CHAPTER 30 - Bryan Trevor
I said I wouldn't call
But I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how to get along without you
I just need you now
Need you now – Lady A
“I miss Noah.” The sweet voice pulls me from the screens and when I turn around, I find Sadie with a sad expression, clutching the teddy bear I brought along with the blanket.
My heart squeezes because I also miss my girl like hell and I can't understand how I spent all these years away from her.
How I survived without her by my side!
“I'm close to bringing her back.” My words come out firm, convinced that I'll succeed.
I know I will.
If there's one certainty I have in this life, it's that I'll bring Noah back to be with our daughter.
So the two of them can truly live.
So we can be happy.
“I'd better go stay with her,” she says, approaching. “Take me back, please?”
That's not an option, little one!
Never will be!
“No. I won't let you suffer at the hands of that witch and Gavin.” She stands in front of me and opens her mouth, sleepy. “And you should be sleeping. It's still early.”
“It's just that breakfast was always early, and I couldn't sleep much, even if I was sleepy,” she explains, and I have to swallow the rage bubbling inside me imagining the absurd schedules she had to follow.
“Now you can sleep as much as you want, play however you want,” I say and see her smile, a genuine light appearing in her eyes.
Daughter.
My daughter.
Every time I think about it, the world around me seems to get better.
My chest tightens, but it's a good tightness, because it's surreal to know that my love with Noah's created this beautiful little girl.
That we're close to building our family and that unlike before, today I can protect her.
I stare at her with questions circling my mind.
Will she like knowing I'm her father?
That she'll call me that?
And when she discovers that her sister is actually her mother, how will she react?
Sadie already has so many things in her head that we'll need to act very carefully not to hurt her, much less confuse her.
I have no idea what the future will be like, but I'll do everything so she loves me as I already love her.
So she feels happy by our side.
“I wanted to watch, but there's no television,” she murmurs, looking around. “I've already drawn all the drawings in the whole wide world.”
“Sit here,” I say, guiding her to the chair beside me, settling her carefully. “What do you want to watch?” I ask, closing the tracking screen for Gavin's vehicle.
He's not going to use that car, much less show up anytime soon at DarkMed.
“Paw Patrol,” she answers with her eyes shining with excitement.
I have no idea what that is, so first I search about it and where it's available.
Mental note for when things are in their proper place: buy the biggest television ever invented.
Besides looking to catch up on everything a child likes.
Everything my daughter loves.
Every tiny detail matters and I want to provide all kinds of happiness possible for her.
Whether they're small, like putting on a cartoon for her to watch, or bigger, by introducing her to the good things in the world.
What will Sadie feel when she enters a toy store? When she sees the ocean? Plays at an amusement park?
I want to discover everything with her.
And be infected by every smile she lets out.
I find the streaming service and set aside my thoughts.
I hit play and she leans forward, curious.
I watch her, fascinated by her reactions.
Her eyes shine at each scene and her little hands move excitedly.
The laughter is so light and genuine that for an instant I feel the whole world falling into the right place.
I stay by her side, trying to let her innocent joy infect me a little, but it's difficult when her mother is somewhere I don't know where, with two fucking psychopaths, far from the safety we both have at this moment.
When I got back from the Primordial House, I came straight to the screens to reread everything I'd already done and try to find clues I'd missed, but it was no use, since I didn't discover anything I didn't already know before.
Atlas and Dominic stayed with me for a good while, but then went to rest. When they wake up, they'll search for clues around the city. I want them to infiltrate every camera in the vicinity of the mansions, to find people who can give us important information.
I want the damn address and I won't rest until I find it!
Every minute I spend away from Noah, I'm terrified thinking about what she might be going through, terrified I won't get there in time.
I already failed once.
I can't make that mistake again—I couldn't bear to lose her.
Noah isn't just someone I love, she's my oxygen.
She's what keeps my heart beating, my world turning.
What keeps me sane.
She's the mother of my daughter!
“The dogs are protecting the community!” Sadie says, and I can't help but smile.
Her happiness is a cruel reminder of everything she should have had from the start.
She deserved to always be smiling, not afraid to even breathe.
Not dreading going back home to save Noah.
“She got out of bed and I didn't notice.” Greta's voice makes me look up. “I need to go shopping—the pantry is practically empty.”
“Make a list and I'll send someone to the nearest supermarket,” I say, and she nods, heading to the kitchen.
“You should rest.” Luke appears, and I immediately shake my head. “If anything changes, I'll wake you right away.”
“I can't…” I murmur, feeling the tension that's gripped my body these past few days turn into a constant throbbing in my head.
“At least try. You know better than anyone that we need to be rested for certain situations,” he insists, and I have to swallow my anger at knowing he's right.
“Little one, if you need to change the show, you can ask Uncle Luke, okay?” I say, trying to make her feel safe and in control.
She nods, glued to the screen.
“We're already best friends,” my brother declares as he approaches while I stand up. “I even showed her how the drones fly and she was fascinated.”
“He really did,” she says, smiling at my brother, and I leave them talking as I walk away.
I walk to the bedroom and head straight for the shower.
The hot water running over my shoulders doesn't relieve the tension coursing through my veins, much less the desperation I feel at still not having found her.
When I turn off the water, I stop in front of the mirror, my eyes fixed on my own disheveled reflection.
Despite my impatience, I start shaving the beard that's grown thick these past few days.
When I finish, I turn my back to the mirror.
The gaze stares back at me.
“I'm going to save you, Butterfly, even if it's the last thing I do,” I say to the reflection, to her eyes tattooed on me.
Because having Noah in my heart felt like too little, so I went further and got ten tattoos dedicated to her, including her gaze, below my neck.
The gaze that captured me from the first moment I saw it.
