Page 64 of Keeping Astrid

The anxiety within him grew larger and larger until it threatened to drown him.

Something had happened to Astrid.

He knew it deep in his bones.

“We’re getting off the plane now,” Ox said. “You need to get a message to Irish and Angel. Fuck, we need them here.”

Words Growler didn’t want to hear. Shit must be really bad.

Ox hauled his bag up and gave the age old “let’s move” signal. Not needing anymore encouragement, Growler slung his bag over his shoulder and shot down the aisle.

“Coming through. Make a hole.” Not giving a fuck for airplane passenger etiquette, they both rushed past people to get out of the plane and onto the jetway. All the while, Growler was conscious of Ox talking on the phone.

They rushed past the smiling flight attendant at the gate and headed for the exit. Neither of them had checked luggage, so they didn’t need to head to baggage claim. Once they were clear of the people milling around the gate, Growler grabbed Ox’s arm.

“What the fuck is going on? I know it has to do with Astrid.”

Ox sighed. “You’re right, that was Cass. Astrid has gone missing.”

Growler swayed. The world stopped. “When? How? How long?”

The fact he managed to fire off the questions surprised the hell out of him. Buzzing sounded in his ears, and he was sure that if Ox didn’t have a steady grip on him, he would’ve collapsed to the ground.

“She’s been missing twenty-four hours. Cass is looking into it. She was down with a migraine when Penni called the office. Even now she sounds like shit, but because of us being in the bowels of the jungle and then on a plane, Yolanda couldn’t let us know.”

Twenty-four hours.

Anything else Ox said went over Growler’s head. His mind hung up on the fact that the woman he loved had been missing for a day and he hadn’t known anything.

“Come on, man. Let’s get to the office.” Ox gave him a small shake, and he looked at his friend. “We will find her.”

The determination in Ox’s voice was what he needed to shake him out of his stupor. His woman was missing. She needed him to have his shit together so that he could find whoever had taken her and make them pay. In a slow, tortuous way.

Astrid shifted on the hard wooden chair, grimacing at the pinch of the ties on her wrists and feet. Fear had driven her for the first few hours. After being grabbed in the parking lot, she’d been shoved into the back of the van where she’d been tied up. The drive to wherever they were seemed to take hours. No one else had come into the shitty cabin she was in. The guy appeared to be working alone.

Why weren’t there other men here?

Were they on the way? Was that why he was pacing around the small space?

No way did she want to ask the questions, her cheek hurt from the last time she’d tried.

Looking around for an escape route was futile. No matter how many times she searched the cabin, a larger window didn’t appear. A toddler wouldn’t be able to fit through the sliver of glass that pretended to be a window. The light attempting to filter through was pathetic because the glass was so dirty.

What was this guy waiting for?

He’d even given her food, cutting the ties around her hands so she could at least use them to fork some of the rice mixture he’d given her into her mouth. At first, she’d been reluctant to eat it. He could’ve laced it with poison, but as he was also eating it, she figured it was safe. Once she’d finished eating, he’d restrained her hands again.

Now here they sat, waiting.

Did Callum know she’d gone missing? Had he even returned from his trip? Was he even safe? She would give anything to be in his arms instead of bound to a chair.

Astrid closed her eyes and clung to the hope that Penni would’ve called the Alliez and the police by now. She would’ve been on the phone the second it became obvious she hadn’t been on the train.

Knowing that people could be looking for her was the only reason she wasn’t totally freaking out. She wished she’d put on the pendant that Cass had given Callum for her. He’d told her it would keep her safe, and she’d always had it on, until the day she’d left to go to Penni’s. Of all the days to change out her jewelry, she had to choose the day she’d gotten kidnapped.

She glanced again at the man holding her captive. He looked agitated. He kept glancing at his phone as if waiting for it to ring.

If the cartel had wanted her dead, why hadn’t he stopped the van during their long journey and killed her? Dumped her body on the side of the road. Or down a track where no one traveled and would never find her.

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