“You can’t take it back now, Marina. You’re mine,” he sneers before he lunges for me.
Chapter 40
Arlo
“Arlo, man, I need you to calm down. She’s fine, and she can always send us a message if needed.” Oakley’s words don’t make a dent in my hazy, stressed-out brain.
We’ve shifted positions since we all arrived at the house. Oakley and I are currently in the back of Lieutenant Kempe’s car.
“And what if she can’t get to her fucking phone? What would you say if it was Willow in there?” I snarl. I’m taking everything out on him, and while I know I’ll feel bad about that later, I know he understands where my head is at.
His silence let me know my point about Willow hit home.
“What if he did something to her and we don’t know?” I whisper.
“She’s tough and knows how to take care of herself. She’ll fight like hell until we get to her if something goes wrong,” Oakley reasons.
“We’ve got guys surrounding the place as we speak, looking for any sign they need to bust in. But we’re hoping Rina can talk to him and get him comfortable enough to tell her his big plan, and how many women he’s done this to,” the Lieutenant adds in like it’s supposed to be of any comfort to me.
My knee bounces as I count to five and do my breathing. Something that normally does a damn good job of calming me down isn’t giving me the relief I so desperately need.
Static from a radio clicks on as the regular check-ins start. With every “all clear” and “in position” check-in, my leg starts to slow its chaotic beat.
“We should have just checked out the fucking house while they were at dinner,” I grumble.
“From the room you saw, there are other women and it would be nice to know if there are more than just those. Once we take him in, I doubt we’ll get any information out of him. Rina can get that information, but we have to give her the chance,” Oakley says.
“This is bullshit. Rina is bait, plain and simple, and we had a shit plan going into this.” I don’t throw in the towel. If needlessly arguing keeps my head occupied, I’ll continue to do it.
“Get it all out,” Oakley goads me.
“Our plan wasn’t great with Tennison, but this is fucking ridiculous. A five-year-old could come up with something better.”
“Your girlfriend came up with the plan,” he adds.
“And I told her it was a terrible idea!” I yell.
He arches an eyebrow at me as I slump back into the seat. I’m thankful he let me be a dickhead for a few minutes. I seem to have had all the wind taken out of my sails after getting worked up over things out of our control currently.
“This fucking sucks.” I sigh.
“I know, and it’s not my favorite plan either, but Rina’s hard-headed and wasn’t going to be talked out of doing something,” Oakley says. “You know she would have just done it behind our backs if we didn’t agree.”
Don’t I fucking know it, and it makes my head explode to even think about.
Another round of check-ins sounds from the radio that spikes my anxiety. All I can think about is the worst-case scenario. Everything that could go wrong will inevitably go wrong.
I reach for the handle of the door before a hand on my arm stops me.
“Not a good idea,” Oakley says.
“I can’t just sit here.”
“We’ve still got the all-clear. I have men in position, and they currently have eyes on Rina. She’s fine,” Lieutenant Kempe adds.
I rip my arm away from Oakley’s and open the door.
The Lieutenant’s stern voice hits my ears and freezes me in place. “If you go in there, I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a police investigation. You have no jurisdiction here, Arlo.”
