Page 57 of Hidden Monsters

Orly. His pained tone only made her tears come harder and faster. Where are you?

She hiccuped, trying to get her emotions under control. We were at some small airport, but now they have me locked in a coffin, and I’m pretty sure I’m on a plane. They killed him, Luke, and now they’re going to kill me. There’s no air in this thing. She gulped in a mouthful of air like she’d been holding her breath for the last ten minutes.

Slow down. There’s plenty of air. Just breathe, Orly. I’m going to find you.There was steel in his tone now, and she imagined it being wrapped around her like armor, but then her mind was once again spinning out of control.

How? I’m locked in a coffin, and I’m on a plane to who knows where! Oh God, Luke. What am I going to do?

Easy, Orly. I’ve waited over two hours to hear from you. Now that we can talk again, we’ll figure this out like we have everything else.

Two hours? A new wave of panic shot up her spine, but her mind kept going back to that airport. The gunshot. The body. He killed Nelson, and now he’s going to kill me. She felt herself starting to hyperventilate again, and she didn’t know if it was because of her own predicament or what she’d witnessed earlier.

No one is going to kill you because I won't let them. Now, do you think you can do something for me? I want to try to get your breathing under control.

Orly drew in a shaky breath, willing the tears to stop, but they just kept flowing. What?

I know you can see and hear what I do. So, I want you to trust me right now, and close your eyes.

Orly didn’t want to close her eyes. She wanted to find a way out of this coffin and off this plane.

Please, do it. His demand was so gentle Orly found herself letting her eyes close, even though every instinct in her body was screaming to keep them open.

Are they closed?

Yes. Orly really wanted to open them, but she had to admit not staring at the ceiling of the coffin was giving her a small sense of reprieve.

Look through my eyes. What do you see?

Orly had to slow her breathing before she could focus her ability to do what usually came so naturally to her. Caden. Blake. All your friends. Everyone is there. She’d give anything to be there with them right now.

All our friends, he corrected her. Everyone is here, and we’re going to turn over every stone, follow every lead, and we’re not going to stop, until we find you. His words made her breath hitch. They were all sitting at Luke’s dining room table, busily typing on their computers and talking on their phones. They were looking for her. Just knowing that should’ve made her feel better, but it didn’t. Something seemed to touch her hand, and she jerked before seeing there was nothing there. Easy, that was me. I just wanted to hold your hand.

She smiled. I miss you. I’m so sorry for everything.

I miss you too. And we can talk about everything when I can see your face and hold you in my arms again. Then she felt as his emotions turned volatile, like an angry sea crashing against a rocky shore. Now, listen to me, Orly. I’m going to end this monster, and anyone who dares touch you. He won’t get away with this, and I don’t care who I have to go after to make that happen.

Orly sighed, wishing it was that simple. It’s not that easy. Russell is the captain of the major crimes division of the L.A.P.D. He has so much clout and power. He eats dinner with the mayor. He’s attended events with the governor. He’s not someone you just go after.

The plane lurched forward, breaking her concentration on their connection. Orly grasped at the sides of the coffin, but her fingers couldn’t grip the smooth surface. Luke…

Chapter 28

I’m here. Luke felt like his own limbs were confined in that damn coffin. Even as he sat at his own dining room table, he had the intense urge to claw his way out of the confined space. But those weren’t his feelings. They were hers. What kind of sick monster puts a live human being in a locked coffin?

Before Luke could finish his thought, another jolt of the plane made his stomach drop. He forced himself to take slow, steady breaths, willing the calmness he was barely holding on to by his fingernails to seep into her mind. If she had any chance of surviving this, she had to stay calm. Besides, he needed her to stay calm, because otherwise, he’d lose his shit, too. It was bad enough when he didn’t know what was going on, but now that he knew and could literally feel her fear, he was perilously close to the edge.

His friends typed away on their laptops and tablets, doing their best to track her down from the information he’d related to them, which at the moment wasn’t much. They assumed she was on a private plane, but given the number of airports in the vicinity, they needed more to go on.

Caden and Blake were working on figuring out what small aircrafts took off in the last few hours with a coffin on them.

Garrett and Tanner were checking traffic cameras, hoping to find the dark SUV with stolen plates and track it to whatever airport it had taken Orly to.

Martin was working with the fire and arson departments to narrow down the materials used to burn Luke’s truck in the hopes of getting a lead on where they were purchased. With any luck, a credit card was used, and that could lead to the identity of the buyer. Even if it was this Nelson guy, the evidence might help them in their case against Russell. Every angle was being covered.

Luke’s only job was communicating with Orly, since there was no one else in their group she could contact.

“Until she’s on the ground and can tell us more, the best we can do is guess as to her location, and that’s just bullshit because for all we know she could be somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico by now, headed for a non-extradition country. And we’ll never see her again.” Blake was clearly letting off steam, but Luke felt Orly’s panic rise at his words.

No. Orly softly cried, breaking Luke’s heart.

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