37. Boo
Chapter thirty-seven
Boo
Owen
It was useless. Absolutely-god-damn-fucking pointless. She’s not here. We found where Charlie's been staying. It’s so fucking dark out there. I can’t breathe, my lungs seize with every intake, the fear of what she could be enduring right now.
We searched everywhere, the dark streets, the empty cafés and shops, every secluded alley, and shithole in between. Charlie’s last location showed her buying a pen drive in a tech shop. The surrounding cameras showed she wandered to the park, coming out a short time later, where she met up with a bike courier.
After that she was followed by two men, in broad daylight. Cole’s tracing their movements back to make sure the biker is okay. These bastards are different to the ones in Greece. They followed her into the alley after she tried to lose them, with no success.
There were no cameras in the alley, so we couldn’t see what happened or how she defended herself this time. I can only guess what happened. Those motherfuckers cornered her . Again. She fought them by herself. Again. A few minutes later, she ran out, clutching her bag. We’ve traced her every footstep, leading back to a room she rented in an even worse dive than some of the shitholes we searched earlier.
Why isn’t she coming to me?
What was in those envelopes?
With every turn, there just seems to be more questions, each leading us on her path, trailing behind her. Too slow, it’s all taking too much god-damn-fucking time.
My jaw’s so fucking tense, I can feel the ache in my teeth. I hate that she’s alone in this. Does she even know we’re doing everything we can to find her? That I won’t stop until she’s next to me again. Safe. I won’t rest, I can’t sleep, it’s impossible. I can’t even sit down, just knowing my angel’s out there somewhere, alone, injured and quite possibly in pain.
Every time I close my eyes I see the image of her smiling face, the photo from her birthday, then it fades. The fear in her eyes haunts me, watching them widen, knowing what’s coming. I see the pain she’s hiding. Her beautiful face pale, her violet eyes broken.
I know she can fight and she fucking does it well, but fighting takes it out of you. It’s why we have a respite. We know we need to rest. She doesn’t have that option right now. So, I won’t rest until I know she can. No matter how long it takes.
No matter what, Charlie. Your promise to me goes both ways. You kept yours until you had no option to break it. Now it’s my turn.
I will find you. I will make you mine and you will never fear anything again, because I’ll be by your side. Protecting you from anything that comes our way.
Standing in the middle of this godforsaken room, taking everything in, my shoulders tense further up my neck, straightening momentarily when Ethan walks in. I’m trying my damnedest to keep my head on straight right now. I’m hanging on a ledge and he knows it.
“Leon’s talking to the people downstairs to see if they know anything.” I just nod. I can’t talk, not with her broken image playing through my mind.
“I’m not gaining on her. I need the gap to close, Ethan. I need her by my side.”
“She’s smart, O. We all know she is. If she’s managed to hide from us, she’s managed to hide from them.” I guess that’s something. Unfortunately, it does nothing to settle the unease threading through my every fibre.
“It’s not good enough. She can’t last like this. If she’s hurt…” I pick up the blood-stained wipes, showing them to Ethan. “I don’t know what I’ll do if—”
“Don’t you fucking dare finish that sentence, O.” Leon's rough voice cuts me off as he walks into the room, his frown line deeper than I’ve ever seen them before. He relays the words I need to hear. “She’s so fucking strong, O. She may not look it, be she fought each and every one of us in that ring and kicked our fucking arses every time. Her skills are wicked.” The awe and respect in Leon’s eyes give me what I need to keep my head in the game. It gives me the strength to move. Keep going. If Charlie can, I fucking will.
“She’d also love to get you in the ring, O.” Ethan’s hint of a grin catches me off guard. That guy never smiles.
“Never fucking happening.” They both just look at me, silent communication running between them.
“Don’t make the same mistake twice, O. She is more than capable of kicking your arse.” I don’t know if I could get in the ring with her. I just couldn’t intentionally lay a finger on her…mar her perfect skin like that.
Now the image of sparing with her plays out in my mind and it turns me on more than it should…
“These,” Ethan holds up the wipes I handed to him, interrupting the lust spiral I was settling into. “Must have been used to clean some small cuts, nothing serious.” He’s reassuring me, but it does nothing.
“Um, what did they say downstairs?”
Leon steps forward, looking over the room, like he wants to throw up at the state of the place. “They said two guys broke the front door down last night, about eleven. Said they were looking for a tall, blonde woman, had a photo and everything. They gave them nothing, just argued that they couldn’t just break in. One of them hit the woman, then the guy, and then they barged up here. Said they left a few minutes later, pissed off, apparently not getting what or who they wanted.” Motherfuckers hit a woman. Not in any world is that ever okay.
