Page 178 of The Pact

DAMIAN

“If you don’t check the fucking cameras, not having a job is going to be the least of your worries,” I snarl at the man who says he’s the head of security for the hospital. He could be the head of security for the president. I don’t give a damn. He’s making my life immensely more difficult. It’s taking everything not to grab him by the throat and force him to show me footage.

Thea’s been missing for an hour. She isn’t answering her phone. I know Sutton’s condition made her upset. She needed a few minutes alone. But she wouldn’t have wandered far.

I’ve checked the cafeteria, bathrooms, and even the parking lot. No sign of her. I can’t help the panic tearing into my chest, making breathing harder and my heart race.

This is the third person I’ve talked to—each has been less helpful than the last. I’m looking down at the wiry man with mousy brown hair and pale skin. I take a breath and push out some of my anger with an exhale. “Please. She could be in danger.” I don’t know if that’s true, however, I don’t have another explanation for her disappearance.

“I’m sorry. You’ll need to file a report. There are protocols.” He doesn’t wait for me to respond, turning and walking back down the corridor he came from.

“Stay here,” I growl to Wes.

Heading in the same direction as the mousy haired man, I casually trail him, careful to keep my steps quiet. He turns a corner. I do too. His back is to me as I watch him pull his badge away from his shirt. He’s about to disappear behind that door. I’ll miss my chance.

I charge at him.

He turns just as I come up behind him, slamming his body into the door. Groaning, he rubs his now red face. I grab the badge, swiping it in front of the gray box mounted to the wall. It flashes green and I turn the knob.

Bending down, I grab the man by his shirt, lifting him easily to drag him inside.

I’m standing behind him as he scrolls through the footage. I could have figured it out myself, but that would take longer than I’d like to get some answers.

“Stop!” I see Thea leave the waiting room, phone in hand. “That’s her.” The man plays the video and I watch closely as she walks towards reception. Then, I see…Cole. They talk and then I watch them head towards the exit. What the fuck?

He switches to another screen, the hospital entrance, finds the timestamp that matches the one where we left off and hits play.

I watch intently as Cole and Thea seem to argue. Jesus, she confronted him without us. That’s my fault. She couldn’t have known why that was a bad idea. Thea’s only known Cole for a few months. I’ve known him almost his entire life. There are things she hasn’t learned about his past that make me nervous watching this.

My body tenses as I watch my brother grab her. I instinctively want to resort to violence. I want to use my fist on the screens to relieve the rage I’m feeling. Cole drags Thea offscreen. The man switches to the parking lot camera.

I watch as he picks her up. She’s fighting as hard as she can. Good girl. Then Cole pushes her against the concrete post. He pulls her forward and throws her against it, her head bouncing off of it and lolling. He does it again and her body goes limp.

I’m going to kill him. Brother or not, he’s a dead man.

Cole picks her up and tosses her into the backseat of his car. I can see her blood staining his shirt. I’m tearing out of the room and back down the corridor until I reach Wes.

“Cole. He’s snapped. Again. We have to find them.” I watch Wesley’s eyes go wide and then darken. “Let’s get back to the house. Hopefully, he was stupid enough to leave that tracker in her satchel.”

THEA

Cole loosens the ropes at my feet. My legs stretch wide once they’re free.

“Don’t try anything stupid. I’m not fully convinced that this is what you want.” He walks around behind me and I feel him tug at my wrist bindings.

“You said it yourself. I’m not the girl you thought I was.” I feel him pause and I wonder if I’ve gone too far.

My arms spring free, I could cry from the ache in my shoulders and at being liberated finally. I slowly rotate and massage them. Staying seated to not alarm Cole, I look up at him. “What now?”

He turns and walks into the kitchen, opening the fridge. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” I lie. The last thing I want to do is eat with this madman. However, I’m making progress. I need to keep up the act until I can get away.

I move to stand, the chair legs scrape across the floor and Cole turns, expecting me to run or attack. I hold up my hands. “I can help cook,” I offer. “Hopefully, there’s something I can eat here.”

Wandering into the kitchen, I open the cabinets. Canned beans, raviolis, and sweet corn. Glancing over at Cole, I see the fridge is mostly empty. I don’t miss the chance to look out the window above the sink. It’s pitch black out. It’s probably only been a few hours since he took me from the hospital.

“I brought a couple things, wasn’t expecting to stay here too long.” Cole pulls out a carton of eggs, some cheese, and butter. For someone who came here thinking he’d be walking out of this cabin alone, he’s prepared with food that I can eat.

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