Chapter 44
Harry’s team was called in for another briefing about actions overseas. This time, he gave the meeting his attention, not worrying about Rory. She was an adult and could handle everything that came at her.
After their meeting, he stepped out and was in the process of grabbing his phone when he overheard two officers speaking.
“I can’t believe he escaped. They were transporting him and the car crashed. He took off, running to God only knows where.”
“That was almost a week ago, right?” the other man asked.
Harry almost interrupted them after grabbing his phone, but he saw the notification on his screen. Toovey had escaped and was on the loose. He’d been free for a week, and no one had informed him or Rory.
He took off, heading outside as he checked his messages. Rory hadn’t texted about the interview. It was almost three in the afternoon, and she hadn’t sent anything .
Harry opened his contacts and called Rory. She didn’t answer, so he called back, this time leaving a message. “Call me when you get this. I need to talk to you immediately.”
“Yo, Harry, what’s up?” Jax asked.
“I can’t get hold of Rory.”
“Shit,” Wild said as he came up beside them. “I’ll call Ava and see if she knows anything.”
Panic filled him as he waited for Wild to finish his call to Ava. Where could she be? He texted, asking her to contact him, that it was important.
“What’s going on?” Bear asked.
“I can’t get hold of Rory, and Toovey escaped a week ago. No one told us.”
“I’ll text Ingrid and see if she knows what’s up.”
They were standing by the parking lot, waiting to hear back about Rory, him waiting to hear from her when Bear’s phone rang.
“it’s Ingrid.”
Harry listened as Bear answered, then shook his head. Defeat filled Harry. Maybe she was taking a nap. He needed to head home and check on her.
“I’ve got to see if she’s at home.”
“Go,” Wild said. “I’ll cover for you.”
“Thanks, man.”
Harry took off. He hated running out like this, but he felt Rory’s safety was at risk. She had been making good progress, but this could be enough to take her down. He had to find her fast.
The drive home took way too long. When he pulled into his parking spot, he checked his phone, seeing she hadn’t replied or called. He remembered the tracking device he’d dropped into her purse and checked the application. The device was located where he was. Did that mean she was home or hadn’t carried the purse? He needed to find a better way to track her. He should have attached something to her car. He was stupid for not figuring this out before. He cursed himself all the way up to his floor as fear twisted through him.
When he opened the door to his condo, he could tell she wasn’t there. It was too quiet. He raced through the place, not finding her.
What had happened?
His phone rang, and he swiped his finger over the display, seeing it wasn’t Rory but Wild. “Hey.”
“We’re on our way. We’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” Wild said.
“Fuck, I don’t know what to do.”
“Call the place where she had the interview.”
“Thanks. I’ll call right now.”
He had made her tell him where she was interviewing just so he would know. He called, getting the receptionist on the second ring. “Syndicate Associates, how may I direct your call?”
“Rory Holmes interviewed there today. Is she still there?”
He heard the person on the other end of the line clear her throat. “Listen,” the woman said in a low voice, and he had to turn the volume up all the way on his phone just to hear her. “She freaked out. It might be my fault. She was in the bathroom when I went in complaining about the boss.”
“What happened?”
A few seconds passed before the woman spoke again. “The boss is a dick, and I was complaining about what he makes me do. I guess she was in the bathroom, and I didn’t know. Anyway, she came out, and dickhead started getting touchy-feely with her, and she took off. I have her phone and portfolio here.”
“Fuck.” Harry couldn’t get hold of her. No wonder she couldn’t call him back.
“You seem to care for her based on the texts she is receiving.”
“Do you know where she went?” Harry asked.
“No. She left through the emergency exit.”
“Shit. This is bad. And you should quit your job.”
“I know.”
Harry didn’t give the woman time to say more before he hung up. She was somewhere in San Diego, wandering around without a phone. He had to find her. He looked up the directions to the place and saw that she could have walked home by now.
The buzzer for his door rang, and he checked the application, seeing Bear and Jax there. He let them in, as massive worry set in. Within ten minutes of Bear and Jax arriving, the rest of the guys were there.
“Hey, we’ll find her,” Bear said.
