I’ll play along with his commands for now, but I know better than to wait for someone else to save me.
I didn’t train my whole life not to be able to save myself, and the cool metal pressed against my hip reminds me of that every step of the way to my own demise.
FORTY-EIGHT
COLTEN
Adistressed meow tears me from sleep, and I sit straight up, blinking at the barely lit bedroom.
The sun is peeking out over the horizon, but it’s still too early to be awake.
It takes too long to realize I’m alone in bed, and a shock of panic hits my chest.
She’s probably just feeding Pancake and taking too long, I reassure myself.
As the one that normally feeds her, I know just how impatient the little ball of energy can be when it comes to her food…much like Lexi now that I think about it.
I slide out from between the sheets and tug on the sweatpants I shed last night before moving into the living room, but instead of finding my girl feeding the cat, I find Pancake clawing at the elevator doors, something she’s never done before.
“Lexi!” I call out. The apartment is open plan, meaning I should be able to see her from here unless she’s in one of the bathrooms.
When she doesn’t materialize, I move back into the bedroom and pluck my phone off my bedside table, checking the elevator log and finding an entry from twenty minutes ago.
No.
She’s running.
I dress as quickly as I can, throwing on the first items of clothing my fingers touch before heading to my desk. I can access all her trackers on my phone, but it’s far easier on the laptop, and the fear streaking through my chest needs that ease right now.
I’m barely logged in when my phone buzzes and Lexi’s name fills the screen.
Lexi: I’m sorry, Colten. He threatened Mom. I’m wearing the shoes that were near the table, and I have the gun you hid in the pantry. I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.
I stare at the words for longer than I should, especially seeing as my heart and soul is currently in danger.
She’s given me everything I need to locate her as well as the words I’ve longed to hear from her for as long as I’ve understood what they mean.
My girl is so fucking smart. And in so much fucking trouble when I get her back.
By the time the cavalry arrives, I’ve got a live tracker up on the television while I run point on the team I have tailing them.
As much as I need to be there, I need to be here as well. Once they’ve stopped and we have surveillance of the area, I’ll move out to join them, but this is the shit I thrive on and what I’m good at.
Lexi’s phone was dropped near the De Luca estate, no trace of the message she sent me, which just fills me with pride. She knew he might check her phone so she deleted the evidence before he could find it.
She’s still in a world of trouble once I have her back, but the fact she’s done everything in her power to help us find her just proves she was listening all the times I ran through these scenarios with her.
I’m so fucking glad I was honest with her last night so that she knew to tell me which shoes she wore. The amount of time that was shaved off finding her could make all the difference.
Cruz and Riley are on a flight right now, and I’d rather not tell them any of this is happening until they land. Not exactly the post-honeymoon bliss they talk about.
But I also know my best friend will kill me if I don’t tell him that his sister is missing, so I’m at an impasse.
Mary sits on the couch with Pancake in her lap, the two of them offering comfort to one another as people move around them.
I fucking loathe having people in my space, but it’s not worth the time it would take to relocate to the office.
If we have to move after this ordeal, so be it.
