Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
PIGGY
As the minutes and then hours tick by, Heidi and I are no closer to finding Millie, and both of us are feeling more and more defeated with each house we check out and come up empty-handed.
“How many more?” I ask.
I’m also becoming more exhausted with each passing hour. I worked all night long and haven’t slept. I’m going on twenty-four hours at this point. I also had to find a replacement for my shift tonight because there’s no way I could work another twelve-hour shift and actually do my job.
I’m fading fast as it is. Heidi is going to have to drive soon if we don’t find Millie.
“Just two. A bartender named Marty and Anna.”
Something about hearing Anna’s name again causes me to pause. I’m not sure what it is about her, but there is something that makes me question her. I don’t even know. I’ve only met her briefly, but there is just something.
“Let’s go to Anna’s,” I say. “Can you pop in the address?”
Heidi and I have a routine. I don’t even need to ask her.
She’s already putting in the address that Bennet gave us, but I still ask so I’m not being a complete dick to her.
The ETA is only ten minutes, and I’m glad Bullet did it this way, because each house we’ve gone to has been less than fifteen minutes from the last.
“This is such a suburban neighborhood,” Heidi murmurs.
She’s been looking up the areas on her phone, giving me the ins and outs, how it’s set up, and whether it’s the hood or not.
So far, nobody has lived in the hood. Maybe hood adjacent, but not the actual hood.
Which means they’re all getting paid a decent amount, so I don’t think Dante is paying the person.
Following the GPS, I turn down the subdivision’s entrance, and that’s when I really take in what Heidi meant. This is very suburban. Every lawn is green, maintained, and flowers are in their proper place in the flower bed.
There are rows and rows of two-story homes, minivans and SUVs in every single driveway, discarded bikes on manicured lawns. And every front porch is decorated in some sort of fashion.
Personally, it’s a little vomit-inducing, but whatever floats people’s boats.
We’re about halfway down the street when Heidi tells me we’ve reached the address. I look over to see a car parked in the driveway. It’s Anna’s. Her personalized plate can’t be mistaken.
“Well, she’s here. That’s her car,” I say, lifting my hand and pointing to the car in the drive.
Heidi snorts, no doubt reading the plate. “That woman is odd,” she says. Clearly, she gets the same vibes about Anna I do. Which doesn’t really put me at ease, yet also does in a way, because it’s not just my imagination.
“There’s only her car that we can see, but that doesn’t mean she’s alone,” I mutter before I continue. “Should we knock on the door?”
Heidi doesn’t say anything immediately. She looks at the driveway, then out the windshield. I can practically see the wheels turning inside her head as she thinks about what she’s going to say. Though I couldn't even guess at what she’s thinking, I wait.
“If she’s shady like we both suspect, if someone is in there and we knock, she’s going to deny it.”
“We break in?” I ask.
“I don’t see any cameras on the house, although she’s probably got a doorbell one.”
No doubt she’s got a doorbell one. Her backyard also butts up to someone else’s backyard, so it’s not like we can hop a fence from the back and just waltz in.
I press my lips together as I look around. This feels very big, and Heidi is right: we don’t want to just walk up and knock as we did for the others. This needs to be handled differently because I think Millie is inside.
I don’t know why I think it or why I feel it, but I do. And if she’s in there, Anna is going to try and hide that shit because she’ll, without a doubt, know that she’s a dead woman walking the moment I discover my woman in her house.
“How about I knock on the front door while you move around the side of the house and slip by the fence? Even if she has a camera, she’ll be too busy answering the door to worry about what you’re doing.”
Nodding once, I jerk my chin toward the glove box. It’s a great plan, but there’s one flaw: it leaves Heidi completely fucking unprotected. And Millie would have my ass if something happened to her best friend.
“Open up that box. You know how to use a gun?” I ask.
Her eyes widen as she reaches for the latch and tugs it open. The gun is right there, exactly where I knew it would be. It’s my extra piece, but it’s also completely untraceable, as is the one in my shoulder holster.
I’m a cop. If someone decided to do me dirty and trace club business back to me, it would be fucking devastating. So unrecognizable and untraceable is the only way for me to go when it comes to my piece.
“I do,” she states. “I have my own, but I flew here.”