“She was here less than eight hours ago,” I state. “Any ideas where she went next?”
Dialling Cole’s number from my phone, he answers on the second ring. The noise in the background is loud.
“Cole, what the fuck is going on?” I ask, placing him on speaker.
“We have some unexpected visitors. Sorry, O, um...”
“Who?” Panic starts creeping in at the thought of others knowing the location of the lodge.
“Jack, and Millie. I may have told them what was going on. Jack got the address out of me. He threatened my balls, man. Not Jack’s idea, apparently. Millie insisted she needed to be close and help find Charlie. And well, Jack’s never going to leave her side now she’s up the duff.” He makes a gruff noise, like he’s just been hit in the stomach.
“Fine.” I'll deal with that later. “I need eyes on this location. I need to know her next steps. Do you have anything?” I’m irritated that Cole gave the lodges details out. Even if I do trust Jack. I understand Millie’s concern. She’ll be safe there. I’ll need to reassure Jack it’s safe. Fuck… I’ve not seen him since…
“Nothing current yet. She’s good at hiding, O.” Cole loves the chase. It’s what he does best. I’m starting to think that maybe she’s too good. What if she’s planning something? Why didn’t she come to me in Greece? To us, or Leon at the unit? I don’t fucking understand.
“Cole, how are they finding her?” Ethan asks. I hadn’t even considered that.
He’s typing frantically, the click of each key coming through the phone.
“Right, okay, give me a sec… room was let under a false name, cash, no surprises there. That whole place has nothing legit about it.”
“So how did they find her, Cole?” The room is so fucking tense, you could slice it with the knife I have in my pocket. “They found her in the alley, they found her in this shit hole. How, Cole?”
“Damn, they must have a tracker on her. Owen… Shit.” Silence fills the room and the noise on the phone goes deadly quiet. We all know what that means. If she has no idea about the tracker, they will continue to find her. She doesn’t have long before exhaustion gets the better of her. I’m rooted to the spot, the fear I have overtaking any rational thought I have in that moment. Taking a deep, controlling, yet shaky breath, I can’t let them find her first. So what are you doing to do?
“Owen?” A sweet voice comes over the phone. Millie? “Owen?” She sounds slightly panicked. “What are you going to do about it?” My mind snaps back, focusing on what she said, asking me the question I just asked myself. What am I going to do? Shaking out my hands, I breathe deep, my control slowly coming back. I know what I’m going to do.
“I’m going to find her, Millie. You can bet your ass that I’ll find her and never let her go again.” I mean every fucking word.
“Good, now what are you going to do?”
There’s rustling down the phone for a few seconds. “For starters, you are never going to talk about my wife’s ass in any context ever again. Got it?” I’d smile at the sound of Jack’s protective words, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.
“Good to talk to you, Jack. We’re heading back. There’s nothing else we can do here.”
“See you when you get here, arsehole.” I laugh. It’s a low noise that even takes me by surprise.
Charlie’s just out of reach, but not for much longer.
We walk back into the lodge to find everyone working, talking and getting along like always. The atmosphere is tense, but that’s when we work best. The ache in my chest feels tighter, the tension in my shoulders giving me a headache, and my lack of sleep isn’t helping matters. It’s been almost three days since I closed my eyes, but it’s nothing compared to what Charlie must be feeling right now.
Watching the faces of my friends, the people I trust the most in this world, as well as Millie, who’s sitting on Jack's lap, while he nuzzles her neck, keeps me grounded. I know they will do anything to find her. When Jack spots me, he taps Millie, and she turns to look at me. Leaping off his lap, she comes over and wraps her arms around me.
“It’s good to see you, Owen.” When she pulls back, the concern in her eyes is palpable. “She’s my best friend, Owen. I need her back just as much as you do. Don’t be angry we are here.”
“I’m not angry, Millie. I couldn’t be angry with you, or Jack, for that matter.” Jack appears, eyeing my hands that are still on Millie’s back from our hug. Rolling my eyes, I remove them and step back. Jack steps in front of me. I have no idea how this is going to go. We’re matched when it comes to our height, only slightly different in our build. His hand comes up and grips the back of my neck, pulling me closer.
“You’re an idiot. What happened to Millie was not your fault. I lost a friend when you left.” Shaking his head slightly, he lets out a frustrated growl. “You missed so much Owen, our wedding, Dan and Em’s wedding, the birth of Daisy, and leaving Charlie… well, you fucked up. If you want her back in your life, you’re going to need to fucking beg her for it.”
