shipping containers, but he shut me down.
I thought he could help, but he didn’t even give me the time of day.
If you want something done right, you need a woman.
I’m still nervous to do this alone. It’s so much bigger than I thought. Maybe I should ask Freya about it. She might be able to help, but I still feel like I can’t burden her with this. Especially after the explosion and hurting herself. She’s got too much happening. I have to do this by myself.
I close my journal and place it back under my pillow. A small weight lifts off my shoulders. I pull out my phone and hit call on Lily’s name. She answers in two rings.
“Hey, darling girl, any news?”
“Hey, Lily. You busy?”
“Just about to leave for work. Everything okay? Any updates? Did anyone get hurt in the explosion?”
I sit up straighter, holding the phone to my ear. “No, we are all okay, thank goodness. Nothing yet with Jewel, but I had a lead that took me to the docks. Did Jewel ever say anything about visiting there?”
The line stays silent for a couple of long seconds. “No, not to me. What would she be doing in that place?” Lily asks.
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m working on it. I’ll keep you updated, okay?”
She sniffs, and my heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine what she’s going through, not knowing where her daughter is.
“Okay, darling girl. Thank you for the update. I love you,” she says, and I drop my head into my other hand.
“I love you too.”
I hang up, then fall back against the duvet, staring up at the white ceiling. This situation both terrifies me and gives me a purpose—to save them all and solve this mystery.
My phone vibrates next to my head, and I open it to find a text from Freya’s mom.
Freya is out of the hospital
These other women need saving, but first, I need to make sure my best friend is okay.