Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Marie pulled the clothes on, swimming in Isaac’s pants and shirt, but at least she was covered.
She strained to see if she could hear anything, but there was a stillness about the room, as if sound couldn’t penetrate it, and if she screamed no one would hear her.
Not that she was about to test that theory.
Once she’d rolled up the legs and waistband of the sweats Isaac had thrust at her, she raced over to the dresser, pulling open the top drawer.
Inside was a row of phones stacked in a holder.
There were also two guns. She avoided the guns and picked up the phone, almost dropping it because her hands were shaking so much.
Marie gripped the side of the cabinet and took a couple of deep breaths. She was an ER doctor, she handled high pressure situations on a day-to-day basis, she should be able to pick up a damn phone and dial three numbers.
But this wasn’t a situation she’d been trained for.
This was completely different. She needed to keep a cool head, because it was Isaac’s life in danger.
Feeling a little more in control of herself, she turned the phone on and prayed that it was fully charged.
There was no reason for it not to be, Isaac wouldn’t have told her to use one if he’d known they’d have been useless.
Four power bars showed up on the screen, and she pressed the numbers Isaac told her to.
“Isaac, what do you need?” A female voice answered immediately.
“Cass? Is that you?”
“Marie? Yes, it's me. What’s going on? What’s happening?” The tell-tale click of a keyboard was a background noise to Cass’s question.
Just hearing Cass’s calm voice, along with her typing, dimmed the anxiety within her giving her the confidence to continue. “There’s someone here. I don’t know who. Isaac shoved me in his safe room and told me to call.”
“Okay, good. I thought as much. Believe me when I say you’re safe there. Even if someone found the room, they can’t get in. It’s impossible.”
“I’d like to believe that, but I’ve seen plenty of movies where that has proved to be the opposite.” Marie had wanted to believe that the room was impenetrable, but nothing was indestructible, and if someone wanted in, they would find a way.
“That may be true in movies, but not this room.” She paused, the click-clacking of her keyboard increased.
How fast did that woman type?
And why was she thinking about her typing speed when anything could be happening to Isaac beyond the safety of the room she was in.
Marie paced the small space as the silence from Cass seemed to stretch until it was almost unbearable to take. “Please tell me you’re sending help here?” she said, needing to fill the void.
“I am. I hacked into the security system. Issac was dragged out of the house about five minutes ago.”
Marie gasped. “Is he okay? Wait, stupid question, of course he’s not okay. Someone has taken him.”
“He was walking under his own steam, if they’d hurt him, there would be some sign that he wasn’t okay.”
Cass’s assurance should’ve made her feel better, but it didn’t. Isaac may have left the house okay, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be hurt wherever they took him. Or worse. “Right. Is it safe for me to come out? Isaac said you were the only one who could get in.”
“I don’t know. Isaac doesn’t have any cameras in the house. Nor does he have any in the safe room. It’s too risky to let you out without any visuals. There could be someone waiting for you, ready to take you and use you as a way to force Isaac to do whatever they want.”
As much as she wanted to get out of the room, she understood why Cass wasn’t telling her how to do it. “If they wanted to use me, they should’ve taken me and not Isaac,” she argued.
“True, but Isaac got you to safety, and until I can get some of the guys over there to help you, it’s safer for you to remain where you are.”
“How long will that be?” She slumped down on the floor, her back against the wall near the door.
“Deal and Hound are on their way to get you. Everyone else is headed for the office where we’ll monitor everything.”
Marie noted that Cass didn’t say how long it would be before they got there, all she hoped was that it didn’t take too long.
She also wanted to keep Cass on the phone, but if the other woman had to get to the office, she wouldn’t be able to talk to her and work at the same time.
Marie assumed she was working from a home office, she couldn’t be at the office yet.
Then again, Marie had no idea what time it was.
She’d been jolted awake and ushered into the room she now sat in.
“Okay. I’ll let you go. Thanks for picking up, Cass. ”
“The guys are five minutes out, I can stay on the line with you until they get there. Or I can get one of them to call you and walk you through everything they’re doing.”
Oh how she wanted to take Cass up on the offers, and there was no reason why she shouldn’t, Isaac would want her to do that.
He’d have to have known who was going to pick up and the outcome of her calling.
Yet, she didn’t, she needed to let everything that happened sink in and deal with it, so that when Hound and Deal arrived, she would be able to be in control and answer any questions they had.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be okay. You go do what you need to do.
It’s not like I’m going to be going anywhere,” she finished with a short, sharp laugh.
“It’s going to be okay, Marie. We’ll get you safe and we’ll get Isaac back.”
“I know you will.” Marie ended the call, and the phone slipped from her fingers to the ground in a muffled clatter.
She rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes and sending a silent prayer up that Isaac would be okay.
I’m in love with you too, I’m not going anywhere.
Isaac’s words echoed in her mind, and she grasped onto them like they were a lifeline. In all the turmoil of phoning for help, she’d forgotten about telling Isaac she loved him and him telling her the same.
She hadn’t meant to blurt out that she’d fallen for him. It had been the last thing on her mind, but the urgency of the situation had the words erupting from her. She’d even made it sound more like a joke than how deeply real the feelings she had for him.
Had he meant it when he said them back to her? Or had he said those words just to make her feel better?
No, everything about his declaration was real.
If she knew Isaac at all, and she believed she did, he didn’t say things that he didn’t mean.
Through this whole situation he’d been truthful with her.
Whenever anything changed he told her what was happening.
He’d never kept anything from her, so if said he was in love with her then it was true.
Marie pulled those words close, allowing them to fill her with joy.
He loved her and she loved him. Deeper than she’d loved Joe.
This love was different because it was pure.
It was meant to be. As hard as going through a divorce had been, that sense of failure that had dogged her for years, it had all been worth it because it had given her Isaac.
And she wasn’t going to lose him.
She may not be with him, but she would remain strong and believe that together they’d be able to find him.
Marie knew Cass wouldn’t ignore any avenue.
She would look everywhere for Isaac, and when Marie got to Alliez’s offices she would do whatever she could to assist them in bringing Isaac home. Safe and sound and whole.