“I’m going to her place,” I said. “Maybe there’s something there.”
“Wait,” Colt said. “We just got something.”
I stopped cold at the top of the tunnel steps.
“A 911 call came in an hour ago. Location near a warehouse in Dogpatch. Police found Ben and Lauren.”
“What about Ellie?”
“Don’t know yet.”
I turned back, already rerouting. “Send me the address.”
FIFTY-ONE
Ellie
I was sittingon the back of an ambulance, an itchy gray blanket draped around my shoulders, when I saw him.
His car screeched to a stop just beyond the police barricade. The second he stepped out, I let out a relieved breath. I hadn’t realized how tense I was, how locked down everything inside me had been, until that moment.
Sawyer’s car door slammed shut, and he barreled out of the car before being stopped, getting in an argument with one of the officers. Panic was clear in his eyes, and he was soaked from the rain. His shoulders looked so tight, I could feel the tension from thirty feet away.
I stood, blanket slipping off my shoulders, but an EMT reached out to stop me. “Ma’am, you need to stay seated until we’ve completed a full?—”
“I’m fine,” I said, brushing past him without looking back.
I didn’t care if I wasn’t cleared. It didn’t matter that my wrists still burned, that my legs were unsteady. The flashing lights closed in from every direction, but the only thing that mattered was getting to him.
I reached the barricade as one of the officers tried to block Sawyer again.
“He’s with me,” I said quickly.
“Ma’am—”
“Oh my God, just let him through. He’s my boyfriend.”
The officer blinked at me and reluctantly stepped aside.
Sawyer didn’t wait. He was in front of me in an instant, his arms around me.
“Ellie, baby,” he breathed, his voice breaking.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, clutching him like it was the only thing keeping me upright. “I’m okay.”
He pulled back, his hands framing my face. “Are you—did they—fuck, are you hurt? What happened? Why weren’t you at the game? I don’t understand. I kept looking for you, and then Rachel called and—” His voice hitched. “God, I was so fucking scared.”
“I know,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have my phone. Everything happened so fast.”
He kissed my forehead like it was instinct, like his body had to touch me to confirm I was here.
“I thought maybe…” His voice dropped. “I thought you changed your mind. Didn’t want to come. I didn’t want to believe it, but I kept wondering if I messed everything up.”
“No,” I blurted out. “God, no. I wanted to be there. I was on my way when everything happened.”
He exhaled and looked up at the sky, blinking.
“I need to call Rachel,” I said. “She must be freaking out.”
