Pierce
I’m five minutes and closing on the cabin when Noah calls.
“She’s not in the Modesto warehouse. Just some stolen vehicles.”
I didn’t think she would be, but the knowledge sits in my gut like a ball of lead. I only have two more chances of finding her. If she’s not in one of these places, then she’s gone—on a plane, in a car, heading far from me.
I mutter a curse, then give him the directions to the cabin instead.
“I’ll be there soon. Don’t do anything rash.”
“I never do anything rash.”
“You’ve also never been in love before.”
“I’m not…” But I can’t fully deny it. A week isn’t long enough to fall in love, but my heart might be tipping that way.
“Save us both some trouble and admit it. You need a plan before you try to break in like her knight in shining armor. Come up with one and call me before you make a move.”
“Are you my boss now?”
“Nah, but she can’t tell you what to do while being held hostage.”
My phone buzzes against my ear, and I check it. My grandfather. “I’ve got to go.” I click the end button and answer my grandfather’s call immediately. “Do you have her?”
“The house is empty.”
Hope dwindles in my chest, a candle on a toddler’s birthday cake, about to be blown out when you least expect it. The cabin is the last option. What if she’s not here? I press my foot harder on the gas.
“I’ve already got people combing the airport security for both men,” he says by way of comforting me, but it’s far from reassuring. We’ve both been around the game long enough to know there are more ways to disappear, and if Cole doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be.
I’m a quarter mile from the cabin, and I slow the car, turning off on a side road through the trees.
“I’m already enroute to you,” Grandpa says. “ETA, forty-five minutes.”
“I can’t wait that long.”
There’s a moment of silence. “Be safe.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I hang up and get out of the car, shutting the door quietly behind me. I’m used to working alone; now I have a whole team coming to back me up. If they make it in time. It’s a nice change of pace, but I’m impatient. I need them now.
The forest is dense, and one could easily get lost if they didn’t know where they were headed.
What if Thea managed to get away, and she’s wandering through these woods? I keep my ears perked for any sound out of the ordinary and use the trees for cover on my right as I get closer to the cabin.
It should be just up…
There. And beside it, two vehicles, exactly like the ones from the security footage. My heart leaps into my throat. She’s here. She has to be.
I creep closer until I find a fallen tree large enough to hide behind.
I drop to my stomach, using the branches to obscure my face as I peek out, watching the front door.
I don’t know how many armed men are in there, and I’ll be no good to Thea if I barge in, causing one of them to accidentally shoot.
There are curtains covering the front window, so I crawl to the next tree, but that one doesn’t offer a better vantage point. I dodge in and out of trees, winding around the small cabin.
There’s another window. Open this time. I use the camera magnification on my phone to see inside.
I see two men. One of them is Cole, and behind him, in some weird kitchen, is Thea… and there’s another woman.
Two hostages. That changes things.
A car drives down the lane, and I duck behind a tree. My backup is still twenty minutes out. So who is this?
I watch as the door opens and a pair of brand-new oxfords step out onto the gravel.