Thirty-Four
Patrick
By the time I got tothe inn, Gage and I were thankful to be alive.That storm was a fucking disaster, with strong wind gusts threatening to flip my truck and thick layers of snow reducing visibility to nothing.I was surprised we got through it in one piece, but then again, there was nothing that could stand in my way of getting to Poppy.
I threw the truck in park, jumped out of the cab, and ran to the front door, struggling to catch my breath in the harsh wind.My heart hammered in my chest, my blood pressure soaring as I raced through the inn, desperate to find Poppy.My heart sank as I fought off the urge to scream, knowing she was gone.There wasn’t any sign of struggle, but that did nothing to reassure me that she was okay.
Gage came in behind me, both of us abandoning our stuff in the covered bed of the truck as he talked to Julie on the phone.She hadn’t been able to make it back before the storm hit, so she was going to stay with her parents and keep an eye on Daisy.
My phone rang, and I whipped it out of my pocket so fast that I nearly dropped it.I swiped my finger across the screen to answer it, not bothering to check the caller ID.
“Hello,” I said, gripping it tight as I prayed it was her.
“Hey.We know where she is,” Keith said, cutting straight to it.I loved that about him.
I had Gage call him the second we knew Poppy was gone, and he assured me he was on it.
“Fuck.Thank God.Where is she?”
“It looks like they have her in a cabin not far from the inn,” he confirmed as I heard a keyboard clicking in the background.
What was it with these fucking cabins?Was this justthe placethat lunatics liked to take their victims to torture them?Was there some secret Silver Falls fight club, and everyone knew to come to the woods and find an abandoned cabin to do their dirty work?
“Where at?”I asked, shoving a hand through my hair as Gage ended his call and listened to mine.
“I’m not sure exactly.We’re trying to pinpoint an exact location, but the storm is interfering a bit.”
“Fine.I’ll go driving around until I find her.”
“You won’t,” Keith said firmly.“You’re going to stay at the inn, with Gage, and wait for an update from me.”
“No.No fucking way,” I growled.“I appreciate you finding her general location, but there’s no fucking chance that I’m going to just sit this out and wait for someone to go find her.”
“I know you care about her deeply, but I need you to hear me when I say this,” Keith said slowly.“If you so much asset foot outsideof that inn, I will come after you for interfering with a federal investigation.I already have men on the ground, searching the area.As soon as I have confirmation of the location, I will go in and extract her.I need you to sit back and allow me to do my job.”
“I can’t—”
“You will.This isn’t optional, Pat.This isn’t some romance book where you swoop in and save the day.You can play hero with her after I get her out safely.Until then, sit your ass down and let me do my job.”
Before I could say anything else, the line went dead.