“That won’t be traced back to a single fucking person. Best use it if you need to.”
“Smart man,” she mutters as she checks the device. It’s checked, loaded, and ready to go. Her gaze flicks to mine as she tucks it into the back of her pants. “You ready?” she asks.
Goddamn, this woman is a whole-ass treasure, and if I weren’t head over heels in love with Millie, I would find it hard to stay away from Heidi.
“Let’s go,” I grind out.
MILLIE
“Pussy’s good, baby,” Dante announces.
I throw up a little in my mouth, but swallow it back down. I am so exhausted, my body is heavy, and I don’t know how long I can lie here completely still, not only listening to this disgusting pair but also, my legs are aching.
“Dick game is on point,” Anna purrs.
Again… icky.
“She should be awake by now,” Dante mutters.
I can hear him moving and shuffling around. I don’t open my eyes or move, though, to watch him. I don’t want him to know I’m awake. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I feel like the sooner I’m awake, the less of a chance I have at survival.
Anna makes a noise in the back of her throat. “Why are you so obsessed with her when I’m right here?”
Dante doesn’t say anything. I know he doesn’t speak, but what he does next almost sends me to my feet. I hear his hand land against her skin, I assume her cheek. She whimpers, then I hear a thud. He’s hit her. She’s fallen to the floor.
“I don’t need to explain shit to you, bitch. You’re a cunt for me to fuck. Nothing else. Know your goddamn place.”
Well, that’s more like Dante.
I’m not sure what Anna thought they were, but she’s now been informed. “Get your ass up and—” Before he finishes his sentence, the doorbell rings.
The silence in the bedroom is deafening, and I wonder if this is my opportunity. A distraction of a salesman or something could save my bacon. I don’t know if they’re waiting for the person to go away, but when the bell rings again, it’s clear this person wants to talk to whoever is in this house.
“Go answer the door,” Dante snaps.
“I don’t know who it could be,” Anna says, her voice trembling with her words.
I would feel sorry for her, but I don’t. She freaking helped this psycho kidnap me. I mean, she did tell me to stay away for a few weeks, and I didn’t. But she helped him take me… then she had sex with him next to my supposedly comatose body in the bed next to them.
Anna is gross.
I’m not going to feel bad when she gets what she deserves, not in the slightest. I hope whatever is coming to her is everything she’s earned and more. Her footsteps move through the house, and I’m left alone with this asshole.
He moves around the room. I can hear his footsteps. He’s not focused on me, too consumed with who could be at the door. Opening one eye just enough so I can see a little of the room, I search around to find him.
Dante’s got his back to me. He’s facing the bedroom door, and his focus is on the front door. I hear voices carry up the stairs, but I can’t make out any words. I can hear a higher voice, almost sounding as if Anna may be surprised by something.
“What the fuck?” Dante hisses.
This is going to be my only shot. I don’t see how I’ll get a better opportunity. Sliding my legs over the side of the bed, I open my eyes all the way and slowly sit up. I still feel lethargic, but I am hoping adrenaline will see me through this entire situation.
Once I’m sitting up, I realize I’m still in my costume. And by costume, I mean extremely high heels and G-string panties only. No bra. Fuck. It’s going to be really hard to get out of here in these shoes.
I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to take them off and still have enough time to get the fuck out. Keeping my focus on Dante’s back, I slowly reach down and try to unbuckle the ankle straps of my high heels. These are great for dancing, but not so great for trying to make an escape.
My fingers work as quickly as possible, and I try my hardest to get them off without making any noise. I’m not sure I’m successful, but thankfully, Dante is hyperfocused on whoever is at the door.
Once I get both straps unbuckled, I step out of the shoes and stand. My legs feel extremely wobbly, but I can’t worry about that. All I can worry about is going forward. Quickly.
I take one step forward, then another, but pause when I hear a loud noise. Dante curses, and I watch as he begins to rush out of the room. Well, I don’t know what’s going on, but this is my time to scurry.
My feet carry me down the hall and behind Dante on the staircase. Thankfully, there is so much going on downstairs that I don’t think he even realizes I’m here, but then I pause. Because what I see shocks the shit out of me.
Shocks me to my damn core.