Chapter 6
Jayce
My interaction with Alana kept replaying in my mind the entire time I was working. When someone asked me a question, I responded on autopilot. I knew this project better than anybody. I could answer in my sleep. If they could tell that I wasn’t entirely present, they didn’t make it known.
I was pissed at myself but also annoyed with her. Sure, I should’ve told her, but if I’d gone straight to her without giving Jake a chance to come clean, she would’ve been mad about that too. That might’ve been better now that I thought about it, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. At the time, I didn’t want to wedge myself into that problem. As with everything else, it would only make me connected to everything between them. If he told her and their relationship crumbled, I could more easily salvage what Alana and I had.
His death should’ve made things easier. It was supposed to. If I’d known there were going to be so many hiccups, I would’ve confronted him about it again before I carried out my plan with the fire. I thought the whole issue with his daughter would disappear after that and maybe Alana wouldn’t have to know or it would be a long time before she found out, but the fucker had to go and make the kid a beneficiary. He was dead and still getting in my way.
I looked up at the partially constructed rotorcraft with a frown. “You’re behind schedule. Can you tell me why?”
Hector dropped his gaze. “Manpower, mostly. We had a few people quit last month.”
I nodded slowly. “Have you fixed that issue?”
“Yes, we have. I told my team that we would work late tonight and through the weekend in order to catch up.”
“No. You can put in an extra hour or two every day starting next week. Everyone should be home to take their kids out tonight or whatever they want to do. Don’t make them work weekends either. They already spend too much time here.”
He smiled. “You’re too soft, you know. That’s why you couldn’t run this team.”
“I don’t need to run it. That’s your job. But I’ll be damned if my projects are the reason anyone misses out on important time with their families.”
“Big fan of Halloween, eh?”
“You could say that. It’s the only holiday that lets you be anything you want. No job, no responsibilities, and no identity.”
“A winner like you… Aren’t you already who you want to be?”
I laughed lightly at the question. “Sure, but we all need a break from our reality sometimes.”
“Do you have exciting plans tonight?”
“Maybe. I’ll see you in a couple weeks. Make sure you get us caught up.”
He nodded before he joined the rest of his team. I made a beeline for the door, ready to get home. It was a two hour drive from here and it was already three in the afternoon. I had plans to take Alana out, so I called her to make sure she’d be ready. When it went to voicemail, I sent a text instead.
With each passing mile, I glanced at my phone. I knew she was upset, but ignoring me seemed petty. Even with the shock of what she’d learned, I’d hoped she would be able to work through it by the time I got back. If she needed a little extra motivation, I was happy to provide it.
When I was a few miles away, I checked the app on my phone to make sure she was home. I stopped at my house quickly to change into jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. One of the masks rested on my passenger seat while the other was tucked away in the back. I would need that one later tonight when I paid her a visit.
Out of all the options, the one I’d chosen for my alternate persona was the least cliché and, in my opinion, looked the coolest. Some might opt for a Ghostface or Jason mask, but those were boring and overplayed. The one I got was black with neon blue x’s for the eyes and stitches across the mouth. I found it appealing with just the right amount of creep factor. It was easy to wear with a hood and would be memorable, especially after I visited her at night. Plus, if I didn’t have it lit up, it was mostly black.
My Halloween mask was Jason, though, so I guess I was a cliché for the time being. I thought Alana would find it funny since it was my name. Simple things like that made her laugh sometimes.
I pulled up to her apartment and my brow furrowed. Her car wasn’t in the lot. I checked the app again, confirming that she was here.
That was weird and unnerving.
Taking the steps two at a time, I made it to the second floor quickly. I typed in my code and immediately checked the living room, then the kitchen.
“Alana,” I called as I headed down the hall. “Where you at? If you’re naked, you should tell me if you don’t want me to come in and see your tits.”
With a shrug, I walked into her bedroom but found it empty as well. I spun in a circle, not really sure what to do. Pulling out my phone, I called her again. Vibrating drew me back to the bedroom where I found her phone underneath her pillow. She kept it there when she slept, so maybe she’d taken a nap. But where was she now?
“Fuck. God damnit, Alana.”
Leaving her phone was most likely an accident. If she went somewhere, she’d be back for it. Maybe she just ran to the store. I wondered if I should sit and wait, but then I thought about how she hadn’t answered my calls or texts since I left the job site. That was almost three hours ago now. They showed as unread, which just made my stomach churn even more.
