The one thing I haven’t been able to plan for is if there’s more than one captor. I’m a quick shot, but the stars will have to align just right for me to get the chance to take them both out at the same time, and I don’t like to rely on those kinds of odds.
The lock on the door clicks, and I push my fear to the surface. I’m fucking terrified, so it’s not a challenge, and when the heavy door swings open, my body tenses as two men step inside.
“Welcome home, Wildcat.”
FIFTY
COLTEN
“My sister is missing, and I wasn’t the first person you called?” Cruz shouts as he storms into the apartment with Riley on his heels.
Their plane landed half an hour ago, and I’ve been expecting him ever since.
His dark hair is messy, from the flight or the stress, I’m not sure, and he’s out of his usual uniform of a suit, instead donning a sweatsuit that almost perfectly matches his wife’s.
If I weren’t so filled with terror, I’d probably have it in me to tease him about the matching outfits, but seeing as every second Lexi is missing feels like it’s taking a year off my life, I let it slide.
“So you could feel helpless in a flying tin can?” I challenge. “Plus, we have it handled.”
“If you had it handled, she wouldn’t still be missing!”
Riley steps up beside him and wraps her arms around him, doing her best to calm him despite the fear in her own eyes. She and Lexi have forged quite the friendship since they met earlier this year, and the idea of losing her friend and sister-in-law weighs on her just like the rest of us. “Babe, we talked about this in the car.”
Cruz looks down at his wife for a beat, some of the tension bleeding from him before he turns his attention back to me. “Tell me what happened.”
I run through everything, conveniently leaving out any mention of Fan Faves because that’s Lexi’s secret to tell her family. I tell them about me being jumped and the photos that were delivered here around the same time. I tell them about the threats and end by showing them the message she received from the stalker this morning.
To my surprise, neither of them questions how or why I have Lexi’s phone mirrored on my computer, and I choose not to offer the information.
They both know the extent of my obsession, so it’s probably not that surprising to them.
“We have a team outside the warehouse staking out the place, and I’m about to head out to meet them, as well as Nico Sinclair and his guys.”
“Nico Sinclair? Like the Las Vegas Mafia boss?” Riley asks, her brows dipping in surprise.
“He and Lexi had a date a few weeks ago after being partially matched. There was nothing romantic there for either of them, but he offered his help, and I’m not going to say no when we’re already shorthanded.”
Cruz nods slowly. He spots his mom sitting on the couch with Pancake before looking back to me. “Is that a cat?”
“What do you think?” I deadpan.
“Did you buy my sister a cat as a way to keep her here?”
“Like Mr. Whiskers didn’t give you an advantage for keeping Riley,” I challenge.
“Touché.” He watches as his wife sits down beside his mother, and they start talking in quiet whispers. “Tell me we’re going to bring her home.”
“You think I spent my entire life obsessed with Lexi just to lose her?”
FIFTY-ONE
LEXI
Part of me thought I would recognize the man, or men, as it turns out, once we came face-to-face. That was the only thing that made sense to me as to how they became so obsessed with me.
But the two men standing in the doorway are perfect strangers.
“Good morning, Wildcat,” one says, and I realize he’s the one I’ve interacted with. I’ll never forget the sound of his voice.