The gaze that will soon be with me again, or my name isn't Bryan Trevor!
There's an irritating sound in the background.
An annoying as hell noise.
Damn, it's my phone.
I quickly open my eyes and lean to the side, grabbing the phone that won't stop ringing.
The unknown number sets off all my alarms.
I answer and sit up in bed, realizing that despite myself, I fell asleep.
“B… Bryan…” Her voice comes through, sad and broken, ripping away any lingering drowsiness.
In the whole world, there's only that voice for me, and I would recognize it even through sobs.
“Butterfly, where are you?” I ask without beating around the bush, letting the mask of calm fall.
She lets out a sniffle and I hate the sound.
I hate that she's crying.
I hate the fragility in her tone.
I hate that she's far away, suffering.
“I… I need you to come get me,” she pleads between sobs, choking on her tears.
“Where? Tell me where and I'll be there as fast as possible,” I promise, begging heaven and hell for it to be close, for me to be able to get her out of there quickly.
“I'll send it to you by text…” she says between sobs.
There's urgency in her voice, as if…
As if she's being pressured.
“How did you get this phone?” I ask, suspicious, realizing it could be a trap.
“I… stole it from a guard,” she answers, and I know she's lying.
I know her frightened voice.
I recognize the desperate tone even through the line.
“Where's Gavin?” I continue, keeping her talking as I walk to the living room to try to trace the call.
“I… I don’t know,” she responds, and I’d bet my fucking life he’s right beside her.
He’s the one who told her to call.
Fucking bastard!
“Are you hurt?” I ask, trying to keep her on the line. “What did he do to you?”
The line goes silent.
“A little…” Her voice comes back, and I walk into the room, noticing it’s empty.
I want to break something, but that would scare Sadie.
“Send me the address,” I say again, desperate to find her.
“I love you,” she blurts out, and then her crying gets worse.
“I love you even more, Butterfly!” I wait for the line to go dead, but before she hangs up, I hear two taps come through.
The call drops only after them.
Two taps!
If I didn’t know her so well, I would have missed it.
It would just be something bumping against the phone.
But I do know her.
And I remember exactly what she told me the day I brought her here.
Two damn taps means no.
Noah is telling me not to come for her.
This only confirms my suspicion that it’s a damn trap.
Then the message beep comes through.
My chest explodes when I read the address she sent.
A dark hunger rises in my throat, a need to break things, to punish, to draw blood.
Gavin is up to something, but he has no idea how well Noah and I know each other—or that she just gave away his plan to take me down.
“Noah contacted me,” I say as soon as I see Luke come through the door. “But it’s a trap.”
“What do you mean?” Lauren asks, coming out of the kitchen.
Travis comes right behind her, his expression guarded.
I don’t know if it’s because of what I said or because the two of them were arguing.
“She called asking me to pick her up, and the address just came through by text, but before she hung up, she tapped twice on the phone.”
“And what does that mean?” Travis asks, confused.
“Since Noah wasn’t speaking, she had a way of saying yes or no,” I explain, and all three listen closely. “One tap means yes, two taps means no.”
“Are you sure about that?” my brother asks, and one look from me gives him his answer. “Right. What do we do?”
“Dominic and Atlas!” I practically shout.
“We’re here.” They both speak up, and soon the two of them appear in front of me. “We were on our way out. Something wrong?”
“Track the last call.” I hand over my phone. “Noah called, and I need to know exactly where that phone is.”
“I’ll have the results in five minutes,” Atlas responds, stepping away.
“Wait, I can help,” Dominic grunts, going after him.
“What’s the plan?” Lauren asks.
“Show up at the location in the message.”
“But you just said it was a trap,” she retorts, incredulous.
“I won’t be the one going—Darius will!”
“You need to explain this shit, because my sister is involved, and I’m not convinced that two taps on a phone are a signal,” Travis grumbles impatiently. “She could easily have hit it by accident, and you’re going to throw away the chance to save her by sending one of your lackeys.”
I clench my jaw and step closer.
“I know my woman, Travis, so don’t doubt me when I say she won’t be at that location, much less your sister, damn it!” I hiss, irritated by his distrust. “I won’t let you act on impulse and ruin everything again.” Every word drips with threat.
“So this is my fucking fault now?”
“If you hadn’t acted without thinking, we wouldn’t have been caught on camera, and that worm Gavin wouldn’t have taken my girl!”
“Hey, knock it off!” Luke shouts, and I stare at him. “You two fighting isn’t going to help a damn thing!”
“I agree,” Lauren says, and I glare at her.
I throw myself into the chair, staring at the screens in front of me.
No one’s inside the mansion.
But outside, there are four of that bastard’s henchmen.
The car is still parked inside DarkMed.
I don’t know where Gavin is, but he hasn’t left since he went in.
If he had, I would have found out.
Five minutes pass.
Then ten.
“Bryan…” Atlas comes back, and I walk up to him. “I couldn’t find the location.”
“What do you mean?” I hiss, grabbing the device he holds out to me.
“I don't know how, but the call isn't on any server. This shit came from a phone that can't be tapped.”
I spin on my heels and walk away.
It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to smash this device into his face.
I take a deep breath.
“A new message came in while we had the phone,” Dominic says.
I open the app.
UNKNOWN: I'll be at the warehouse at 5:00 PM.
Please come alone so he doesn't notice.
“Darius, I want him here in two seconds,” I growl, watching Travis leave—probably to get him. “Where are the hands, Luke?”
“Stored away.” He furrows his brow. “Why?”
“Gift wrap them. We're going to rattle Gavin and make him lead us to Noah's real location.”
“What are you thinking?”
“That I'm bringing my woman home today and I'm going to destroy that vermin!” I walk away, needing to make some calls.