Page 42 of Out of the Darkness

His jaw clenched as he struggled to maintain his composure. He had a pretty good idea why she had hung up on Isabelle like that, and that just pissed him off even more. Madelyn probably assumed he had gone back to Isabelle, even though he had never given her any reason to doubt him.

Turning back to the computer screen, he sat down and began doing what he usually did when he was looking for someone; he started a search. He began searching for any activity on her credit cards and checking hotel records to see if she had checked in somewhere. However, he was surprised when he got a hit from the Cedarwood Police Department.

According to the report, Madelyn had been labeled as ‘missing’ after she had disappeared from the parking lot of the local medical clinic yesterday afternoon. Her purse and cell phone were found next to the dead body of CPD Detective Bernie Slopes, who was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. It was quick, clean, and there were no witnesses.

“Colby,” he sneered, rage bubbling in his chest as his vision became tinged with red.

“What?” Isabelle asked curiously.

Xavier glanced at who the lead detective was on the case and rolled his eyes before he rose from his seat. The anger, fear, and adrenaline were masking the pain from his injuries, which was good. He was going to need every ounce of strength he had to get through what he had to do.

“Colby has Madelyn,” he stated, scrolling through his phone and exiting the room.

Once again, Isabelle was behind him. “Oh, come on, Xavier. You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I do.” He smashed his finger against the call button on his phone again and brought it to his ear. “Unlike you, Colby understands how important she is to me. And since he hasn’t been able to get to me, going after Madelyn is the next best thing.”

There was a click on the other end of the phone before a familiar but unwelcome voice filled his ear. “Hello?”

“Melanie,” he ground out, grabbing his keys and stuff off the entry table and heading out the front door with Isabelle on his heels. “We need to talk. I know who has Madelyn.”

He was taking a huge risk, going to Melanie, but he didn’t have any other option. He needed to know what she knew and what leads, if any, she had. He also needed to warn her because, when he found Madelyn, and he would find her, she was going to need her best friend. Melanie couldn’t go after Colby, but he could. It didn’t matter what happened to him as long as Madelyn was safe.

Chapter Twenty

Xavier

“You must still have some serious brain damage if you think that this is a good fucking idea,” Isabelle complained, pacing the concrete.

The two of them were standing in the parking lot of one of the buildings that was currently under construction and a few blocks from the station. When he made the call, it was under the assumption that Melanie still cared about Madelyn, and he had assumed correctly as it hadn’t taken much to get her to agree to meet with him. She had been so eager for any shred of information that she hadn’t even asked who he was, what information he had, or why he asked to meet with her alone. In truth, she was lucky it had been him who asked to meet with her instead of Colby or one of his guys.

“No one said you need to be here,” he snapped at her.

“Obviously, I do need to be here,” she retorted. “You have kept what you are a secret for years, but the moment you leave us, all of a sudden you tell everyone who will listen! You are going to end up getting yourself killed!”

Isabelle was currently pushing every single one of his buttons, and he was seconds away from completely losing it on her. He didn’t know why she cared so much. It wasn’t like it was her secret he was exposing. Who he told had no impact on her or her life whatsoever.

Thankfully, he was saved from biting her head off by Melanie coming around the corner of the building. She looked exactly as he expected her to since her best friend was missing. Her hair was up in a messy bun, her clothes were wrinkled, and she was wearing day-old makeup. Madelyn’s disappearance seemed to be weighing heavily on her.

Melanie’s steps slowed when she spotted both him and Isabelle, and her hand instinctively went to the gun on her belt. “Are you the one who called? The one with information about Madelyn?”

“I am,” he replied, folding his arms across his chest.

“Right,” she muttered as she eyed him skeptically. “And how did you come about this information? Were you in the parking lot when it happened, or?—”

He raised an eyebrow in question. “You are asking those questions now?”

Melanie rolled her eyes and threw her arms out in clear frustration. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Melanie, I know who took Madelyn because he’s after me. He knows how much hurting Madelyn would hurt me,” he said quickly.

Shifting on her feet, Melanie’s eyes narrowed as she took him in. “You’re him,” she said after a while. “You’re Xavier. Madelyn’s stalker.”

“Boyfriend,” he corrected impatiently. “I was upgraded.”

“I should arrest your ass where you stand.”

“For what, exactly? Last I checked, you’ve got nothing on me.”

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