Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Axel put the folder on Dom’s desk and remained standing while his alpha opened it.
“Reese Walker is my mate,” he said. “We matched on mate.com three weeks ago. I should have told you sooner.”
Dom turned the first page and continued reading. “I know.”
“You know?”
“You’ve been acting differently since her intake.” Dom did not look up. “Sit down and walk me through it.”
Axel sat and explained the situation. Dom knew about everything up until last night. Axel had found a new people-search site that had posted a listing for Reese Walker. The public page showed her current location.
Axel had sent the takedown demand and filed the search-engine cache request. But he couldn’t make either copy disappear immediately.
“There’s one thing that isn’t in the file,” Axel said. “She’s eighteen weeks pregnant. The baby is due in November. She hasn’t told many people, but it changes the risk if Wade finds her.”
Dom placed the pages in a neat stack and leaned back. “What do you need?”
“The cabin at Crystal Lake. I want to prepare it and take her into protection until we know more.”
“Use it. Take whatever equipment you need from storage.” Dom closed the folder and rested his hand on it. “Let me know if you want a security rotation.”
“Thank you,” he said, standing from the chair. One step down. Two more to go. First he needed to prepare the cabin, and then he’d come back and take Reese formally into protection. He could have done it last night, but he was hesitant to push the issue before he was sure about the cabin.
Crystal Lake was forty miles outside Fate Mountain at the end of a gravel road. The cabin was located on the south side of the lake near a dock. There was no cell service for miles. That made communication more difficult, but it also made the cabin harder to locate and monitor.
Axel opened the front door, walked into the cabin, and assessed each room. He turned on the water and ran the taps until they flowed clear and cold. He turned on the heater and tested the chimney.
The cabin had a stone fireplace, an old leather couch, and a full kitchen. Axel had stayed there twice during other security situations. There were shelf-stable rations, but he’d have to stock it with fresh food when he returned with Reese.
He made the bed with clean sheets and added the extra pillow she liked between her knees. Axel walked the perimeter next. Dom would set the security rotation once Reese was there.
When he was done preparing the cabin, Axel got in the Suburban and started the drive back. He checked his phone when he had cell service again, expecting a text from Reese. Her shift would be over by now, and she usually texted when she got home. He didn’t find one.
Axel tapped Reese’s contact info and dialed her number. The call went straight to voicemail.
He stared at the phone. Straight to voicemail meant the phone was off, dead, or out of service. She should be home from work by now, so it might just be dead.
After the long drive back down the mountain, Axel parked behind Steel Protection, got out of the car, and went inside. Blaze came to his desk a few minutes later. His face was controlled, but his shoulders were tight.
“Stella’s been calling Reese all morning,” Blaze said. “She didn’t show up for work.”
Axel was on his feet before he registered standing.
“Reese has never missed a shift,” Blaze said. “Never even been late. Stella was going to go to her apartment, but I said I’d deal with it. Have you talked to her?”
“Not since last night. Her phone is going straight to voicemail,” he said, his world tilting. “I was preparing a safe house. Her data showed up online yesterday. I got the green light to use the Crystal Lake cabin from Dom this morning. I’ll check her apartment.”
Axel called Reese on his way to the car and got voicemail again. He drove faster than he should have down Main Street and forced himself back to the speed limit before the next intersection.
When he reached Reese’s building, her assigned parking spot was empty. He got inside when one of her neighbors was coming out and went upstairs. He knocked on her door and called her name. Nothing. He looked at the lock.
He wasn’t going to stand around in the hall when Reese could be hurt, gone, or taken. He took out his lock picks, opened the lock, and stepped inside.
He quickly found that the bags she kept at the foot of the bed were gone. The closet was empty. A paperback with a hollowed-out center sat open on the bed. She must have been hiding her cash inside. It was empty.
In the bathroom, her wet work shirt still hung over the shower rod. Then he checked the kitchen. The food was still in the refrigerator. Her dishes were still in the cupboards, and the jar of green onions stood on the windowsill.
Axel stopped in front of it. She’d only taken what she needed to run.