“What do you mean she’s gone?” I try to stay calm, but every nerve cell in my body is screaming that something isn’t right.
“When I got to the bakery, there was a crowd and no Jade in sight. The kitchen was left a mess as if she just vanished in the middle of baking, and I can’t find her! She would never just leave the bakery like that!”
“I need an APB out right fucking now!” I scream to everyone in the station. Everyone erupts in a flurry, and Cade comes running from his office.
“What’s going on?” he asks, looking around the room.
“I need you to trust me, brother, but Jade is in danger and she’s missing.”
“What do you need from me?” he asks, clapping a hand onto my shoulder.
“Go to the bakery with Sarah, see what you can find.”
“You got it. We’ll find her.”
All I can do is nod and swallow down the bile that’s threatening to rise.
Hours go by, and even with all men on hand, we can’t locate her. Night is starting to fall, and I’ve been fighting against the sorrow that wants to consume me as each moment of daylight fades. I know how cases like these go. If she isn’t found in the first twenty-four hours, it’s likely she’s dead.
With each passing moment, my hope begins to fade and my heart feels like it’s being shredded in half.
I can’t lose her. I barely even had her.
With each passing minute, my hope of West finding me diminishes. Night has fallen, and the cabin is dark and cold. Its only source of light being the moon that shines through the window above the sink. Luckily, since it was chilly from the rain yesterday, I have on long pants, but my shirt sleeves are short and goosebumps line my arms as my teeth begin to chatter.
My body aches from being bound to this chair, and my stomach growls with hunger. The howl of wolves in the distance has me glancing to the door, praying they can’t get in.
I refuse to be some animal’s midnight snack.
With nothing else to do, I sit with my thoughts.
Why did I never consider Adam having a family? I never met them. I knew his mom wasn’t his birth mother, but that was the extent of what I knew. Maybe if I would have known and met them I would have recognized Garrett.
What are the odds we both end up in this tiny town so far away from home?
What if I would have just listened to Kane the first time he told me not to get with Adam?
I think back to that very first day. I was in the library studying when he walked in and sat next to me. At first I couldn’tbelieve it. Adam Graves, sitting next to me. I was popular for my grade, but I wasn’t anyone special, and Adam was, well, Adam. He was one of the best-looking guys in the school and always surrounded himself with cheerleaders. Kane tried to warn me when I started to spend more time with Adam, but I didn’t listen.
After about a month of meeting in the library and developing a friendship, one night at a school party, Adam pulled me aside where he kissed me and asked me to be his girlfriend. I was over the moon.
At first, things were great. He made me feel so special. And then he started to get jealous. Jealous when I would hang with friends over him, jealous when I would even speak to any other guys. Over time, he even started to get physical with me. Because I thought I loved him, I dropped all my friends until I eventually had enough.
If I would have just listened to Kane, things could have been so different.
But then I would have never met West.
West.
I can’t imagine what he’s been told or what he’s going through right now. Does he even know I’m missing yet?
I hope he doesn’t blame himself for this, but most of all, I just really hope he finds me.
The crunch of gravel has me rousing from sleep and sitting tall.
Please be West.
I hear the slam of a car door, and my pulse begins to drum.
