I glanced at the bracelet on my wrist—the red ribbon Gregory had left me, and I felt a surge of power run through me. My little girl was out there, likely terrified, and I was the only one who could save her.
I’d been staking out the property at the address Marley left me. The area was all industrial, and I’d recognized several business names on the warehouses. I tried to move around the area enough not to raise suspicion.
My hands started to tremble uncontrollably, and I had to hold one down with the other to steady them at times.
I finally decided to abandon the vehicle at a shopping center outside this industrial business park. It was about a three-mile walk to the warehouse I was watching. I tucked my Glock into my leather boots and a knife into my jacket. My knapsack contained a few basic supplies I might need as well as a thin blanket. Walking briskly, I made my way to my destination.
It was after sundown, and the area was almost entirely deserted. I had a feeling things were about to get interesting. I’d noticed the warehouse opposite the one in question was abandoned and would be a perfect hiding spot for me to plan out my next move.
When I realized there was a lock on the door, I stomped my feet in frustration. I spotted a brick nearby and picked it up, slamming it onto the lock until it gave way. As I entered the warehouse, I looked to make sure nobody saw me.
The place was dark and eerie, and the air was stale and damp—the smell of abandonment. I pulled out my flashlight and found my way to the second floor, where I would set up my base. I would stay here and watch that building for as long as it took. This was the only lead I’d had in all this time, and I was not about to ignore it.
The adrenaline was pumping through my veins, causing me to feel jittery. I took deep, calming breaths when I finally laid my blanket on the floor. Positioned at the front of the building, I could view the front and two side entrances of the building across from me.
It started to rain an hour later, and I wrapped my jacket closer around me. It pounded on the iron roof of the warehouse until I couldn’t hear myself think. I was about to huddle up for the night when I saw it. Two dim lights in the distance, undoubtedly from car headlights, were approaching the area slowly. I ducked down in case they shone a light toward this window. And as I expected, the lights were turned down, but I could still make out the silhouette of the car as it drove under the street lamps and turned into the undercover warehouse parking. I could not see any lights on in the warehouse, but I had a feeling it was only a front for what was really going on within the property, the same as at the club my late husband co-owned with Gregory.
I breathed a sigh of relief when the rain started to ease. The sound was making me extremely anxious. I settled on my blanket next to the window and waited, listening attentively for any noise or movement.
After a few minutes, I dozed off.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Alyssa, because there is nothing for me to say.” I placed my hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.
“That can’t be true, Mal. You’re in a state. Has your dad done something?”
He shook his head. It was the hardest for me to get through to my friend when he was like this. I hated seeing his shoulders slumped as if all the weight of the world was his to carry.
His father was the complete opposite of mine. Where mine was attentive, his was simply controlling. My father would rather die than lay a hand on Mom or me, but I knew Malcolm and his mother were constantly at the receiving end of his fury. I could hear the shouting and banging all the way to my house.
Mal never spoke about what went on in that house, but it was pretty obvious. His mother never left the house, not even to go to the shops, and Mal, well, he wore those bruises painfully. The other kids were cruel and teased him about it. I’d seen him straighten his back, clenching his fists, and walk away, but I knew it hurt him more than it angered him.
A seventeen-year-old shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of thing on top of everything else. It worsened when Gracie was born because he spent a lot of time at my house.
“My dad expects so much of me. No matter what I do, it’ll never be good enough.” He swiped the tears from his eyes. “He wants me to do stuff. Argh, why am I even telling you this? It’s not like you’d understand.”
“I might. Try me.”
“Just promise you’ll keep me grounded, Lissy, promise. You… you and Gracie make me feel normal.”
“You are normal, Mal. It’s your father that’s the problem.”
“What if I’d done something unthinkable?”
“Then we’d work through that,” I said, meaning it because I didn’t think the young man before me could do any wrong.
He was, after all, the one person I trusted the most in the world.
ChapterThirty-Four
Luke
“Seth, I don’t need a lecture right now, time is of the essence, and I need your help. I know what I’ve risked by helping her, but I couldn’t stand back and do nothing. Which is basically what you’re saying I should have done?” My brother and I have been at it since he walked in the door and heard what I’d done.
“Is this another Audrey thing? Because it sure as hell sounds like it.” It was a low blow, a really low blow, but I knew this would not be as simple as me asking him for his help and him agreeing, but goddammit, I needed it.
“Why is it that you and Elliot have to keep bringing that up? I get it. I fucked up. I didn’t see the signs when they were glaring me in the face, but trust me, Audrey and Alyssa are polar opposites.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Soit islike that, you fell for her? God, Luke, really?” He stared at me wide-eyed, reminding me of when I was a kid and got into trouble at school.