My shoulders let go of some of the tension I've been holding on to since Millie was shot. Hearing Jack confirm what I’ve been told over and over again by Leon, Zan, and the others. Relief, that’s what I feel right now. It’s awakened a flicker of hope that I can deal with anything that lies ahead.
“Already got my speech ready, and I didn’t miss as much as you think I did.” I may have been very absent for the day-to-day events in their lives, but I made sure I saw the big events. I may have travelled to Ibiza the day of their wedding, and tapped into the camera feeds now and again, to see baby Daisy come home.
“What’s that meant to mean?” Jack looks confused. All eyes land on me. I had no idea they were all listening into our exchange. I should have known better. Nosy fuckers.
No better time than now to come clean, I guess.
Millie comes to stand by Jack’s side, interlacing her fingers with his.
“I made sure I was there for the big events, that’s all.” I’m trying to play it off as nothing, but I can see it in their faces that this is not nothing to them.
A chorus of ‘what's’, ‘shits’, and ‘did he just say…’ ring out around the room.
“I never missed your wedding, or Dan and Em’s. I was there, you just never saw me. I was there the day Em and Dan brought Daisy home. I would never have missed it. She’s cute.” I shrug it off.
Jack lets out a laugh of disbelief. “The ghost,” is all he says before walking off towards the back of the room with Millie. “I should have known. He couldn’t really stay away for that long. Just you wait until Charlie finds out.”
“I know I owe you all an explanation, but not now, okay? Just not now. Can we just focus on getting her back? I’ll talk when I have Charlie next to me.”
Needing some space, I notice that Leon and Ethan aren’t anywhere to be seen. If I had to guess, they found my stash and their new toys in the basement.
Heading to the kitchen, I grab myself a drink before going to the basement. And there they are, big ass smiles on their faces. I bought in a full range of firearms, weapons and some other not so legal items ready for whatever comes our way.
“What do you think? They’ll make a nice addition to our standard issue weapons.” I mock coming up behind them, the door closing behind me. We all have a gun, not all the time, just in particular situations like our current one. Even in here it’s with me.
“I think you are planning for a zombie apocalypse, and have greatly overestimated what you will need,” Leon says, dismantling a new rifle.
“Still love the zombie movies, Leon?”
Agreeing with me, he carries on taking out each gun and knife, examining it and placing it back.
“I have something for you too, Ethan. Follow me.”
Pushing open the doors at the back of the room, the lights flicker on automatically, flooding the place with light, showing off the full medical room.
“Fuck.” I get the chin lift. Without Ethan’s funds, when we first started Cerberus, we would have nothing. We owe him so much.
“What is this place, O?” he asks, while he opens and closes the cupboards filled with every medical supply you could think of and more.
“Our safe haven. If I’ve missed anything, just order it.” Handing him a key, I add, “The explosives are stored outside in the lockup.”
“Nice. All I need now is to build an interrogation room and I’m set.” He smiles.
“Down the hall to the right,” I say over my shoulder, walking back to the door.
“You really have thought of everything.” I tried. Taking the last sip of my drink, I almost choke on it when the shriek from the alarm system sounds, assaulting my ears.
Seconds later, the three of us are running for the stairs. “We have visitors,” I state. My heart rate picks up as my feet thud up the staircase to get to the surveillance system screens.
“Who the fuck else did you lot tell about this place,” I bellow as I switch the cameras to see who has triggered the alarm... Millie looks a little guilty for being here, whereas Jack just shrugs. The others all deny anything.
“I can’t see anyone. Where the fuck did they go?” Switching between the cameras, I don’t see shit.
“I’m right here. You must be Owen? I’m Xander. It’s good to meet you.”
Everyone moves like lighting, guns drawn, aimed at the man who bypassed my security and walked into the place like he owns it. My gun’s secured at my side. I know my guys have me covered.
He’s standing so casually. His build and his assertive demeanour, this guy looks like he means business. He’s tall, blond, and built like he trains regularly, dressed in suit trousers, his shirt is open at the collar, giving him an air of relaxed refinement. I get a feeling he’s more than capable of some, if not more, of the things we are. He has to be either crazy or so fucking self-assured to walk into a room full of ex-army. That’s ballsy, or stupid. I haven’t decided which one yet.
I can’t see any weapons on him. Leon takes a step forward to check him out anyway. He allows us to search him, no one saying a word. Guns still pointed in his direction.