“How? I don’t know where she went.”
Wild squeezed his shoulder. “Ava and Jessica are off work and calling around. Ingrid is about to start calling, too. If anyone finds her, they will immediately text all of us. We’re going to find her.”
“I can’t thank you all enough for helping me search for her.”
“What about places you two have hung out?” Jax asked.
“We went running at a few locations together.”
Andy met his gaze. “You know, Balboa is close to where her interview was.”
Peach nodded. “Maybe we should head out and go look around. ”
“What if she comes back here?” Harry asked.
“Leave a note telling her to call,” Wild said.
“Okay. What do we do?” Harry felt totally lost. He knew they needed action, but he feared what would happen if he made the wrong decision.
Wild took charge. “We’ll go out in pairs. You’re with me, Harry.”
Harry wasn’t sure this was the right thing to do, but he gave the guys the locations where Rory enjoyed running. After driving through Balboa Park and not seeing her, Harry asked Wild to drive over to the first place they’d gone running.
Worry ate at him. What if she had gotten so confused that she was never found? The homeless population in Southern California was large. She could wander around lost for ages, and he would never find her. Desperation was going to hit, and he might lose it.
It was a good thing that Wild was driving because he would have crashed by now. His buddies took care of him. He loved that about them.
“Where did you park?”
“Just down this street,” Harry said.
Wild pulled into the lot, and he got out, heading to the area they’d jogged. Before he got too far down the path, he turned and ran the other way, hoping he would run into her. When he got to the area where they’d seen the couple fighting, he stopped and glanced around.
He thought for sure he had struck out. Maybe she had gone to one of the bases. Where was she? He was about to take off running when he glanced down one of the side paths and saw something under a tree.
“Is that a person?” he asked Wild.
“I don’t…maybe.”
They headed down the path, his heart in his throat as he approached the person. The shadows made it difficult to see at first, but then he started to make out a shape. They were close enough now he could see that it was a person, and he thought maybe a woman.
“Rory?” Harry called out.
The person turned over, squinting against the sun. His heart may have stalled out. It was her. He wanted to race over and pull her to him, but he didn’t want to frighten her more.
“Hey, it’s me, Harry.”
She sat up, blinking against the brightness. His heart squeezed at the confusion on her face. Something bad had happened. She wasn’t ready to interview, not yet. She would be powerful, but it would take time.
“We need to get you home.”
“Home?” Rory said.
“Yeah. Come on. Wild will drive us home. It’s time to go.”
Rory shook her head and then closed her eyes. “I thought I was back there. That man…Toovey.”
Anger made it difficult to breathe. He didn’t want to scare Rory, but he wanted to know what had happened.
“What did the man do?” Wild asked.
Rory’s eyes flashed open, and she met Wild’s gaze. “He put his arm around me.” A shiver raced through her, and it was all Harry could do not to explode. She didn’t need him to be mad. He could take care of the jerk later. “I heard her talking. She had to give him blowjobs. Then he touched me. I had to get out of there.”
“You did the right thing,” Harry said. “Let’s go home and get cleaned up.”
Rory stood on shaky legs, and he moved to her, noticing her feet were a little torn up. She had cuts on her legs, too. He didn’t know what she’d gotten into, but it wasn’t good.
“I’m going to carry you because your feet seem damaged.”
Rory nodded as he scooped her up into his arms. He held her as they made their way back to Wild’s vehicle. They settled into the back seat, and he sat beside her, holding her against him as they drove home.
Wild had texted everyone, telling them they’d found Rory and were headed back to Harry’s place. Jessica and Ingrid suggested they let Rory get adjusted before everyone showed up there.
He sent a thank you to the pair, agreeing that Rory needed time. He also sent a note to her therapist, telling her what had gone down. She agreed to do a video call with Rory in an hour.
He hoped Rory could find some peace. She needed to move forward, but obviously some people would be triggers. Rory just needed something to help her once her mind started going down the path of desperation.
It may take a few years, but he had faith Rory could learn to come home and be safe when things got bad. He just had to make sure she knew that his place would always be safe. He could do that for Rory because she meant the world to him.