He quickly looked at the front door. I wondered if he had let her go, but if he had, she would have told someone unless he did something to her. I didn’t hear any scuffling or anything, so he must have put her somewhere.
“Scout, please?—”
Stop talking about her!” he yelled. “Face the wall and get on your knees, we’ve wasted enough time.”
“Not until you tell me where she is,” I said, taking a deep breath.
“Face the wall and get on your knees.” He stepped toward me.
Scout was always smaller than me and right now he looked like a shell of himself, very thin and seemed as though he had not taken care of himself.
“Tell me where she is,” I said, squaring up, glancing at the knife trying to figure out how to disarm him.
“Keep fucking with me and I’ll make sure she?—”
I rushed Scout, charging at him because I was done. He was too unstable, and this was my only opportunity. This was for Iris. I just wished I had told her and Nash how I felt about them before this.
Scout and I crashed together into the sofa as I prayed this wasn’t a huge mistake.
29
nash
I was just outsideof Denver when I received Beau’s text. My heart raced when I read those words because something was terribly wrong for him to finally admit he wanted help. The moment his location came through, I knew something was wrong, just like I knew when I spoke to him earlier. I broke every law I could to get to his apartment fast, but as soon as I got downtown, I was stuck going as fast as the traffic.
Every minute felt slower than the last. I almost left my car to run to his apartment, thinking it would be faster than having to deal with all the lights. As I waited, I called him and Iris, but they didn’t answer their phones, only adding to my anxiety.
The signs were confusing and I missed my turn twice having to make U-turns and recalculate my route a few times. Even though I had been to Denver a few times, their downtown always made me nervous any big city’s downtown made me nervous. This is why I enjoyed small-town life.
I was ready to punch something when I finally pulled up to the corner of Beau’s building and my stomach sank when I saw flashing lights.
Please let it be for a traffic stop.
It wasn’t. Three cop cars and one ambulance were out front, and I froze.
No, no, no.
This was for something else, this couldn’t be for them. They weren’t answering because they were asleep. I pulled over into a no-parking zone and jumped out of my truck. I heard someone honking as I ran to the ambulance. They could tow my truck for all I cared, I just needed to know if they were ok. That’s all that mattered.
“Sir!”
I ignored them and looked around for either of them. The doors to the ambulance were opened, but I couldn’t see anyone inside.
“Sir!” A police officer stood in front of me, stopping me abruptly. “I need you to go back to your truck.”
“No, my?—”
“Go back to your truck?—”
I saw Iris in the ambulance, wrapped in a blanket with something covering her head.
“No, that’s my wife,” I growled, pointing to the ambulance.
“Sir, I need you to go back to your vehicle,” he said, notlistening to me.
“I told you that’s my wife,” I snapped. “Her name is Iris Malone.”
“I don’t care. I’m not letting you through,” he said, pushing me back.