“Who are you?” Ethan asks.
“I’ve already told you who I am. My name is Xander and I’m a very close friend of Boos'.” Hands in his pockets, he looks around the room, greeting everyone with a nod or a slight lift of the chin, none of which are returned.
“Boo?” It’s a simple question, so why is he frowning at me?
Cole coughs, telling me I need to know something. I move closer and he whispers, “Boo is a nickname of Charlie’s. Her parents used it when they came to visit. She told us only people she was close to call her that.” Right, another thing I didn’t know. Regret invades my chest, like a snake. I have so much to learn about my angel.
“Interesting that the one who seeks her the most does not know this little detail. I guess that’s what you get when you disappear for a year.” My hackles go up. I want to hurt him. H ow well does he know her?
“I wouldn’t if I were you. Let me give this to Cole. He can check out who I am before we go any further.” He asks Cole to run a check on Alexander Boltov, gives him a code, and places two things on the desk. Cole eyes me like he has no idea how he knows his name. Signalling for him to go ahead, Cole gets to work, opening a file and entering the code he gave him.
“He checks out, O. Stand-the-fuck-down.” Everyone eases back but me. I trust what Cole says, but it doesn’t mean I won’t read that file later for myself. Or that I trust this stranger.
“How do you know Charlie?”
He looks frustrated, like I’ve asked the wrong question. “Boo and I, we go way back.” There’s a glint in his eyes. He knows he’s winding me up, and it’s working.
“That’s the least of your problems right now, Owen. I saw Boo last night.” Fucking hell , I almost double over at the sound of his words. It’s like a blow to the stomach. She’s alive, she’s okay. Why the fuck didn’t he lead with that?
“Where? Why isn’t she with you?” Stepping close, I get in his face. He doesn’t even flinch. I can’t get any more words out. My heart’s in my chest.
“She came to me.” There it is again, a fucking punch to the gut.
“What...what do you mean, she came to you?” I say, frustration seeping into my words.
“She came to me. She needed something I had, apparently. I’m not happy about it.” I fall into the seat behind me. She has to know we are looking for her. She has to know I’d never let her down. That I’d do anything to find her right now. We’re so close.
“Why is she not with you now?” Ethan demands from my side, his jaw as tense as mine.
“She left before I could do anything, Ethan.”
“How the fuck do you know my name?” he spits out.
“I know many things, you’ll see, but Charlie, that one is… determined. She wants to finish this, whatever this is. She didn’t tell me anything, but from what I’ve seen on the memory stick, she’s in some deep shit. That’s why I came to you. I care about her.”
For the first time since he walked into our place, I can see a softness in his eyes.
“I need to get to her. Tell us everything you know.” I’m placing my trust in him right now. I have to. He was the last person to see her. Even if he did just break into my place without being seen.
“She left mine in the early hours this morning before I woke, and after raiding my den.” He grits his teeth and I like that she’s pissed him off. “Boo decided to take a few things I’m not impressed about. Her favourite gun, ammo, and a load of snacks, she also took my favourite truck before she left.” There's a lot to dissect in that, but the only thing that sticks in my mind is that she stayed over at his house.
“What are you up to, Charlie?” I mutter quietly.
He holds up a hand, halting my words when he reaches for his phone and puts it to his ear.
“It’s about time you called. She needs you. Are you on your way?” There’s nodding as he agrees to whatever the other person is saying.
“Good, yes, okay. I’ll do it now.” He places the phone on the table next to him. “You’re on speaker now.”
“We have your location. Our ETA is twenty hours. Faster if we can, but it’s not easy.” A male voice says.
“Do you have eyes on our girl yet?” a second one adds, his voice stern. What the fuck? Our girl?
“Who the fuck are you?” This is getting annoying as fuck. How many other men is she close to?
“Her brothers, jackass,” Xander laughs, and I immediately feel like shit.
“Shit, Sorry—”
“You should be. Find her Owen. We will be there when we can.”
Xander ends the call and places his phone back into his pocket. “Now that’s out the way, let’s get to work, shall we?” Picking up the two small devices from the desk, he hands one to me and the other to Cole.
“This one,” he tells the room, “is all the information Boo had on the Summers’ organisation, including the video she found. I have a suspicion she wants to end the whole organisation and not just him.” Turning to me, the corner of his mouth lifts slightly he says, “And this one is the location of my favourite truck.”
Looking at the small device he handed me, I squeeze it my palm like it’s my lifeline to her…
I’m coming, Angel.