Twirling my keys around my finger, I decided that I couldn’t just wait around. She could have been gone for hours by this point and that didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t know how I was going to find her, but I would.
After this, maybe I’d stick a fucking tracker under her skin. I probably should’ve done it ages ago. Live and learn, I guess.
*****
The school parking lot was packed. There were fucking youths everywhere, buzzing around like bees. They didn’t give two shits about the cars trying to maneuver through and one even flipped me off. Teenagers were the worst. I wasn’t any better at their age, which was why I could say with absolute conviction that everyone should be sent to boarding school from thirteen to eighteen. Give them a place to be their crazy ass selves while the rest of us lived in peace.
It was entirely possible that I was in a bad fucking mood. I was pissed off that I had to go hunting for Alana. Didn’t she know how much I would worry when I couldn’t find her?
“Fuck!” I shouted, slamming my hand against the steering wheel. There wasn’t a single place to park. With a vicious shake of my head, I pulled up to the edge of the coned off area and jumped out of my truck. I wouldn’t be gone long enough for someone to tow it.
I made my way through the rows of stations that were handing out candy. There were some activities throughout the space and a bouncy castle for the younger kids who sounded like they were tearing off each other’s limbs inside. A man in a striped shirt tried to rope me into playing a ring toss game, but when I leveled him with a glare that showcased exactly how I was feeling right now, he quickly gave up.
Finally, I pinpointed someone I could talk to.
“Jane,” I called.
She whirled around with wide eyes, then broke into a grin when she saw me. “Jayce. How nice to see you here.”
“Yeah, it’s great. Where’s Alana?”
“Alana?” she repeated, her brow furrowing.
“Yeah, she came to help, right?”
“No, I haven’t seen her. I was going to remind her during school, but she left early.”
“What? When did she leave?”
She scrunched up her face as she thought about it. Her stupid fucking pigtails bobbed as she waved at a student in the distance. When she refocused on me, I raised my brows expectantly.
“She left before her one o’clock class.”
Shit. That was right after our argument. I should’ve stayed, but I didn’t know she was going to bail on the rest of the school day.
If she wasn’t here, where the fuck could she be?
“Oh, since you’re here, maybe you can-”
Before Jane could finish, I started walking back toward my truck. She was annoying with too much energy and quirkiness. The pigtails and polka dots were too much for me to handle for more than a few minutes. I wondered if she knew how many people couldn’t stand her. She was fucking the principal, though, so apparently, someone liked her.
On my way back, I continued to scan the booths just in case she was here and Jane didn’t know. When I still didn’t find her, I got into my Bronco and rushed out of the lot.
Since I had no other choice, I called my friend, Ben. Friend was an extremely loose term. I was going to owe the guy, but no price was too high to make sure that Alana was safe. He really should do it for free, but everything had a cost to him.
“Jayce,” he greeted in his signature cheerful tone. “Haven’t heard from you in, what, eleven months?”
“Yup. I need a favor.”
“What are you offering and what do you need?”
“A location. If I give you the starting point and a timeframe of when this person left, can you figure out where she is now?”
He chuckled. “Cheating girlfriend?”
“Doesn’t matter. Can you do it?”
“Sure, I can do it. What’s the license plate and car?”
“A 2022 Mustang Mach-E. Dark gray. V12HG7. She left from Fern Drive Apartments somewhere between noon and five.”
“Mmkay. I see what has you fucked up right now. What’s this worth to you, pal?”
I clenched my teeth and let out a long breath through my nose. “Whatever you need, man.”
“A favor, then, like you said. I’ll text you when I’ve got it.”
When I ended the call, I returned to her apartment to check if she was back yet. Her car was still gone and it made my stomach feel acidic. I didn’t know why she’d be gone for so long, especially without her phone. If she intended to be out for a while, she would’ve come back for it. Unless she really didn’t want to be contacted, but that was just dangerous. Too many things could happen to her.
God, she wasn’t thinking straight. Again, I cursed myself for leaving her in that classroom. I should’ve attached myself to her like a leech until I was sure that she was okay.
At the very least, I was putting a tracking device in her car. I was still considering one under her skin, but I’d have to figure out the logistics of that. At the moment, I was having a difficult time coming up with any downsides.