I can’t stop my body from shaking, and my knees buckle, but strong arms keep me upright, as the world begins to fade.
I hear Oliver's voice over the darkness. He sounds desperate, his voice echoing from the distance I can't seem to reach.
“Hey. Rachel. Look at me. Breathe. Please breathe.”
But I’m gone.
Chapter forty-one
Olivia
Ijustgotbackto my desk after getting the all clear from the psychiatrist, staring at the screen, at the faces of all the people I failed. I swear to god I will find Lopez García, if it's the last thing I do. I will search every inch of this Earth to make him pay for what he did to all these victims, what he did to me. There have been no further reports of missing persons that align with Lopez García's activities, which seems obvious given that we know he is hiding from Alex. I'm not even sure if he realizes that Alex and I are back on good terms.
My phone buzzes on my desk, ripping my attention from the screen in front of me. When I flip it, I see that it's Oliver calling. I reject the phone call, noting to call him back in a few. I am too deep into this rabbit hole to lose focus.
Not even a minute later, my phone buzzes again, and when I look, Oliver's name is flashing on the screen again. Obviously, it's important if he's calling again.
"Hey, what's up? I'm at work, looking into Lopez García."
"Yeah, I know you are at work, Rachel told me, before she had a panic attack and passed the fuck out in my arms."
"What do you mean, passed out in your arms?" My voice is full of worry.
"Not like that, jackass. She was freaking out. I gave her a hug, and next thing I know, she was hyperventilating and she passed out. I am pretty sure she had an anxiety attack. She is lying down in the master bed now, but I can't get a hold of Alex, so I called you. Someone needs to come home to be there when she wakes up. She isn't in a good place, and having Sam here is messing with her head badly."
"Fuck, okay. Let me tell someone that I have to go home. I've got to close down everything I'm working on real quick, I'll be home within an hour."
"Got it, be safe."
I come barreling through the front door and run to the master bedroom. Rachel is sleeping, thank god. I broke almost every traffic law to get here as fast as I could. Too bad I couldn't take the cruiser home with me, I would have had my lights on the whole damn time. When Oliver said that Rachel passed out, I was on a mission to get home. I am not okay with my girl feeling overwhelmed when I am not here to help her. I put my fingers on her neck to check her pulse; it's strong and steady. I let out a sigh of relief.
I can't deal with this stress right now. I kiss her on her head and tuck the blanket around her, trying to make sure she is as comfortable as possible, before I head downstairs to talk to my brother.
"Hey, what's going on?" I ask as soon as I walk into the kitchen, seeing Oliver sitting next to Alessio. I raise my eyebrow in suspicion, and Oliver gives a strong jerk of his head, signaling me to shut up. Got it. Something is going on. I will figure that little tidbit out later.
"So we brought Sam to the basement, and he is tied to a chair. Rachel seemed fine until she wasn't. I thought Alex talked to you guys about this before we brought him over."
"He did. We were all on board with it, but I think Rachel didn't realize the reality of it until he was physically here. I am going to go down there and wake his ass up. The sooner we get the questions answered, the better." A strong hand grabs my arm before I can step towards the stairs.
"Like hell you will." I was expecting it to be Oliver who had my arm, but the voice was not his. I turned to see the brown eyes of my furious fiancé. I noticed he was still in his uniform, with his sleeves rolled up, his muscles on display, and his helmet under his arm.
"And you are going to stop me? He has put Rachel at risk too much for him to keep breathing the same air as her."
"I agree, but you will not go down there alone." His stern voice sends a shiver down my back. I fucking love when he gets all bossy, Dom on me.
"Then come with me." I look up to him, letting him see that I am joining, whether he likes it or not.
"Fine. Are you carrying?" I look down at my uniform and look back up at him, giving him a questioning look.
"Seriously? I didn't even get out of uniform. Yes, my gun is still on me. I'm not stupid enough to go down there unprotected, regardless of whether he is tied up or not." He grunts at me and turns toward the door, my hand in his as we descend the stairs. I feel Oliver and Alessio following behind us.
Alex flips the light on, and we see Sam sitting in the metal chair, a rope tied around his chest, with each arm tied to the chair's arms. Some of his teeth are missing; I assume that's from when he fought Alex. His red hair is sticking up in every direction, greasy and unkept. I know he has been in the hospital, but he still looks like complete shit. There are stitches above his right eyebrow, and his green eyes are barely open from the swelling of his black eyes.
He finally looks up at us and smiles, "Oh, goodie, company.”
"We are not the kind of company you want to be around, Sam," I say with a no-nonsense attitude. I already don't like this dude just as much as I didn’t like Andrew. I believe Rachel told me that he is the brother who was only a year older than Andrew, and they act just alike.
"Well then, Ms. Officer, what can I do for you?" The slimy smile never leaves his face.
