My gaze drifts to the other side of the garage, and a strange, tingly feeling trails down my back when I don’t see the bike. If the Charger wasn’t sitting where it normally does, I would start questioning myself about what he drove this morning.Didn’t he say he’d beat me home?
“What’d you say, Ash?” Zeke asks, and I realize I must’ve said that out loud.
“Oh. Um, nothing. Damien said he’d get home before we did, but the bike isn’t here.” I turn and step in his direction as I shake the unnerving feeling coursing through my limbs.
“He could’ve gotten held up,” he suggests, and I just shrug, knowing there’s a good possibility of that. He normally calls me to tell me, though, and that thought doesn’t make me feel any better.
Zeke and I walk through the door, and something immediately feels off. The house feels eerie, like no one has stepped foot in here all day. He should’ve been home by now, by at least thirty minutes, but instead of instantly freaking out, I take a deep breath. He could’ve very easily gotten caught up in aconversation with Carter, or Satori could’ve fought him over something else.
My first instinct leads me to pull out my phone and call him. I’m sure it’s some small thing that he’s going to feel horrible over. It’s either that, or he’s already on his way home, and he’s speeding to get here because he’s late. I press the call button, but my stomach sinks when it goes straight to voicemail. That tingly feeling only intensifies, but I force it down. He could be on the other line, or it could have died for the first time since I’ve known him. He could’ve thrown and smashed it, and that’s more plausible than anything else. So, I decide to call Carter instead.
His phone only rings once before he picks up, and that only makes my paranoia even worse.
“Hey, Ash. What’s up?” he says in a warm, friendly tone, like he’s in a good mood.Okay, so nothing big popped up. That’s a good sign.
“Hey, when is Damien heading home?” I manage to ask as calmly as possible, not at all like the freaked-out mess I’m feeling like. I mean, how crazy do I sound? My husband is late coming home from work, and immediately, my anxiety goes haywire? It’s not a small freak-out, either. It’s one of those ‘if I don’t hear his voice soon, I’ll explode’ kind of levels. Carter hesitates to respond, and the silence is deafening.
“What are you talking about? He should be there.” He says it so surely, like he thinks I’m overreacting.
“Well, he’s not. Is he not at the Attic?” I look over to Zeke, and the look on his face is grim. The worry etched onto his features probably mimics mine with his furrowed brows and guarded stance. He immediately marches towards the stairs, obviously growing just as concerned as I am.
“D? Are you home, man?” he shouts as he walks up the stairs.
“No, he left a couple of hours ago,” Carter says plainly, like that was common knowledge. “You’re sure he’s not there? It’s a pretty big house.”
“When have I ever walked inside, and he wasn’t waiting for me like a lost puppy?”
All I hear back is a soft ‘humph’ before he replies.
“Okay, that’s a good point. Let me look up his location.”
“His phone’s off.”
“It’s what?” he asks a little louder, like he’s suddenly way more concerned.
“Okay, see?That’sthe reaction I was looking for.” I roll my eyes and look over to the stairs as Zeke makes his way back down, shaking his head. He looks around the main space, almost like he's avoiding me, and my stomach drops. His eyes finally meet mine once he reaches the last step.
“He’s not upstairs, but you need to see this,” he says with an ominous tone. I sprint towards the stairs, letting him lead me upward, and the moment we barge into the bedroom, my throat tightens. The closet door is wide open, and most of our dresser drawers are pulled ajar. His clothes are thrown around the room, but some of them appear to be missing, like most of his T-shirts and his good jeans. The black duffle bag he likes to use is gone too, and my heart stops.
This isn’t happening…
“Carter… Something is really wrong,” I whisper into the phone as I take in the scene. My head is spinning. Why would he pack up his clothes? Why the hell is his phone off? He left work early and didn’t tell me? I try to think of a thousand reasons why he would do these things, but I can't even come up with one.
“Get over here.Now!” Zeke says loudly enough to reach through the phone, and then he storms out of the room. His loud footsteps rush down the stairs, and I hear him yell for Damien again.
“Alex and I are on the way. Donotmove.” He abruptly hangs up, and just for good measure, I try to call Damien again, but I end up with the same result. It goes straight to voicemail, and I can almost feel the floor tremble beneath me. I turn and walk out of the room on shaky legs, only to meet Zeke’s eyes as I go back down the stairs. The moment I step onto the main floor, he wraps his arm around my shoulders again and tucks me under his hold, but I’m not sure if it’s for comfort, or because he’s just as scared as I am now.
After only about ten minutes, the house erupts into chaos. Carter storms into the house and immediately runs upstairs, while Ezra and Alex lead the K-9s inside with Darnell. The moment they all step in from the garage door, Darnell speaks.
“Set,” he commands, and all three dogs instantly obey.
“What are you guys doing?” I ask and step forward, but Zeke pulls me back at his side. Ezra gives me a sympathetic look before walking back outside, and my skin crawls. The alarms in my mind are blaring, and suddenly, it’s too cold in here. My limbs are riddled with goosebumps, and I can’t help but shiver.
Carter runs back down the stairs with one of Damien's shirts and one of my blankets, only to quickly hand them to Darnell. He holds them in front of the dogs and allows them to take a few sniffs each before moving on to the next. Zeke takes a small step in front of me and crosses his arm, looking entirely unimpressed.
“What the hell is that going to do, Darnell? Their scents are all over the house.”
“Exactly. They're searching for unfamiliar smells. This is so they know who belongs in the space.” Once Darnell lets the last dog, Duke, sniff the fabric long enough, he slips the two pieces into a trash bag and hands it back to Carter. As he walks it out to the garage, Darnell turns back to the dogs and stands at attention, almost like he's expectingthemto leadhiminstead. “Seek.”
